Carolyn Kent
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Wade Cassady Kent (July 20, 1935 - August 22, 2009) was an American
historical preservationist and activist, who lived most of her life in New York City
on Riverside Drive
, one block west of her alma mater Columbia University
. As founder of Manhattan Community Board 9
’s Parks and Landmarks Committee and co-founder of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee she worked to advocate for the architectures and communities of Morningside Heights, Manhattanville
and Hamilton Heights in close collaboration with community, city and state organizations and agencies, to effect landmark designations, restorations and interventions that have preserved and protected buildings and entire neighborhoods.
In 2007, she was given the first Preservation Angel Award.In addition, Kent served as Secretary of the Renaissance English Text Society.
, where her father, Maynard Lamar Cassady, was teaching religion at the University
. Maynard was an ordained minister who had obtained his theology degree at Princeton. He met Lyn’s mother, Louise Virginia Sale, at William and Mary where she had been one of his students. Louise was the last of seven children of one of Virginia’s so called First Families located in Fairfield, Virginia. Instead of leading a conventional existence, she became, with her husband, an active civil rights
worker, a tradition which she passed on to her children. Maynard died relatively young while teaching at Crozier Theological Seminary where Martin Luther King, Jr.
was at that time a student. His three daughters, Carolyn, Elizabeth, and Anne, of which only Lyn was barely a teen, were left with their mother who moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan
as Dean of Women at Kalamazoo College
. Louise later married Charles Johnson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church there.
in 1957, where she was editor of the newspaper and president of the student body. After graduation she spent a year at Oxford where she was a recognized student working with Catherine Ing. She then began studies at Columbia University
under Marjorie Nicolson
in 17th Century English literature and completed her Masters with high honors and doctoral orals with “distinction”.
, drew her into the New York City
historic preservation
effort. Through book history and editorial theory she had "explored the implications of authorial intention which then translated to a respect for the architect’s intention and a belief that historic preservation based on this is critical to a culture’s integrity and strength." C. Kent
’s Parks and Landmarks Committee and co-founder in 1996 with Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee, designations under her watch included Hamilton Heights/ Sugar Hill Historic District, Hamilton Heights Historic District Extension, The Riverside Church, Hamilton Theater and Lobby Building, and the Plant and Scrymser Pavilions of St. Luke’s Hospital. Restorations included moving the home of Alexander Hamilton
, the Hamilton Grange, to St. Nicholas Park
; and the return of windowed walls to the 125th St. elevated subway station. Interventions included winning “disapproval” from the Landmarks Preservation Commission of a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior changes to the designated Casa Italiana
on the Columbia University
Campus; and a “disapproval” by the NY City Council of the LPC’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine designation because it opened the historic Close to unregulated development. (For more detail about any the above see the sub-titles below)
Attendng to preservation duties around town, "...a looming Mrs. Kent [she stood 6 feet tall] appeared always with an innate regal dignity. She was an amateur in the positive sense ... and a civic activist in the same tradition as Jane Jacobs
and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
. For all her elite early-American ancestry, enhanced by a first-class education at Sarah Lawrence and Oxford, along with her cultivated patrician-sounding voice, so old-fashioned that it's a type seldom encountered today, not outside of the Broadway stage, Carolyn was, ironically, the very quintessence of nonconformity." Harlem historian, Michael Henry Adams
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation,
Sugar Hill Preservation Committee,
5-Block Protection Association,
Upper Manhattan Society for Progress through Preservation,
Hamilton Heights/West Harlem Community Preservation Organization,
Manhattan-Ville Heritage Society,
Morningside Heights Residents Association, and
Morningside Heights Historic District Committee.
. Their three children are Cassady, Hannah and Sarah. Until 2007, Ed taught philosophy, social/political/legal, and gave courses in religion and one in psychology primarily at Brooklyn College
where he spent most of his teaching career.
; and working toward designation of the Morningside Heights Residential Historic District/Comprehensive MSH District, and the Tiemann Place Residential Historic District in Manhattanville
.
Carolyn Kent died, in New York City
, after a nine-year bout with lung cancer, on August 22, 2009.
