List of New York City Designated Landmarks

List of New York City Designated Landmarks
Name	New York City Landmarks
Caption	Logo of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Designation	Designated Landmark
Established	19 April 1965
Authority	New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Region	New York City
Website	https://www.nyc.gov/site/lpc/index.page

List of New York City Designated Landmarks. The landmarks are structures, objects, sites, and districts officially recognized for their historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance to the City of New York. Designation is administered by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), an agency created in 1965 following the controversial demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station. This legal protection safeguards the city's architectural and historical heritage from alteration or demolition without the commission's explicit approval.

Overview and Designation Process

The landmark designation process is governed by Chapter 74 of the New York City Charter. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission researches and proposes potential landmarks, which can include individual buildings, interiors, landscapes, and historic districts. A formal public hearing is held for each proposed designation, after which the commission votes. Approved designations are then sent to the New York City Council for final confirmation. The legal framework was notably tested and upheld in the 1978 United States Supreme Court case, Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, which affirmed the constitutionality of such preservation laws. Key early designations included the Astor Library and the Bartow-Pell Mansion.

Landmarks by Borough

New York City's designated landmarks are distributed across its five boroughs, with the greatest concentration found in Manhattan. In Manhattan, iconic landmarks include the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, and the Woolworth Building. Brooklyn features landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Coney Island Cyclone, and the Green-Wood Cemetery gatehouses. Queens includes the New York State Pavilion from the 1964 New York World's Fair and the Louis Armstrong House. The Bronx is home to the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage and the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. Staten Island's landmarks include the Conference House and the Alice Austen House.

Landmarks by Type

Landmarks are categorized by the physical nature of the resource. The vast majority are **individual landmarks**, which are free-standing structures like the Flatiron Building or the Chrysler Building. **Object landmarks** are typically sculptures, monuments, or fountains, such as the Maine Monument at Columbus Circle or the *Atlas* statue at Rockefeller Center. These designations protect not only architectural masterpieces by firms like McKim, Mead & White and Richard Morris Hunt, but also more modest structures that tell the story of the city's development, including tenements, firehouses, and former Federal-style row houses.

Historic Districts

Historic districts are geographically defined areas with a significant concentration of cohesive historic resources. The first designated was the Brooklyn Heights Historic District in 1965. Other major districts include the Greenwich Village Historic District, the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, and the Park Slope Historic District. These districts encompass thousands of contributing buildings and maintain the overall historic character of neighborhoods, regulating exterior changes to everything from Greek Revival townhouses to Beaux-Arts apartment buildings. Smaller, thematic districts also exist, such as the Sylvan Terrace row of wooden houses in Washington Heights.

Interior Landmarks

Interior landmarks protect significant, publicly accessible interior spaces within buildings. These are often celebrated for their architectural artistry or historical importance. Prominent examples include the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, the lobby of the Woolworth Building, and the reading room of the New York Public Library Main Branch. Other notable interiors are the Radio City Music Hall auditorium, the Central Synagogue sanctuary, and the dining room of the former Gage and Tollner restaurant in Brooklyn. This category ensures the preservation of ornate craftsmanship, from Gustavino tile vaults to elaborate Art Deco detailing.

Scenic Landmarks

Scenic landmarks are natural or landscaped features deemed integral to the city's beauty and history. This rare category includes some of the city's most beloved public spaces. The most famous is Central Park, designated in 1974, which includes its topography, bodies of water, and built structures like Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. Other scenic landmarks are Prospect Park in Brooklyn, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and the Ocean Parkway corridor. These designations protect the overall landscape design, geological formations, and sight lines that provide essential recreational and visual relief within the urban environment.

Category:Lists of landmarks in New York City * Landmarks