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At this time we bring you a special broadcast of the fifth annual Bard award ceremonies for the excellence in civil architecture and urban design the program was transcribed Wednesday evening at the terrace room of the Plaza Hotel principal speakers was secretary of the interior is feel what you would all and Mayor John Lindsay here now to open the ceremonies is Stanley Turco president of the City Club. Secretary you don't know Chairman Robins honored guests on my right and left. Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Stanley check out line president of the City Club. Welcome to the fifth annual bought a watch program for Excellence in civic architecture and urban design. The Albert S. Bard civic award trust fund is again joined this year in sponsorship of this program by the J.M. Kaplan funding cooperative. And once again as in the past. The trustees of the City Club are especially grateful to trust the Leon Brand who conceived this magnificent program and handled most of the details. Mr Graham proved himself thank me. Let me finish I have a few more choice words to say about Mr Brand of whom not enough can be said. We cannot say enough or his the version of his diligence and his downright ability to get the work done particularly in a year when he became a new father and went into business for himself lay on a PLEASE TAKE A BOW way on point thank me. Thank you and also we'd like to thank Mr Norman Rosenfeld who helped Leon in this terrific marvelous effort where I would normally Norman Rosenfeld play stand up thank you thank the army for thank you and. Now I'm delighted to introduce to you the distinguished men who are seated on the day US with me Some are members of the bottle awards jury and some are the winners who I will introduce by name only you will hear their affiliations later when the awards are presented. Starting on your left and my right. Mr Robert Bales' I am a landscape architect for the Museum of Modern art sculpture garden which received a nine hundred sixty six fart award and member of the one nine hundred sixty seven Broad awards during this design thank me. Thank you miss the Simon brining use it was the brownie stand up place. Thank you The Honorable water in the Washington thank me. Mr William J. Conklin thank me. Thank the honorable Donald H. Eliot thank you it's good Leon brand new matter already the honorable steward as you do all secretary of the interior thank me. Thank you Mr ID Robins chairman of the Board of Trustees me. And a member of the nine hundred sixty seven border wards jury as well Mr surely Boden thank me thank you Mr B. son or groom thank me thank you Mr John O'Mara thank me. Thank you Mr Clifton see flour thank me. Thank you Mr James Ingo of the thank me. Thank you Mr Philip C. Johnson our request for the other three me thank you and need not mention his credentials and chairman of the one nine hundred sixty seven border words during two members of the bottom awards jury could not be here with us today I'll mention their names for you Mr Kevin Roach architect for the new Ford Foundation building in New York City and Mr David Crane architect and chairman. The graduate program and civic design in the University of Pennsylvania both of those gentlemen also were members of the one nine hundred sixty seven Broad words during. Now for those of you who don't know what the bottom words are about their name before Albert S. bride lawyer and civic leader who died in one thousand nine hundred sixty three at the age of ninety six years after the sixty two years as a member of the City Club of New York this divide was a man of extraordinary rigor who led many battles for a more beautiful New York his life and work are commemorated by these broader awards for excellence in civic architecture and urban design in one nine hundred sixty three the very first year these awards were given. The outcome of the competition was architectural dynamite. Invent years a jury found no municipal structure built in the period one nine hundred fifty eight the one thousand nine hundred sixty three which was deserving of the broader war and the New York Times on May fourteenth one thousand nine hundred fifty three said although the quality of the municipal building program has been a concern of professional architects for many years this is the first important burst of fire from a group of civic minded nonprofessionals it may well be the initial wave of increased general interest in municipal architecture and the Times went on to say that the chief significance of that no reward fiasco as the plus report turned it is that it brings the questions and the criticisms into the open our report that year was titled The first most search for excellence in civic architecture. Now we have a functional search for excellence in architecture that. Year and indeed every year since mine sixty three but we think that that initial burst of fire from the City Club in one thousand nine hundred sixty three did have a good thing. The ultimate aim indeed of the broader awards is to get more good architect to design distinguished sitting buildings to raise the city's general level of architecture to replace deadly mediocrity with exalted achievement. In a little while the learn art of the exhaust of achievement which are worthy of these fine barter words this year my nine hundred sixty seven. Since May or Lindsay has not arrived yet I am going to skip ahead to. Mr Johnson so that he may present these awards to the fine architects and owners who are here with us before I do however you should know that the awards this year. Are given to buildings owned sponsor or firearms by government agencies and which were built within the five boroughs of the city since January first one nine hundred sixty five. The chairman of the nine hundred sixty seven bar words jury to make the prudent patients Mr Phillips into out with. I'm going to make the reinventions exceedingly