"I admire her ability to get major institutions like Columbia University
and churches in west Harlem to appreciate their role in this community...She set the bar pretty high." New York State Senator Bill Perkins
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historical preservationist and activist, who lived most of her life in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
Riverside Drive is a scenic north-south thoroughfare in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The boulevard runs on the west side of Manhattan, generally parallel to the Hudson River from 72nd Street to near the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street...
, one block west of her alma mater Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. As founder of Manhattan Community Board 9
Manhattan Community Board 9
The Manhattan Community Board 9 is a local government unit of New York City, encompassing all of WestSide Harlem neighborhoods of Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, and Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan...
’s Parks and Landmarks Committee and co-founder of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee she worked to advocate for the architectures and communities of Morningside Heights, Manhattanville
Manhattanville
Manhattanville is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the south by Morningside Heights on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by Harlem and on the north by Hamilton Heights. Its borders straddle West 125th Street, roughly from 122nd Street to 135th Street and...
and Hamilton Heights in close collaboration with community, city and state organizations and agencies, to effect landmark designations, restorations and interventions that have preserved and protected buildings and entire neighborhoods.
In 2007, she was given the first Preservation Angel Award.In addition, Kent served as Secretary of the Renaissance English Text Society.
Early life and family background
“Lyn” was born in Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, where her father, Maynard Lamar Cassady, was teaching religion at the University
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
. Maynard was an ordained minister who had obtained his theology degree at Princeton. He met Lyn’s mother, Louise Virginia Sale, at William and Mary where she had been one of his students. Louise was the last of seven children of one of Virginia’s so called First Families located in Fairfield, Virginia. Instead of leading a conventional existence, she became, with her husband, an active civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
worker, a tradition which she passed on to her children. Maynard died relatively young while teaching at Crozier Theological Seminary where Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
was at that time a student. His three daughters, Carolyn, Elizabeth, and Anne, of which only Lyn was barely a teen, were left with their mother who moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
as Dean of Women at Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as K College or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1833, the college is among the 100 oldest in the country. Today, it produces more Peace Corps volunteers per capita than any other U.S...
. Louise later married Charles Johnson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church there.
Education
Kent graduated from Sarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in 1957, where she was editor of the newspaper and president of the student body. After graduation she spent a year at Oxford where she was a recognized student working with Catherine Ing. She then began studies at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
under Marjorie Nicolson
Marjorie Hope Nicolson
Marjorie Hope Nicolson , was born February 18, 1894 in Yonkers, New York, USA, the daughter of Charles Butler Nicolson, editor-in-chief of the Detroit Free Press during World War I and later that paper's correspondent in Washington, DC, and Lissie Hope Morris.She graduated from the University of...
in 17th Century English literature and completed her Masters with high honors and doctoral orals with “distinction”.
Preamble to activism
While making a home in Morningside Heights and raising three children, Kent began a dissertation on the printing press’s impact on English Renaissance Poetry. This called her attention to the decorative printing ornaments embellishing turn-of-century Morningside Heights, and a preservation battle centering on her building, The PaternoThe Paterno
The Paterno is a Manhattan apartment building located at 116th Street and Riverside Drive and also known as 440 Riverside Drive. The building is noted for its curved facade, impressive marble lobby with a stained-glass ceiling, and substantial porte-cochère. Across 116th Street, The Paterno faces...
, drew her into the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
effort. Through book history and editorial theory she had "explored the implications of authorial intention which then translated to a respect for the architect’s intention and a belief that historic preservation based on this is critical to a culture’s integrity and strength." C. Kent
Professional life
As founder, in 1990, of Manhattan Community Board 9Manhattan Community Board 9
The Manhattan Community Board 9 is a local government unit of New York City, encompassing all of WestSide Harlem neighborhoods of Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, and Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan...
’s Parks and Landmarks Committee and co-founder in 1996 with Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee, designations under her watch included Hamilton Heights/ Sugar Hill Historic District, Hamilton Heights Historic District Extension, The Riverside Church, Hamilton Theater and Lobby Building, and the Plant and Scrymser Pavilions of St. Luke’s Hospital. Restorations included moving the home of Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, the Hamilton Grange, to St. Nicholas Park
St. Nicholas Park
Saint Nicholas Park is a New York City public park located in Harlem at the intersection of Manhattan neighborhoods Hamilton Heights and Manhattanville. The nearly park is contained by 141st Street to the north, 128th Street to the south, St. Nicholas Terrace to the west, and St. Nicholas Avenue...
