Kent L. Barwick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Historic Preservationist |
| Years active | 1970 - 2009 |
| Known for | Preservation of Grand Central Terminal |
Kent L. Barwick is a Historic Preservationist who lives and works in New York City. He is best known for partnering with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to save Grand Central Terminal, upholding the New York City Landmarks Law in the 1970s, and working with the Municipal Art Society of New York and the Historic Districts Council. [1]
Barwick graduated from Syracuse University and also attended Harvard University as a Loeb Fellow. [2] Following graduation, he became involved in the Historic Preservation movement after telephoning The New Yorker's prolific writer Joe Mitchell regarding a project in Cooper Square. “In those days you could call The New Yorker and ask to speak to Joe Mitchell, and you could get him," explained Barwick in The New York Times. "Can you imagine?" [1]
Barwick began a long professional relationship with The Municipal Art Society in 1969. [3] In February 1975, the New York State Supreme Court overturned Grand Central Terminal's New York City Landmark status, which opened the door to a demolition plan by the bankrupt Penn Central railroad. [3] Penn Central planned to demolish the structure, by then shabby, cluttered and dark, in favor of a Marcel Breuer-designed structure in an effort to raise desperately-needed funds. [4] Barwick and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis successfully campaigned to halt the plan and preserve the station by taking the case to the Supreme Court of the United States in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City. [5]
Barwick proceeded to serve as the Municipal Art Society's executive director from 1970 to 1975 and as its president from 1983 to 1995. He returned as president from 1999 through 2009. [2] He also chaired the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and co-founded the Historic Districts Council, which awarded him its Landmarks Lion award in 1997. [6]
Barwick resides in Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood.
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization that protects New York's legacy spaces, encourages thoughtful planning and urban design, and advocates for inclusive neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis was an American writer, literature editor, photographer, and socialite who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. During her lifetime, Jacqueline Kennedy was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. Even after her death, she ranks as one of the most popular and recognizable First Ladies in American history, and in 1999, she was listed as one of Gallup's Most-Admired Men and Women of the 20th century.
Grand Central Terminal is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines, serving the northern parts of the New York metropolitan area. It also contains a connection to the New York City Subway at Grand Central–42nd Street station. The terminal is the third-busiest train station in North America, after New York Penn Station and Toronto Union Station.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for the construction of the current Madison Square Garden. The commission is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them once they're designated. It is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation.
The Marine Air Terminal is an airport terminal located at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City. The Marine Air Terminal, an Art Deco building opened in 1939 by William Delano of the firm Delano & Aldrich, is the only active airport terminal dating from the first generation of passenger air travel in the United States.
Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision on compensation for regulatory takings.
The Helmsley Building is a 35-story building at 230 Park Avenue between East 45th and 46th streets in Midtown Manhattan, just north of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. It was built in 1929 as the New York Central Building and was designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style. It was the tallest structure in the "Terminal City" complex around Grand Central prior to the completion of what is now the MetLife Building.
Charles B. J. Snyder was an American architect, architectural engineer, and mechanical engineer in the field of urban school building design and construction. He is widely recognized for his leadership, innovation, and transformation of school building construction process, design, and quality during his tenure as Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education between 1891 and 1923.
The Hotel Pennsylvania is a hotel located at 401 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is currently the fourth largest hotel in the city.
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal from 1962 to 2002 and was adaptively repurposed in 2017 as part of the TWA Hotel. The head house is partially encircled by a replacement terminal building completed in 2008, as well as by the hotel buildings. The head house and replacement terminal collectively make up JetBlue's JFK operations and are known as Terminal 5 or T5.
Giorgio Cavaglieri was an Italian architect and a leading figure in the historic preservationist movement in New York City. He is best known for his 1960s restoration of the Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village.
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, also known as Central Park Reservoir, is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, stretching from 86th to 96th Streets. It covers 106 acres (43 ha) and holds over 1,000,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 m3) of water.
Andrew Scott Dolkart is a professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and the former Director of the school's Historic Preservation Program. Professor Dolkart is an authority on the preservation of historically significant architecture and an expert in the architecture and development of New York City. He was described as someone who is "without peer among New York's architectural researchers" by architectural critic Francis Morrone and he has written extensively on this topic. Before joining the faculty at Columbia he held a position at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and worked as a consultant. Dolkart holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University (1973) and a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University (1977); he is a popular lecturer and walking tour guide.
Margot McCoy Gayle was an American historic preservationist, activist, and author. She led the effort to designate the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, which preserved Victorian era cast-iron architecture in New York City.
The Historic Districts Council (HDC) is a New York City-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves as the advocate for New York City's historic buildings, neighborhoods, and public spaces.
P.S. 66 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, formally known as Brooklyn Hills School, is a historic school building in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York. It was designed by architect C. B. J. Snyder (1860–1945) and built in 1898. It is a 2 1⁄2-story brick structure in the Romanesque style. It has a prominent, off-center tower with belfry. It features a slate roof and decorative stucco frieze. The school has a fortress-like appearance, including prominent round arches highlighting window openings, and a distinctive six-story tower. The building was restored in 2001 and remains in use as a New York City Public School.
Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel is an American preservationist, historian, author, and television producer. She is an advocate for the preservation of the historic built environment. She has worked in the fields of art, architecture, crafts, historic preservation, fashion, and public policy in the U.S. She is the author of 24 books, numerous articles and essays, and recipient of many honors and awards. She is a former White House Assistant, the first Director of Cultural Affairs in New York City, and the longest serving New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner.
Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same site. The current structure was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad, though it also served New York Central's successors as well as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same site. The current structure was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad, though it also served New York Central's successors as well as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.