SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District Expansion Campaign

In 2006, the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America submitted a request to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to expand the boundaries of the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District.

Great News!
On May 13th, 2009, the LPC held a public meeting for SoHo building owners and residents and unveiled the agency's "study area" (see map) for an expanded SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. After hearing the overwhelming support for the district and the calls from SoHo residents to move forward with the district quickly, LPC Chair Robert Tierney committed to "calendaring" (the first step in the designation process) a SoHo historic district extension on June 23, 2009. A public hearing for the district is expected in the fall.

We need your help
Despite the LPC's promise to calendar the expanded district in June 2009, the strong support of SoHo residents and all New Yorkers is needed to ensure that the LPC moves forward with the designation process expeditiously.

Please write a letter of support to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission urging them to designate this much-needed and incredibly worthy expansion. A sample letter is posted here for your convenience.

In addition, please send us an email to let us know that you are interested in the SoHo historic district expansion. We will keep you up to date on the progress of the expansion. Also please spread the word to your neighbors, and email us if you would like to receive post cards that you can pass out to people for them to sign in support.

For more information on the project, see our 47-page submission to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which outlines the importance of many of the buildings in the proposed expansion, highlights the area's most oustanding buildings, and provides a history on 72-buildings within the proposed district.

Margot Gayle's and the SoHo Expansion
The expanded SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District would be a wonderful way to honor the life and work of Margot Gayle, who passed away at the age of 100 in 2008. Margot, the world's leading expert on cast-iron architecture, was the person who first brought to the public's attention the incredible importance of SoHo's cast-iron buildings. Without her tireless efforts, the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District would have never been designated, and the wonderful buildings within the historic district would not be with us today.

Despite her success in saving SoHo, Margot was never satisfied with the boundaries of the SoHo historic district. As one of the original founders of the Victorian Society in 1966, Margot turned to us to see that her dream of expanding the boundaries of the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District comes true.

For more information on Margot Gayle, please visit the page on our Margot Gayle Fund for Preservation of Victorian Heritage.