Noted Architectural Historian Celebrates Ecclesiastical Architecture
Dr. Richard Guy Wilson
Conservancy Board Chairman Stuart N. Siegel
Conservancy President Peg Breen
Conservancy Board Chairman Stuart N. Siegel, left, Conservancy President Peg Breen, and Dr. Richard Guy Wilson
Reception at The Century Association
One of the most important architectural historians in the country, Dr. Richard Guy Wilson, demonstrated in a beautifully illustrated talk June 17 at The Century Association that ecclesiastical architecture is an integral part of the City’s history and should be saved.
More than 50 people came to hear the presentation titled “Gothic in Gotham: The Preservation Challenges Facing New York’s Ecclesiastical Architecture,” which was thanks to Conservancy Board Chairman Stuart N. Siegel. Siegel was one of Wilson’s “star” research assistants at The University of Virginia Graduate School of Architectural History and Historic Preservation.
“Religious buildings are really some of the major landmarks of our cities and towns,” Wilson said. “A good deal of the history of Western architecture is really religious architecture.”
Interweaving four central themes: history, educational value, community and art, Wilson argued the City’s most significant religious buildings are not only major architectural landmarks, they are the history of the City.
“You can’t really tell the history of a place without some sort of knowledge of the religion that was involved and these buildings, including some of the earliest surviving, such as St. Paul’s or Central Synagogue,” Wilson said. “But they are more than landmarks, they are the history of Manhattan, they are the history of New York.”
Wilson is the Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia. The professor’s research and writing has focused on American architecture from the 18th to the 20th centuries. He has authored, co-authored or edited more than a dozen books and has served as an advisor and commentator for a number of television programs on PBS, C-Span, History Channel and A&E. Wilson also frequently appeared on the program America’s Castles.
