What Makes Tudor City Historic?

Someone asked us the other day what exactly makes Tudor City historic. While we can think of thousands of reasons, it's probably best for the Landmarks Preservation Commission to spell it out. Herewith, a summary taken from the 1988 Tudor City Historic District Designation Report. The principle reasons for the community's designation are its:

Designation report cover

★ "Unprecedented size."

★ "Rapid construction."

★ "Revolutionary financial planning."

★ "Immediate and sustained popularity with New Yorkers."

★ Its parks, "the green core around which Tudor City revolves."

★ Its "extravagant" Tudor Revival architecture, which provides a "distinct sense of place." (Hotel Tudor's "art deco setbacks and raised brick patterns" are also cited.)

★ A design "sensitive to its physical context" that includes much "fine ornament and stained glass" that remains in its "original state."

★ Finally, this "pioneering venture in private urban renewal" brought about "the return of middle-class respectability to Midtown's East Side. . . Subsequent apartment building complexes incorporated lessons learned from Tudor City."

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Access the entire 81-page designation report here.