grief the jury was delighted this year in general define that publicly helped our tax abatement or whatever we call the public sector of our of our business is getting along much better than ever there's still no public buildings the Department of Public Works though has nothing to give prizes to but we have found very good things and it's surprising No not at all surprising to this audience is the increase in the interest and the success of the general area of public area and city plan so it gives me great pleasure to start the first Honor Award for Excellence in civic architecture in urban design is for a university Plaza. It's in Manhattan at West Broadway in Bleecker Street just south of New York University I will give you the comments by the jury. Of the semi public building in New York City is inherently and traditionally nearly impossible to project itis is endemic in all our cities this project is an astounding exception in the future the hit the two ubiquitous freestanding tower may not be the solution for housing but it will be long before towers down under public assistance will achieve this level of elegance excellence I am pay is a class assist in the museum tradition but the grace of these towers and their fullest destruction position are you need among city towers. Thanks to the of the of the. I am not going on to the to the donating of the awards the architects are I am pay and partners for the sponsors an owners the dormitory authority of the state of New York housing and redevelopment board and the Washington Square se apartments incorporated here to receive the award for the architects I am pay a senior associate Mr James Ingo free. Of the. Of the for the state dormitory authority we have the minister director Mr Clifton see Flubber. Of the for the owners we have Mr John M. Omar the president of Washington Square southeast departments and my boss at New York University. Of the. The second is the first Honor award again for Excellence in civic architecture an urban design for Chatham towers in Manhattan the parking lot of the. Comments by the jury Kelly Andrews and along with the other prize winners. Along with the other prize winners I am pay and partners have broken new ground with their housing project Chatham top this like pays towers are enormously exceptional in the field of public housing these rough expressionist towers so different from Pais represents a new romantic reaction from international style simplicity the resulting design is strong rough but carefully detailed excellently execute it. I will now give your work will. For the architects Kelly and Rosie Barney Bruce and will. For the. Past sponsors which in this case is the Association for middle income housing incorporated and the housing redevelopment board I'm giving the citation to the president of the Association of the middle income housing incorporated Mr Shirley F. Bowden will. You give me. One. The third this afternoon's is an unusual one. The first Honor Award for Excellence in saving architecture and urban design. For the first time. Is to a planned to the Lower Manhattan plan. I'll give the. Of the. Comments by the jury for the first time a BART award goes to a large scale urban design the Lower Manhattan plan is not a mere pleasant image of an urban environment it is not a mere large scale single development project it is an excellent example of the total and of total environmental design a guideline for many good works of architecture to come. The treatment of vehicular pedestrian traffic the use of the Waterfront the varied pattern of city spaces are unique in New York planning and perhaps unique in the country. Of the. The awards today go to architects and planners Wallace MCHARG Roberts and Todd to architects and planners but don't see Continental road send to transportation and planning consultants Alan M. Vorhees and Associates Incorporated and lastly to the city planning commission. I will now give the awards for the design team representing Wallace MCHARG Robinson thought it was the Congress sent. Mr William Cochran. Of new. And for the city planning commission the chairman of the city planning commission the honorable Donald H. L. E.. Movement. For. This is an award for merit in civic architecture and urban design. For the reason amphitheater and Plaza at Manhattan Avenue D. and east eighth street. Of the. The Board the jury said the establishment of the playground parks in the Jacob Riis houses area is nothing short of a revolution where there was keep off there is now come in and people come the crowds that come from many blocks beyond the project prove the inadequacies of our present parks this park has steps benches mountains bridges tree houses fountains theatres pergola kinds of paving I think and above all architectural sequence spacing variety and ingenuity made this park make more parks little parks big parks middle sized parks since I'm stood Central Park New York has not had so fresh start so promising a paradigm. Of the earth of the earth the awards go to the architects POMERANZ And Brian as the landscape architects M. Paul three Bergen associates the owner of The New York City Housing Authority and last but certainly not least the patron or patroness Mrs Vincent asked. Of them here today to receive the award is the chairman of the New York City Housing Authority the honorable Walter Washington of the. And for the design team of the architects and landscape architect. Mr Simon Bryant thank. I'm delighted to know there's another member of the design team here a very very important member Paul Freberg would he please thank me. Thank you. Fine and almost then. We'll have a slight intermission for a speech by the Honorable. Mayor in New York. Thank me. Thank. You. All and within the past six months New York has had two major reports on the design of the Senate the first was a supplement to the lower order core planning and design in New York and written by a broader award juror David Quammen