Three New Cultural Medallions Honoring Distinguished Murray Hill Residents Are Unveiled

Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, Charles Dana Gibson, and Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn were honored in April in ceremonies unveiling cultural medallions placed on the façades of each of the brownstones where they once resided in Murray Hill. 

To commemorate other illustrious residents who once lived in Murray Hill, the P&D Committee is exploring several names to add to our list of cultural medallion honorees. These include the songwriter, Cole Porter, the architect Marcel Breuer, the playwright Tennessee Williams and the actress Helen Hayes. 

Funding for the research, fabrication of the medallions and the videotaping of the ceremonies comes from individual sponsors, honored building owners and private donations. If you would like to sponsor or contribute to the Medallion Program, please visit our website at www.murrayhillnyc.org and click Donate. Email Susan Demmet at sldemmet@gmail.com when you donate so your contribution can be properly acknowledged, or if you know of a significant person who lived in Murray Hill whom you believe should be nominated for a Cultural Medallion.

Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on changes to the landmark B. Altman Building, July 24, 2018

The Museum of Popular Culture, new owner of a portion of the landmarked B. Altman building, presented proposed changes to the Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 24, 2018, and applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness.

The Certificate of Appropriateness was approved with modifications.

Image: Rendering of proposed changes 

Meet Your Neighborhood Walking Tour Guides

Every last Sunday of the month, starting March 25, you can become better acquainted with local history, sites and stories in a 90-minute walk compliments of The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Preservation & Design Committee. Four expert guides conduct these tours.

Photo: Left to right, Robin Garr, Barbara Sagan, Paula Thomson, statue of Jan Karski, the Polish Underground hero in front of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York

Preserving Our Neighborhood

Thanks to the creation of the Landmark Preservation Commission in 1965, thousands of buildings in New York City have been granted landmark or historic district status, saving them from demolition. The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Preservation & Design Committee is committed to preserving and protecting the historic residential character of our neighborhood, and takes great pride in its work.

As you walk around and enjoy the brownstones, stately mansions, stables and historic buildings in our neighborhood, we hope that you appreciate the efforts of the Preservation & Design Committee to safeguard our historical, cultural and architectural heritage. 

Walking Tour of 15 Landmarks Attracts Many to Murray Hill in Support of Cultural Medallion Program!

On a lovely Saturday afternoon in mid-October, 70 people took part in a walking tour of 15 landmark buildings in historic Murray Hill sponsored by the Preservation & Design Committee of the MHNA. 

This was the Committee’s first event to support our participation in the Cultural Medallion Program. Under the auspices of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center, this Program was established to commemorate the residences of distinguished New Yorkers who made their mark in the arts, politics, business and other notable endeavors. The only medallion currently in Murray Hill is in commemoration of Malvina Hoffman, the famous sculptor whose studio was located at the far end of Sniffen Court. 

If you would like to make a donation to support Murray Hill’s participation in the Cultural Medallion Program, please visit our website at www.murrayhillnyc.org and click Donate. Or contact Susan Demmet, Chair of the Preservation & Design Committee at sldemmet@gmail.com. Anyone donating $50 or more will receive a free copy of our Walking Tour of Landmarks Program Guide Book.

P & D Committee Participates in The Cultural Medallion Program

The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Preservation & Design Committee is excited to be working with the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center to participate in The Cultural Medallion program, which installs descriptive plaques on buildings to honor and recognize distinguished New Yorkers in the arts, science, politics, business, education and sports, who once lived in those buildings.

Although there are close to 100 medallions located throughout New York City, there is currently only one cultural medallion in Murray Hill at 157 East 35th Street, honoring the sculptor Malvina Hoffman. Due to the number of illustrious residents who once lived in Murray Hill, the P & D Committee is exploring several names to add to that list, including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson (creator of the Gibson Girls), the actors Jessica Tandy and her husband Hume Cronyn, two-term mayor William Grace, architects Marcel Breuer and William Delano, as well as William F. Buckley, founder of the National Review. These influential people all lived or worked in the area from East 35th Street to East 38th Street, Madison to Third Avenues.

