New York, New York, May 21, 2025 – Docomomo US and Docomomo US/New York Tri-State Chapter are thrilled to announce the New York City individual and interior landmark designation of the former Whitney Museum of American Art at 945 Madison Avenue, designed by Marcel Breuer and Associates.

 

On Tuesday, May 20, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) unanimously voted to designate the former Whitney Museum as both an individual and interior landmark. Docomomo US and Docomomo US/New York Tri-State Chapter submitted a 45-page Request for Evaluation, with primary research by preservationist Thomas Collins, requesting that the Commission consider designating the former Whitney Museum as an interior landmark in December 2023, after it was announced the building would be sold to the auction house Sotheby’s.

 

The interior landmark designation, protecting the lobby and main stairwell, goes above and beyond the protection the building was already receiving for its inclusion in the Upper East Side Historic District, designated in 1981. Constructed from 1964-66, the Whitney Museum was designated a landmark as part of that district only 15 years after opening, making it one of the youngest buildings ever to be landmarked in New York City. Docomomo US and Docomomo US/New York Tri-State Chapter would like to thank the broad coalition of leading local, state, and national organizations for their support.

 

Those organizations are:

• Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts
• Historic Districts Council
• Municipal Art Society
• The New York Landmarks Conservancy
• The Preservation League of New York State
• Society of Architectural Historians (national) Heritage Conservation Committee
• Manhattan Community Board 9

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Additionally, two weeks prior, on Tuesday, May 6, the NYC LPC unanimously voted to designate the Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex as an interior landmark.

 
The LPC noted:

“An important late work by renowned modern architect Paul Rudolph, this unique residential duplex occupies the third and fourth floors of the Modulightor Building, located at 246 East 58th Street in Manhattan, which was also designed by Rudolph and was designated as a New York City individual landmark in 2023. The designation of the Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex means that both this significant interior space and the building's exterior are protected under the Landmarks Law.”
"We are thrilled to support the interior landmark designation of the Paul Rudolph-designed Modulightor Building. We are enthusiastic for this designation not only for its spatially rich and light-filled Modern design but also because of the intimacy of the space and how Rudolph's hand and belongings can be found nearly at every turn," said Docomomo US Executive Director Liz Waytkus. "It is so meaningful that Modulightor, which houses the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture, continues to host open house events, encourages dialogue, and offers a unique New York experience."

 
The former Whitney Museum of American Art and the Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex, join Modern counterparts including the Guggenheim Museum, the TWA Flight Center, the Ford Foundation, Manufacturers Trust Company Building, and the United Nations Hotel and Ambassador Grill, in an exclusive group of 125 sites in New York City recognized with interior landmark designation.