As a New Yorker, it always hurts me to see a historic building, statue, or playground torn down for another purpose, usually an apartment building or an office tower. Even when something is demolished and replaced with a modern version, an old playground set is swapped out, or a beloved fountain is rebuilt, it still stings to watch the past disappear in front of my eyes. I understand that a living city has to keep moving forward, but that understanding never quite kills the ache.
New York is a metropolis built on relentless reinvention. In the pursuit of taller skyscrapers, faster transit, and more valuable real estate, the city has often shown little mercy to its architectural past.
Before the landmark preservation movement gained real legal power during the 1960s, Beaux-Arts train stations, Gilded Age mansions, grand newspaper towers, and enormous theaters were routinely reduced to rubble. In many cases, the heartbreaking loss of these structures finally forced New Yorkers to stand up and protect what remained of their architectural heritage…