Co-Sponsored by Salmagundi Club

Join Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation, in conversation with Anthony C. Wood, historian of New York City’s preservation movement and author of Servant of Beauty: Landmarks, Secret Love, and the Unimagined Life of an Unsung New York Hero (Bloomsbury, 2025). Together, they will explore the legacy of Albert Bard (1866-1963), grandfather of NYC’s landmarks law and civic advocate extraordinaire.

Bard’s life is instructive, inspirational, and at times, seemingly incredible. From battling Robert Moses and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America to drafting and achieving the passage of the Bard Act (NYS’s enabling legislation that is the legal basis for NYC’s Landmarks Law) the conversation explores the relevancy of Bard’s life and legacy to today’s preservationists as they confront the challenges ahead.