The second was called the threatened city. By the Mayor's Task Force on urban design both were or seem to come to similar conclusions the necessity of aggressive support and understanding for good design at the top level of city government it is with prior to whatever that I have the privilege of introducing a longtime member of the City Club a man who shares with us the passion. To make a new you are a more livable and beautiful city the mayor of the city of New York Mr John the living room. Thank you very much Mr COUCH Mr Robins Mr Secretary welcome to New York City we're delighted to have you here nice to be with a former colleague in the House of Representatives I'm going to ask him why he left and guess what he's going to ask me something. I felt Johnson and my fellow New Yorkers members of the government just Elliot Yamin the Planning Commission Mr Walter Washington of the housing authority. Mr Jason Nathan back their housing and development. Sanitation commissioners here hearing because I've directed him to get some good looking trucks with something unless something new in the city of New York which when I believe it or not is doing we're getting all who talks for the city of New York as fast as it really manufactures would also be more efficient and less noisy in the process and me. I promised us do you got I would not speak for more than an hour and a half so he can get on with his things. And. I'm specially pleased to see him here because I know that he's going to announce that Breezy Point will become part of the National Seashore us my. Roomie. And if there is a run in the National Seashore structure for a while then maybe we'll make it part of the national park system he's got a choice to do with it and like we did in the old days on fire Islands to be a member of what heroes we were then we made it part of the seashore structure crazy points no problem it's less of a problem with fire really I'm not in the it's a little expensive but we're not don't worry about the details and. We have put the zine on the front burner and it's going to stay way up high and we have a long ways to go on the subject but we still do it. Down Eliot that will have a total and complete beefed up design team in the Planning Commission. There will be our coordination through that and through the implementation of city Paley task force report which about which I should be talking about more in the future. Matter of weeks and then. Our staff of the major building operating agencies of the government are going to be designed conscious by a number of ways means and methods including proper staff in those areas. This we think is of critical importance to our city and I should like to thank a great many people here should be largely name was because I believe somebody out of their help and assistance in this regard I will make an exception in the case of my friend Philip Johnson who has been longsuffering and kind with the use of his time and talents. To assist in this regard. Then. Finally let me express a congratulations like all you have to the winners of the bar awards. And tell them the city of New York. Salutes them and thanks them for their contribution to our town. To all architects who are willing to experiment and do different things. Gene halt Don Elliott. Our parks people already hechsher. Everyone else are anxious to enlist if you will the service of a better. He says I've directed all of them to throw out the zero architectural fees structures we've had to start over again with reasonable fee structures and to do whatever else Me Me. And to do whatever else is necessary. To keep this subject way up high on the list of important things. Hardly a day goes by what is not part of our governmental conversation whether cabinet meetings or whether like today with Walter Washington adjacent when we spend half or time and when we were quite a good business for a new housing complex in the Lower East Side talking about damage and good design and the importance of it once again a stew Welcome to New York come here as often as you possibly can you're more than welcome to have your. Dispensation has been offered and given for your automobile which at this point is partly to sign of me through the me me me. Is there this is not better off. In the fact that introduction it's a great deal harder Mr Mayor thank you for the extra compliments but we'll get on to companies of a different kind. We have here a special citation something that we very rarely do understand the bar the words but we felt very strongly about this it's a slightly different field from the usual one this is a special citation for Landmarks Preservation and it goes to the Honorable Stewart Udall the secretary of the interior United States in the thing. Elizabeth it's for the designation as a national landmark of Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn New York. It was. Established the jury says the establishment of the community of Brooklyn Heights is a national landmark is a land mine. The awareness of secretary you'd all that urban values have a value that history with a capital age has a history is unique in American governmental and. It is unique for the Department of Interior to interest itself at last in more than water dams and Indians. In the very heart. Of our cities it is unique in that the choice should fall on the quintessential New York for Brooklyn not Manhattan as the mother of our area Brooklyn not Manhattan has preserved to this day the previous quote sense of place and quote so meaningful to the city experience. May this recognition of a place lead to much more preservation much more awareness of our past much more attention in the future to the value of quote place in our city. To receive the mother. To receive the award today I'm very proud that we have here the secretary of the interior United States the Honorable steward. Of the mother. Picture. You know. I. Didn't. I see it because on the program that now introduce the secretary of the interior consider him Internews defector to come up. Like you very much what up. Renzi. You know Jack you will never If you can't give a longer speech and that you never become a Hubert Humphrey of the Republican Party. And I know I'm here for many reasons Jack our friendship and they House of Representatives and you know damn well you are one of my favorite Republicans but also we share a love of Bob those other things. And I want your thoughts I want you to know and all of your constituents hear that when I come to New York City to spend a day as I have done that day and a fascinating day it was as usual that I see the entire range of activities. I end up here this evening with the elite the athletes of the community and those who hold so much hope but I began and I began inspecting a sewage treatment plant. And as I walked through the early part of it I said to Jean there percent of Nassau County I thought you said we were in Nassau not flushing. And I have delighted to participate in the ceremonies. And I think already Mr Mayor by the things that we have seen on the screen that something is happening and it's just something gives a lift to the spirit and adds to our hopes New York City is remarkable for the ambivalence it arouses in those who live here and those who are attracted to its environs its boosters have proclaimed it the world's most vibrant city. And the throb of its heartbeat and the splendor of its skyline gives credence to the boast. This acknowledged by all to be a great gangly in a world commerce and its business transactions bear out this claim to fame more recently its leaders have made it a place for happenings and have somewhat nervously it seems christened that fun city. And the same as Mr Mayor we said Rock I'm yet there is a measure the success of a city by its overall livability also had their say a book has been written about this city with the title a city destroying itself list Munford has surveyed it once again with something approach despair approaching despair and the end of the transit strike fifteen months ago that ushered you in Mr Mayor you began rolling you've ended up high a New York Times columnist sorrow sorrowfully called his own city something of an insult. But in spite of it all New York continues to be a fascinating and a starting city and I've been a dynamic one as we have already seen this evening without client. Or without a great plan without visions sometimes almost without brains activated largely by the profit motive in the past New York has grown to the irresistible and exasperating city it is and so many of the decisions as the mayor himself knows in the past were made as a result of spoiled politics and not inspired planning. However from the beginning there has been too little consideration for balance for beauty too little concern for the New York tomorrow and I don't want to be hyper critical here because what is true of New York seems to me is true in the main of most American cities the failure has been written large across the land if you are mayors in the past. Fuel mayors in this country have really care what their cities look like whether or not they were fit places to live as long as such that cities were for the moment prosperous as long as business payrolls remain high as long as the cars rolled it seen things were all right this attitude in and of the American city has got to change and this is part of the dedication and spirit of this are going to sation and the ceremonies in New York their appearance that overdue changes underway I can't tell you how pleased I am Mr Mayor to see a central park being recaptured for the people the bicycle belongs the auto never did I cannot tell you how exciting it is to see a Norman Cousins recruited to head up a task force on air pollution and so stir things up that your utility has elected to hire away from my department my undersecretary who's lost to Ross believe me is your game. But with a limousine and loose holding a hechsher and others too numerous to list are literate I think you of New York should be in front and commonly exciting and hopefully restore the days ahead you will even be getting according to The New York Times the temple of then dirt now it sits dismantled and created tomorrow it will stand a dignity recreated it will come to this city at an appropriate moment it will say to you perhaps in terms of Landmark Preservation take care of your legacy your landmarks don't flood them and save yours and while I'm Since I'm being honored for Landmark Preservation Philip it seems to me that. There is something stirring in this field as well because the Congress last year on the recommendation of President Johnson and acted the first historic preservation plan for the nation to aid those cities and states and communities that are prepared to act in this field and I learned something too about historic preservation when I went out something over a year ago with the chairman of the evening festivities Herr Philip Johnson to look at Ellis Island and when we asked him to plan it his conclusion that we was his main conclusion that we should leave the ruins of Ellis Island there and let them continue to be ruined he said America needs ruins we don't have enough seems to me that this too is a part of wisdom. And there are occasional victories for Landmark Preservation not enough yet Mr Mayor we need more but we've gotten a start there but the renewing work of today for tomorrow and of tomorrow is there after must include the cleansing of your air the reclaiming of the lordly Hudson River building of the various whose blight demeans the human spirit the situation in the American city today its decline its decay its lack of physical and spiritual vitality present a tremendous challenge to the citizenry of this country and particularly those who are its designers or potential designers is a challenge to present a new image of the city of tomorrow to the people an image of what their city