; and the return of windowed walls to the 125th St. elevated subway station. Interventions included winning “disapproval” from the Landmarks Preservation Commission of a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior changes to the designated Casa Italiana
Casa Italiana
Casa Italiana is a structure designed by McKim, Mead and White on the campus of Columbia University in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It originally opened as an outreach of the Italian government of Benito Mussolini in conjunction with then university President Nicholas Murray Butler. ...
on the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Campus; and a “disapproval” by the NY City Council of the LPC’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine designation because it opened the historic Close to unregulated development. (For more detail about any the above see the sub-titles below)
Attendng to preservation duties around town, "...a looming Mrs. Kent [she stood 6 feet tall] appeared always with an innate regal dignity. She was an amateur in the positive sense ... and a civic activist in the same tradition as Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, was an American-Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities , a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States...
and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
. For all her elite early-American ancestry, enhanced by a first-class education at Sarah Lawrence and Oxford, along with her cultivated patrician-sounding voice, so old-fashioned that it's a type seldom encountered today, not outside of the Broadway stage, Carolyn was, ironically, the very quintessence of nonconformity." Harlem historian, Michael Henry Adams
Collaborators in preservation advance
During her career, Kent worked in close collaboration with: Manhattan Community Board #9,NYC Department of Parks and Recreation,
Sugar Hill Preservation Committee,
5-Block Protection Association,
Upper Manhattan Society for Progress through Preservation,
Hamilton Heights/West Harlem Community Preservation Organization,
Manhattan-Ville Heritage Society,
Morningside Heights Residents Association, and
Morningside Heights Historic District Committee.
Designated Landmarks
- Fire Engine Company No. 47, 500 W. 113th St.; (1889–90) Napoleon LeBrun. Designated June 17, 1997. LP 1962
- Hamilton Theater and Lobby Building, 3560-3568 Broadway; (1912–13) Thomas Lamb, designated February 8, 2000 LP 2052
- Hamilton Heights Historic District Extension, designated March 28, 2000 LP 2044
- Croton Aqueduct 119th St. Gatehouse, 432-434 W. 119th St., George Birdsall,NYC Dept. of Public Works, designated March 28, 2000 LP 2051
- Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District, designated June 27, 2000 LP 2064
- Hamilton Heights/ Sugar Hill Historic Extension, Oct. 23, 2001 LP 2103
- Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District Northeast, Oct. 23, 2001, LP 2104
- Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District Northwest, June 18, 2002 LP 2105
- The Riverside Church, 490-498 Riverside Drive; (1928–1930) Henry C. Pelton with Allen & Collens, designated May 16, 2000 LP 2037
- Plant and Scrymser Pavilions, St. Luke’s Hospital, 401 W. 113th St. and 400 W.114th St.; (1904–06, 1926–28) Ernest Flagg, designated June 18, 2002 LP 2113
- Claremont Theater Building, 3320 – 3338 Broadway; (1913–14) Gaetan Ajello, designated June 6, 2006 LP 2198
Restorations
- The Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton (1802) family home at the time of his death, 287 Convent Avenue; final CB#9 ULURP vote on June 21, 2001, remapping St. Nicholas Park so as to provide an easement for the National Park Service to move the Grange and there restore it to the original design by John McComb, Jr.
- Fully integral revitalization, complete with water and electric globe, of the John Hooper Fountain, Maher Circle, W. 155th St., a landmark as part of the Macombs Bridge designation, January 14, 1992; restoration by the Division of Bridges, NYC DOT.
- Return of windowed walls to the 125th St. elevated IRT Broadway Line Viaduct station, (1900–1904) William Barclay Parsons, designated Nov. 24, 1981; LP 1094; restoration by the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
- Replacement of the white glass tile panels without the addition of inauthentic decoration to the walls of the Columbia University and Cathedral Parkway stations included in the IRT Subway Stations Underground Interiors designation of Oct. 23, 1979 LP 1094; (1904) Heins & LaFarge; restoration by the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
- Use of “City Hall” rather than “World’s Fair” benches in the restoration by NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation of the Morningside Heights sector of Riverside Drive, 113th – 117th Sts. and generally.
