The

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, classified into four categories: individual landmarks, interior landmarks, scenic landmarks, and historic districts. The

New York City borough New York City is composed of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State, making New York City the largest U.S. municipality situated in mult ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

consists of the main island of Manhattan; the neighborhood of Marble Hill, located on the North American mainland; and several smaller islands. The LPC has designated fifteen landmarks on four smaller islands in Manhattan, including two historic districts, twelve individual landmarks, and one interior landmark. These designations comprise two on

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

, six on

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

, one on

Liberty Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated in ...

, and six on

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 85 ...

. The designations include the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

, a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

, as well as numerous buildings that are all also on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP).

Context

The

contains numerous smaller islands in addition to the main island of Manhattan. Three of these islands,

, and

, are located in

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

, though jurisdiction of Ellis Island is shared with neighboring

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Manhattan within New Jersey. There are also several islands in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

, including

U Thant Island U Thant Island (officially Belmont Island) is a small artificial island or islet in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The island, created during the construction of the Steinway Tunnel directly underneath, is the smallest island in Manh ...

, Mill Rock, and

Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City,

, which are legally part of Manhattan. The

(LPC) is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Formed in 1965, the commission administers four types of landmarks: individual landmarks, which consist of the exteriors of objects or structures; interior landmarks, which consist of the interiors of structures; scenic landmarks, which include city-owned "parks or other landscape features"; and historic districts, which consist of geographically cohesive collections of buildings with a distinct architectural style. Some are also on the

(NRHP), a separate program administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. , the LPC has designated 149 historic districts, 1,439 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, and 11 scenic landmarks. The smaller islands in Manhattan contain two historic districts, twelve individual landmarks, and one interior landmark. Both historic districts contain landmarks within them: the Ellis Island Historic District includes one interior landmark while the Governors Island Historic District contains five individual landmarks. , all twelve individual landmarks on Manhattan's smaller islands are on the NRHP; Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are also part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and all landmarks on Governors Island are also part of the

Governors Island National Monument Governors Island National Monument, a unit of the United States national park system, is located in New York City on of Governors Island, a island located off the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson and East River ...

. In addition, the Statue of Liberty is a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, and both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are on the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office within ...

History

The LPC designated its first landmarks on smaller islands in Manhattan during 1967, when five buildings on Governors Island were given individual-landmark status. The LPC subsequently gave individual-landmark status to six buildings on Roosevelt Island in March 1976; the structures included a house, a lighthouse, a chapel, and three former hospitals. That September, the LPC also designated the Statue of Liberty as a city landmark. The LPC designated the entirety of Ellis Island as a historic district in 1993, although most of the island is in New Jersey. The interior of the registry room inside Ellis Island's main building was also designated at the same time. In 1997, the LPC designated of Governors Island as a historic district, which included approximately 100 buildings. The designation overlays that of the five individual landmarks that had been previously designated. Despite the protections given by the LPC, some landmarks have fallen into decay after their designations. These landmarks have included the Octagon Tower,

Blackwell House Blackwell House is a historic house on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The house's name comes from Jacob Blackwell, who built the house in 1796. He was the great-grandson of Robert Blackwell, who in 1686 took ownership of what was then known ...

, and

Smallpox Hospital The Smallpox Hospital, sometimes referred to as the Renwick Smallpox Hospital and later the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School, was a hospital located on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, New York City. Originally designed by architect ...

on Roosevelt Island. The Octagon Tower was incorporated into an apartment complex in 2005 after the LPC approved the tower's renovation.

Historic districts

Individual landmarks

All of these individual landmarks are also listed on the NRHP.

Interior landmarks

Notes

References

{{New York City Historic Sites Locally designated landmarks in the United States Manhattan smaller islands New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission