Looks like one of New York City’s top museums, The Frick, could become another mammoth site. One of my favorites, is going bye, bye. Not that they are destroying the existing, but rather stretching its wings. This expansion will eliminate the prized garden on East 70th Street and revamp how this mansion is used.
New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has the power to turn down the proposed expansion that will wipe out
Frick Garden
the cherished garden with an inelegant addition. Our city has suffered from tearing down the old beautiful buildings from the Gilded Age and replacing them with clumsy additions. Remember the handsome historic Beaux-Arts Penn Station, built in 1910, on West 34th Street and 8th Avenue, by architects McKim, Mead and White? For the sake of New York City’s wing stretching, it was taken down in 1963 and replaced with a modern version in 1969, a characterless space. New York suffers from an ephemeral philosophy. Do we really need to continue to destroy our precious history?
Entry
In a recent article in the New York Times, by Michael Kimmelman, he said, “New Yorkers have seen the consequences of trustee restlessness and real estate magical thinking, which destroy or threaten to undo favorite buildings.” Kimmelman goes on to remind us about buildings that had additions stuck onto them, and then the use of the building flopped. “Even the New York Public Library wanted to disembowel its historic building at 42nd Street before thinking better of it.” said Kimmelman.
Dining room
Although the Met does have a great decorative arts collection, just think of how Frick gathered his to decorate his mansion. What the Frick has meant to me is its personal, magnificent, historic works. While studying interior design at the New York School of Interior Design, I spent many hours and days studying, sketching and absorbing history. Housed on Fifth Avenue in his former home, the private collection of Henry Frick is the perfect escape from the larger galleries and museums. This is a great spot to unwind after a long morning walking and of course enjoying the shops, the people and the architecture.
Conservatory
The central conservatory space can be peaceful and relaxing. Try to time your visit with one of the free talks provided. The museum staff is knowledgeable. The audio guide excellent.
In 1910, Frick purchased property at Fifth Avenue and 70th Street to construct a mansion, now known as The Frick Collection. Built to a massive size and covering a full city block, Frick told friends he was building it to “make rival Carnegie’s place look like a miner’s shack.”
Frick collection gallery
To this day, the Frick Collection is home to one of the finest collections of European paintings in the United States. It contains many works of art dating from the pre-Renaissance up to the post-Impressionist eras, but in no logical or chronological order. It includes several very large paintings by J. M. W. Turner and John Constable.
Living room
In addition to paintings, it also contains exhibitions of carpets, porcelain, sculptures, and period furniture. Frick continued to live at both his New York mansion and at Clayton until his death in 1919.
Frick and his wife Adelaide had booked tickets to travel back to New York on the inaugural trip of the Titanic, along with J.P. Morgan. The couple canceled their trip after Adelaide sprained her ankle in Italy and missed the disastrous voyage.
What are you thoughts? Is bigger better? Should they stretch their wings and make another New York behemoth out of this charming historic mansion?
Let’s go! I’ve never been to the Fricke.
Name the day. Got to go before the wrecking ball hits.
What the Frick! 🙂 Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. But seriously, I am a huge preservationist and it breaks my heart to see people who are not make these decisions. Society needs to see what once was, so they know how things can be again. We don’t need to settle for mediocrity, and that includes our buildings. Also, once they’re gone, they take our history away with them, and that can’t be good for our future. Even in my own town, we have lost buildings that told of the founders of our town. They told our history. As a family, we collect old postcards of these buildings whenever we find them, so we can teach our children, but I’m pretty sure we’re not the norm.
Katy, that would have been a great title. I should have conferred to you. Thanks. No, most folks are not aware of buildings disappearing. Our history is so important. Europe has so much history, we go there to be filled with it’s beauty, to draw, to paint, to hear. Connecticut is better than most, but even here, we tear down the architectural history, when it tells a story of the past. Money is always the bottom line.
Oh NOOO! Not at the cost of the gardens! Why does man continue to choose to create more sprawl over the beauty of nature? These lovely gardens are especially important in cities where humans are surrounded by concrete and metal and don’t spend nearly enough time with nature.
Paula, you are soooo right. That’s why Central Park. The men involved with the landscape of the Park, thought exactly that. Calvert Vaux, Andrew Jackson Downing and Frederick Olmstead, were men with open fresh air on their minds. We do cherish the Park. Bryant Park, that place mid-town is fantastic. Right in the middle of it all. Too bad about the Frick Park. Many are hoping that addition doesn’t happen.
Is there a place we can write to, voicing our opinion about this travesty? Do people circulate petitions anymore? Progress is great, but if we destroy every beautiful trace of our history, it makes the sparkle of the future foundation-less.
Frances, thanks for stopping by. We all agree. I did send the link to the article at the bottom of my post. Click ‘charming historic mansion.’ You might be inspired there to give the author, Michael Kimmelman, a shout. Great article he wrote.