Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower Marble

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On the left is an original Tuckahoe marble brick from the Metropolitan Life Building, once a popular material for buildings in New York City. Today, the quarries are closed, so the renovation work on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower used a marble boulder in Tuckahoe instead (center block in image), and on the right is a cast stone replica.

Many of the architectural remnants are displayed in glass cases central to the exhibition, along with architectural models. In total, the curated pieces offer a snapshot of the triumphs and failures of the preservation movement in New York City, surrounded by a timeline of Landmark Law’s fifty years, as well as the movement for its recreation which dates as early as 1890.

The exhibition Saving Place: 50 Years of New York City Landmarks is open now until September 13th. Read on for our interview with curators Donald Albrecht and Andrew Dolkart, and our preview of the exhibitGet in touch with the author @untappedmich.