- Remounting and repair of the facade of the Sigma Chi Fraternity House at 565 W. 113th St. as part of the construction of the Broadway Residence complex, 2900 Broadway, (2000) Robert A. M. Stern for Columbia University.
Interventions
- Won a “disapproval” in 1995 of a Landmarks Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness for designs submitted by Columbia University and the Republic of Italy for exterior changes to the Casa Italiana, 1151Amsterdam Ave.; (1926–27) William Kendall, McKim, Mead, White, a designated landmark.
- Brought a halt to plans by the Amsterdam Nursing Home, 1050 Amsterdam Avenue, to demolish the Croton Aqueduct 113th St. Gatehouse (1874) for construction in 1997 of the Home’s Amsterdam Avenue wing.
- Brought a halt to consideration by Columbia University during 1996 of the demolition of Woodbridge Hall, 431 Riverside Drive, (1901) George Keister; St. Luke’s Home, 2910 Broadway, (1898) Trowbridge & Livingston; 625 and 627 W. 115th St., (1893) Henry Chapman; Sigma Chi Fraternity, 565 W. 113th St. (1903) George Keister; 604 and 606 W. 114th St., (1895) Frank Lang.
- Persuaded Columbia University, 1998, to move the commercial space in the Broadway Residence to block-center to allow the Public Library Branch light, air and primacy afforded by the corner site, Broadway at 113th St.
- Persuaded Columbia University, 2002, to redirect construction of the School of Social Work from the intact turn-of-century W.113th St.(Broadway/River- side Drive) to an already cleared site on Amsterdam Ave. and 122nd St.
- Won a halt to Columbia University plans, 2003, for a new Admissions Office entrance into Hamilton Hall which would have replaced a segment of the monumental granite wall surrounding South Field with glass block.
- Won a “disapproval” by the NYC City Council, October 24, 2003, of the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine because the Commission also removed two develop-ment sites from future regulation by the Commission or Public Hearing.
Preservation Angel Award
On June 28, 2007, Kent was the first recipient of the Preservation Angel Award presented by the Hamilton Heights/West Harlem Community Preservation Organization for distinguished achievement in the field of Upper Manhattan historical preservation.Private life
Carolyn and her husband, Edward (”Ed”) Miles Allen Kent, met as young teens at a Kent Fellowship conference. Carolyn’s father had been one of the first Kent Fellows. The group was founded by Edward’’s grandfather, Charles Foster Kent, to enable those previously excluded by race, religion or funding needs to undertake graduate studies in religion. Edward and Carolyn married on the 8th of September, 1957 at the First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, MichiganKalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
. Their three children are Cassady, Hannah and Sarah. Until 2007, Ed taught philosophy, social/political/legal, and gave courses in religion and one in psychology primarily at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
where he spent most of his teaching career.
Later years and death
Until weeks before her death, Kent was engaged in the fight to keep intact the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s historic Close; to prevent historic building demolition in Manhattanville by Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
; and working toward designation of the Morningside Heights Residential Historic District/Comprehensive MSH District, and the Tiemann Place Residential Historic District in Manhattanville
Manhattanville
Manhattanville is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the south by Morningside Heights on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by Harlem and on the north by Hamilton Heights. Its borders straddle West 125th Street, roughly from 122nd Street to 135th Street and...
.
Carolyn Kent died, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, after a nine-year bout with lung cancer, on August 22, 2009.
"I admire her ability to get major institutions like Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and churches in west Harlem to appreciate their role in this community...She set the bar pretty high." New York State Senator Bill Perkins
External links
- Cathedral Plans Face Mixed Response, Columbia Spectator, November 1, 2005
- Deal Close on Apartments Near Cathedral, New York Times, April 14, 2006
- Community Boards, New York Observer, October 13, 2003
- Cornice battle, New York Times, June 16, 1991
- Preservation Angel Award 2007, New York Daily News July 16, 2007
- Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District Extension
- Lynden Miller, Carolyn Kent and Parks
- Michael Henry Adams- Recalling Carolyn Kent