LANDMARKS OF NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION OPENS APRIL 13

April 12, 2007

On the eve of Nepali New Year 2064, a groundbreaking photography exhibition of New York City landmarks opens this Friday, April 13, at the Tribhuvan University Central Library.  On tour since 2005, the exhibition was commissioned to mark the 40th anniversary of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Act.  The project is sponsored by the American Center and will be opened by Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  It will run until May 3.

The exhibition will display 81 photographs, documenting some of the most significant and unusual properties of New York City.  The exhibition was created in conjunction with the publication of a 630-page book, The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City’s Historic Buildings, by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel.  The book and photography exhibition were produced to celebrate the New York City Landmarks Law, which for 40 years has preserved buildings, properties, and objects that have special historic, cultural, or aesthetic value.  The law, one of the first, has served as a model for landmarks laws throughout the United States.

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel is a leading landmarks activist and the author of 18 other books.  She is the chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center in New York City.  She served on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for 17 years.  She was appointed by President Clinton in 1996 to serve as a commissioner of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, where she continues to serve.