Beyond the facade
On Gramercy Park South, two former homes became places for the arts. The Players and the National Arts Club give the neighborhood more than notable facades: people gather inside them, and their cultural life becomes part of the life of the square.
Following a story over time
A 2004 entry concerns a nomination of the National Arts Club for an endangered-buildings list. Later reports address The Players and restoration work at the National Arts Club. This collection is a historical record of advocacy, not a statement about either institution’s present management or condition.
2005
Helping institutions navigate restoration
The preservation archive records two information-sharing projects in fall 2005: the Gramercy Park Block Association distributed restoration plans for Calvary–St. George’s parish property at 61 Gramercy Park North and for the Brotherhood Synagogue at 28 Gramercy Park South. Keeping neighbors informed was part of its preservation role.
A separate summer 2005 entry records the Block Association helping the Salvation Army’s Parkside Evangeline Residence navigate Landmarks Preservation Commission procedures.
Knowing what we are preserving
Advocacy also meant helping neighbors understand the buildings around them. In May 2014, the Block Association announced a members’ gathering at the National Arts Club with a talk by preservationist Eugene Weise and a tour of the Tilden Mansion.
The program focused on Samuel Tilden, Edwin Booth and Stanford White. Alongside appeals about building care, it offered a way to experience the neighborhood’s architectural and cultural history together.
Part of a living streetscape
Explore the Block Association’s work connecting neighbors and local institutions.
Opening the doors to neighbors
In September 2023, the Block Association shared the National Arts Club’s announcement of its third annual Community Day. The invitation described free public access to galleries, tours of the Tilden Mansion parlors, family arts activities and music on the stoop by Dennis Lichtman and his band.
2019–2020
The Players Foundation’s public programs
The Block Association’s November 2019 letter shared a free public symposium about theatrical portraits at The Players. The announced program followed a collection begun by Edwin Booth, including portraits of Joseph Jefferson, Booth and Jason Robards, with a discussion after the presentation.
In February 2020, the Block Association shared an invitation to Charlotte Smart’s Ad & Ned, a play about Booth and theater critic Adam Badeau, presented by the Players Foundation.
2020
A gift connecting art and preservation
A March 18, 2020 newsletter recorded the Players Foundation presenting Arlene Harrison with a limited-edition Al Hirschfeld etching of Edwin Booth as Hamlet. Curator and librarian Raymond Wemmlinger’s accompanying account connected the gift with Harrison’s care for the Park and Booth’s attachment to Gramercy.
Begin with the buildings
Read how private homes became places for the arts, then explore the addresses around the Park. Their continued use makes architecture part of the neighborhood’s living story.
