By IANS,
Mumbai : The Empire State Building, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of art – well-known landmarks of New York city came alive at a photo exhibition that opened here Monday.
The nine-day event was inaugurated by American Centre director Elizabeth Kauffmann at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya here. She said that these buildings captured through photos spoke directly about the value of historic preservation and the ideas, spirit, beliefs and public sentiments of their time.
“Thanks to the community agreement on the 43-year old New York City Landmarks Law, we and future generations can continue to enjoy the stories these remarkable edifices tell about those who came before us,” Kauffmann said.
The 80 framed pictures are a visual treat in black-and-white and are displayed with a brief explanatory text on each building’s cultural, historical and architectural significance.
The exhibition started three years ago to mark the 40th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law and is traveling around the world, said an American Centre spokesperson.
The law, a model for similar landmark laws throughout the US, has preserved many of the city’s iconic cultural and architectural buildings.
New York city has 1,116 designated landmarks, 104 interior landmarks, nine scenic landmarks and 84 historic districts, comprising 22,100 properties that attract tourists from around the world.
On display are images of the City Hall, St. Paul’s Chapel and Churchyard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, the New York Public Library, the Empire State Building, the Charlie Parker Residence, the Rockefeller Guest House and the Ford Foundation Building among many other landmarks.
Chairman of the Sanghralaya B.G. Deshmukh said that it was great that an exhibition on the landmarks of New York was taking place in one of the important landmarks of Mumbai.
“This is a great opportunity for young architects, town planners and heritage activists to experience the initiative taken by citizens of New York City to preserve their historical landmarks, protected properties and structures,” said Deshmukh, India’s former cabinet secretary.
The exhibition has been organised by the Historic Landmarks Preservation Centre, New York, in conjunction with the publication of a book, “The Landmarks of New York” penned by author and curator Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel.
The photos will be on show at the Sanghralaya (formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum) till July 30, before travelling to other cities like Ahmedabad, Bhopal and New Delhi.