Photo: Malvina Hoffman Cultural Medallion at 157 East 35th Street

Our LPC Proposal to Landmark 29 Buildings in Murray Hill - Update

The P&D Committee identified 29 buildings worthy of landmarking in Murray Hill and requested landmark status for those building from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commisison. In October, we received a disappointing response from the LPC. They have chosen only 3 of the 29 buildings for consideration.

We will let you know if these properties come up for a hearing at the LPC, although we think it will not be soon. In the meantime we will continue working to acquire landmark status for more buildings in order to preserve and protect the historic residential core of Murray Hill. 

Photo: 38 East 38th Street

LPC Proposes 12 buildings in Greater East Midtown for Landmark Status

At a public meeting on May 10, 2016 the Landmarks Preservation Commission identified twelve buildings that merit landmark designation and contribute to the rich historical and architectural context of Greater East Midtown. The proposal is part of the NYC Administration’s larger effort to plan for the future of one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods. 

Spotlight on Murray Hill’s Landmarks - NYC Landmarks Celebrating 50 Years

In each article we will feature a few of Murray Hill’s landmarked buildings.  We begin with the buildings that have had landmark status the longest:

1966: The Morgan Library at 29-33 East 36th Street
1967: The set-back Federal house at 152 East 38th Street
1975: The DeLamar Mansion at 233 Madison Avenue
1979: The Church of the Incarnation at 205-207 Madison Avenue

Spotlight on Murray Hill’s Landmarks

This is the second article to feature a group of four landmark buildings in Murray Hill. The landmark buildings are presented in the order that they became landmarked. This series of articles is part of NYC Landmarks50 Alliance, the multi-year celebration of the 50th anniversary of New York City's Landmarks Law.  

1979: Lanier Mansion, 123 East 35th Street
1979: Adelaide Douglas House, 57 Park Avenue
1979: Thomas Clark House, 22 East 35th Street
1997: Bowdoin Carriage House, 149 East 38th Street

Spotlight on Murray Hill’s Landmarks

This is the third article in a series that features a group of landmark buildings in Murray Hill. The landmark buildings are presented in the order that they became landmarked: 

1997: Jonathan W. Allen Stable
1998: J. Hampden Robb Mansion
2002: J.P. Morgan, Jr. Mansion

This series of articles is part of NYC Landmarks50 Alliance, the multi-year celebration of the 50th anniversary of New York City's Landmarks Law.

Spotlight on Murray Hill Landmarks

This is the fourth and last article featuring fourteen individual landmark buildings in historic Murray Hill, presented chronologically by the date that the building was designated as a landmark. The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Preservation & Design Committee has been an active participant with the Landmarks50 Alliance’s two-year celebration to honor landmarks in all five boroughs of the City. The LM50 celebration continues through 2016.

2008: The Allerton 39th Street Hotel, 45 East 39th Street
2010: Beaux Arts Style Mansion, 36 East 38th Street
2011: The Union League Club, 38 East 37th Street

Landmarks Preservation Commission designation documents for The Murray Hill Historic District

Related websites and articles

 National Register of Historic Places Map of Murray Hill 2014

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

The LPC's Discover NYC Landmarks Map

The Historic Districts Council

The NYC Landmarks50 Alliance

Tom Miller's Daytonian in Manhattan blog

New York Times 1914 article on Murray Hill Deed Restrictions

Wikipedia article about Murray Hill

Victoria California Clafin Woodhull, a Murray Hill resident, was the first woman to run for President, nominated by the Equal Rights Party in 1872.

December 2016, Smithsonian Magazine, Untangling the History of Christmas Lights, This bright idea was ahead of its time, by Jamie Malanowski. In 1882, in a townhouse at 136 East 36th Street in New York City, Edward Hibberd Johnson...loyal lieutenant to Thomas Edison was the embodiment of his era: part engineer, part businessman, part Barnum. In 1871, Johnson hired Edison, then a 24-year-old inventor, as a consultant for the Automatic Telegraph Company. Edison “ate at this desk and slept in a chair,” Johnson later recalled. “In six weeks he had gone through the books, written a volume of abstracts, and made two thousand experiments...and produced a solution.”

Restoring Vintage Buildings: When Home Is History, 2017 May, cooperator.com, by Georgia Kral.