Introduction by Andrew Dolkart, Author + Director, Historic Preservation, GSAPP
Franny Eberhardt, New York University
Judith Saltzman, Li-Saltzman Architects
Laurie Hawkinson, GSAPP
Moderated by Tony Wood, Ittelson Foundation
 
The Row House Reborn explores the rediscovery and complete redesign of obsolete and deteriorated New York City row houses in the early decades of the 20th century.  These old houses, considered a blight in many neighborhoods, were transformed by architects, owners, and real estate developers, who stripped the facades and added bright-colored stucco, tiles, flower boxes, artist-studio windows, and other artistic motifs to the facades; transformed the utilitarian rear yards into gardens; and rearranged interior plans so that major rooms overlooked these new landscapes.  This movement transformed neighborhoods such as Gramercy Park, the far East Side, and Greenwich Village, but now these redesigned houses are endangered as some owners seek to remove the early 20th-century alterations and "restore" the houses to their 19th-century character.
 
Andrew Dolkart's introduction to his new book will be followed by a panel discussion dealing with issues of alteration to historic buildings.  What alterations of the past do we preserve? What alterations should be allowed on landmark buildings today?
 
Co-organized by the Historic Preservation Program and the GSAPP Preservation Alumni.