Two Great Halls Hosted the 2025 Village Awards
Last night marked another wonderful, successful Annual Meeting and Village Awards, one of our favorite nights of the year at Village Preservation!
This year, we had the privilege of hosting the meeting and reception in not one, but two spectacular historic spaces in our neighborhoods:
Cooper Union Great Hall
As has been the tradition for a number of years now, the Annual Meeting and Village Awards took place at The Great Hall of Cooper Union.
The Great Hall is located in the Foundation Building, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art, which was designated as an individual NYC landmark on March 15, 1966. The Foundation Building was constructed in 1853-59 to a design by architect Frederick A. Peterson.
According to the LPC designation report, the Foundation Building employed some of the first rolled sections (wrought-iron beams) ever used in New York City, a revolutionary technological advancement that would make possible the later development of the skyscraper. The imposing Anglo-Italianate style brownstone building displays heavily-framed round-arched windows throughout its facades.
Since its opening in 1859, the Great Hall within has served as a place of public gathering to address, confront, or engage some of the most pressing social, political, and cultural issues of the day — including, famously, an address given by a young Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860, prior to his securing the presidency.
In order to create a hall ideal for these types of events, Frederick Petersen, the Foundation Building’s original architect, and Peter Cooper, who himself was an inventor, worked together to include unique elements within the built space to aid in attendee’s ability to gather comfortably. They also included sight lines that would allow large crowds to participate in the public programs envisioned by the founders and original architect. The perfect place for our own annual assembly!
First Ukrainian Assembly of God
Instead of holding our celebratory post-awards reception at Cooper Union this year, the second part of the evening took place across the street at the First Ukrainian Assembly of God, a striking building that was designated as an individual landmark on November 19, 1969. Though it was a last minute conflict that required us to pivot to a second space for our reception, it turned out to be a blessing, as we got to enjoy yet another remarkable historic interior in our neighborhood.
This French Second Empire style building was originally built as a bank in 1867, for the Metropolitan Savings Bank. Architect Carl Pfeffier designed two primary facades for the three-story corner building, with a prominent mansard roof featuring segmental arch-headed dormer windows. The building emphasizes horizontality, with band courses at each floor and an ornate cornice at the roof line. Yet it also maintains a strong sense of the vertical, with quoining at the corners, pilasters framing the windows, and prominent Corinthian columns on either side the second floor central window and main entrance on Third Avenue. The rusticated ground floor leads to a low basement.
Though it was purchased by the Ukrainian Church in 1937 and has served as a place of worship ever since, the building interestingly still retains many of its original Classical and monumental features, and upon first glance still gives the impression of a commercial building, rather than a church. Notably, it was one of the first fireproof commercial buildings to be constructed in New York City, utilizing fire safe masonry and iron elements.
The Ukranian Church has adapted this impressive structure to suit their needs, with a nave located upstairs. Village Preservation’s members, friends, awardees, and guests had the pleasure of partaking in a reception in the church’s basement meeting hall following the Annual Meeting. It was a cozy and festive affair in a beautiful, historic landmark.
Keep an eye on our website for updates in the future about next year’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards, and click here to see the full photo album from the 2025 event.