Paul Rudolph's 23 Beekman PlaceOn Tuesday, November 17th, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held its monthly public meeting and on the agenda was the possible landmarking of Paul Rudolph's famous penthouse apartment building on 23 Beekman Place. The site, listed in the agenda as item LP-2390, covers the proposed site listed simply as "Paul Rudolph House" on Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 1361, Lot 118.
According to the Commission's website,
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is the mayoral agency responsible for protecting and preserving New York City’s architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings and sites. Since its creation in 1965, LPC has granted landmark status to more than 25,000 buildings, including 1,245 individual landmarks, 110 interior landmarks, 10 scenic landmarks and 99 historic districts in all five boroughs. Under the City’s landmarks law, considered the most powerful in the nation, the Commission must be comprised of at least three architects, a historian, a Realtor, a planner or landscape architect, as well as a representative of each borough.
Kelvin Dickinson, Co-Director of the Paul Rudolph Foundation, attended a public hearing as a representative of the Paul Rudolph Foundation. Also attending was Joe Smith representing Docomomo, an organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of modern architecture.
Rudolph's original renderingMatt Postal, an architectural historian who is a member of the Commission, made the initial presentation to the board:
Paul Rudolph, one of the most celebrated and original architects of the second half of the 20th century, owned 23 Beekman Place from 1965 till his death in 1997. A leading member of Florida’s so-called Sarasota Modern School, he studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and served as Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, where he designed the celebrated Art and Architecture Building, completed in 1963. Two years later, he moved his practice to Manhattan, purchasing a neo-Georgian style townhouse on Beekman Place, between East 50th Street and East 51st Street. During the next three decades, the five-story structure was continuously altered, producing one of Rudolph’s most best-known works. Initially, he converted the five-story structure into apartments, and later, between 1975 and 1982, added a multi-story, cantilevered, steel-and-glass penthouse that resembles a piece of architectonic sculpture. New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger praised the design, calling it "a handsome composition, a neat arrangement of geometric forms that is visually pleasing in itself and a welcome addition to Beekman Place’s already long list of architectural styles." 23 Beekman Place was also home to the prominent stage and screen actress Katharine Cornell (c. 1893-1974). Once described by drama critic Alexander Woolcott as the "First Lady of the Theater," she purchased the house in the 1920s and lived here, with director and producer Guthrie McClintic, until the early 1950s. Although the multi-level interiors fashioned by Rudolph have been modified by subsequent owners, the exterior is virtually unchanged. 23 Beekman Place is a significant and highly personal example of this important modern architect’s late work. Visible from Beekman Place and various points east, it is one of only four buildings designed by Rudolph in New York City, and arguably, his most significant.
A photo by Rudolph before
A photo by Rudolph with his planned additionDuring the public comment portion of the presentation, Kelvin Dickinson presented the Paul Rudolph Foundation's statement of support for the designation:
The Paul Rudolph Foundation was established in 2002 with the intent to further the preservation, knowledge and understanding of the work of architect and educator Paul Marvin Rudolph. The Foundation has long supported the protection of Rudolph’s architectural legacy, which currently numbers 271 buildings throughout the United States and the world.
Paul Rudolph’s residence at 23 Beekman Place is one of a handful of works by Mr. Rudolph in New York City. Purchased in 1965, Mr. Rudolph began a decade later to add a multi-story sculptural cage that cantilevered over the traditional neo-Georgian style townhouse below. The exterior composition of shifting steel and glass cubes is a personal example of Rudolph’s evolving theories of modernism and has become one of the architect’s most recognized works.
The importance of Paul Rudolph’s contributions to the field of architecture has seen a resurgence upon the recent renovation and rededication of his Art & Architecture building at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Paul Rudolph’s work spans the period of modernism in America during which architects began to question the strict functionalism of the International Style. Mr. Rudolph’s design for his residence at 23 Beekman Place was used as a private laboratory to explore spatial concepts and his ideas regarding scale, complexity and urbanism.
Yet while appreciation of his legacy has grown, threats to his work have increased as well. The Foundation has identified 13 buildings which are presently threatened with demolition. The designation of Mr. Rudolph’s residence would protect one of his most celebrated works as a rare remnant of an enormously important time period.
The Paul Rudolph Foundation hopes you will expeditiously consider this vital and important piece of American architectural history for landmark designation.
Rudolph's original renderingSpeaking in addition was a lawyer representing the current owner of the property, who stated the owner will release a letter addressing the proposed designation before the final vote on the matter next month.
Finally, a representative of Community Board 6 stated they did not have an opinion on the matter, save for wondering what affect designating a modern addition would have on the future plans to designate the entire block as a historic district.
The matter will come up again for a vote by members of the Commission during the next month's meeting.
Immediately following the meeting,
City Room - a blog hosted by the New York Times - prematurely reported that the property had been designated a landmark by the city.
We will have to wait another month to find out the commission's decision.
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