Appreciating Postmodernism to Preserve Postmodernism

Paul Makovsky writes about the endangered existence of landmark buildings from the "heyday of Postmodernism," namely the early 1970s through 1984. The problem, according to Makovsky, is that the Landmarks Preservation Commission of New York City has been slow to grant buildings from that era landmark status, costing the city several buildings of note, such as Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s Takashimaya Building on Fifth Avenue, the South Street Seaport building, and the Cherry Hill landscape in Central Park.

In response, Metropolis magazine complied a "watchlist of overlooked gems" to "start the debate over Postmodern architecture and design’s contribution to Manhattan." The list was curated by Paul Makovsky along with Michael Gotkin, a landscape architect and preservation advocate.