PAGE AYRES COWLEY ARCHITECTS, LLC636 Broadway,New York, New York 10012 T. 212.673.6910 F. 2/2.673.6869

18March 2008

CommissionerRobertTierneyChair

New York City LandmarksPreservationCommission1CentreStreetNew York, NY 10007

Re: Letterin supportfor thedesignationof St.Michael's Church

DearCommissionerTierney,

No importantdecisionis madequickly, andwhile St.Michael's mayhavetakenthelong roadtodesignation,this daycomesatjust theright timeto demonstratethepositivemotivesfor historicpreservation.

Thereneedsto be a distinctionbetweenthemuseumpreservationof buildings "frozen in time" andenlightenedconservationthatencouragesa forwardlooking activity,namelystewardship.This designationrepresentsmanyof thegoodreasonswhy churches,alongwith otherbuilding types,shouldbepreserved:

Churchesareusefulresourcescapableof servinga modernpurpose.A goodbuilding canlasta long timeandwith extendedmaintenance,almostindefinitely.They areassociatedwith ritualsof religionandpower(temples,churchesandmemorials)expressprideandculturalachievement.They arecelebratory,essentiallyworksof artandtheproductof a distinctiveandcreativeminds,with exemplarystonecarving,stainedglass,etc.They remindus of associations- thebirth,marriagesanddeathsof neighbors.Buildings areaestheticallypleasingandpicturesqueandaddto thecharacterandsenseof placetoa neighborhood.

St.Michael's pastoralstaff, their congregationandall of theprofessionalswho haveworkedhardtopreservethis importantchurchareto be congratulated.

"Whatevergood in its kinde ought to be preservv'din respectfor antiquity, as well as ourpresentadvantage... " Nicholas Hawksmoor, 17February1715

"Preservationpresentsan unparalleledopportunityto correctsomesenseof alienationwhichis so characteristicof modernsociety. It affordstheopportunityfor citizensto regaina senseof identitywith their own origins of which they have been robbedby the sheerprocessofurbanization." JamesMarston Fitch, 1990

I hopethatthis designationcanserveasanexampleof why preservationof religious buildings is soimportantin a timeof greatchangeanddevelopmentin this city.

Sincerelyyours,

PageAyres Cowley, FAlA, RIBA