might be and should be I'm not speaking of statistics. On population growth in fact I little statistics the secretary of the interior if the dollar value of industrial Al output of tonnage is of shipping in the port on the freight yards or the number of shares that daily change hands on the Stock Exchange that these are the things by which we figure the state of the human spirit I think I'm afraid we're not calculating by the right measuring stick I'm speaking of an image of the physical city the a the picture of the state a city with handsome streets not clogged with traffic a city overflowing with green spaces and parks instead of gross most of open spaces uplifting to the spirit a city with breathable air and places to stroll and sit and enjoy the life of the river or of a bowl of or above all a city in which all family is all families can have decent homes frequently within walking distance or a short and comfortable ride of their work this is not an impossible dream it is an attainable go as a goal which the natural and elected leaders and they they work together of our communities must put before their people seems to me. That we have a a lesson before us at this moment in terms of planning and that lesson in terms I think in the contrast of the Canadian exposition and an exposition held not far from here not long ago and many of you have read much about it but from all I have read and something that I have seen it seems to me that we might draw two lessons and there are lessons that we need so badly in this country not only here in the city everywhere but altogether too many of our failures it seems to me rest on what can only be called a materialistic approach to life and to social development in this country someone said that the difference between the New York Fair and the Montreal fair or the Canada fair is that the one was based on commercialism and the idea that there had to be a profit wrong from the people who came to attend The other considered the books balanced if in terms of national prestige and long term community improvements that these were things that added up in the end and should fit in the balance sheets and the second lesson I think we should learn and this is a great lesson that we have not learned in terms of design Philip Johnson is a control is the key and there was a master design teen if you go to Montreal that control the design of the overall. Fan and this is the thing that makes the difference we in the conservation scene that deal in the main in the countryside have developed a conservation concept in recent years and we've learned a conservation lesson. And that is that we fail in the long run unless we concern ourselves with the total environment and it seems to me that in terms of urban design once again we will fail inevitable unless we have a total design and total environment concept and so a small nation has taught us a lesson a nation with one tenth the population one tenth the resource and the question is whether we will profit ourselves in time for our own anniversary a few years hence so we must have economic planning and social planning as well both are essential to the prosperity in the well being of the city but they alone cannot create the City Beautiful and the city helpful they cannot create that create the radiant city as a great French architect city planner like our bushy a call it beyond the image we must also have physical planning physical planning on a broad even regional and comprehensive scale only the skin densities transportation open spaces recreation and the amenities have their full effect and only by careful adherents to such plans over two or three generations can this city become a reality I had the great privilege to be in a city called Athens three months ago I'm not so sure I'd like to be there now but I was there three months ago. And I was a great lesson of Athens and I saw it in the company of one of the great modern designers of that nation and of the world but the great lesson is that everything there in that ancient time was planned in relation to a whole to a total constant that is the thing that you see so clearly in a delegate indelibly if you go there. The American city today is not a city consciously built by the day to love and care of the men and women of men and women in the way ancient Athens was erected our poets can write nolde on a Gratian urn our essayist write instead more often than not of gargantuan ugliness for cities have been structured by speculators and promoters all too often who built only to sell and succeed one of your most perceptive critics recently noted that lower Manhattan will soon be quote just another third or sixth Avenue and she continued with a rather devastating observation that this will be quote good enough if you fancy the bland bland commercial homogenization of post-war third and six avenues their chief fanciers however are those builders and investors who sense of environmental aesthetics is limited to the county level beauties of rentable square footage by the square block and who do more to plan construct and seal the fate of this city that any combination of officials and municipal agencies theoretically entrusted with the job of government man on the highest federal level of urban renewal once remarked to this writer that New York is the only major city in the country planned exclusively for profit and built to that pattern by its businessman with the city easing the way it was obviously speaking of the present the period check we have not expected vision of our local leaders in this nation and in the main We haven't got we remember only stand and Burnham but how many cities have had inspired designers or have given them scope and how many mayors of American cities I'm talking of the whole nation have loved and fought for the beauty of their cities. How many and how many names do remember I mean who really cared who dared to rally opinion to fight against the short sighted people who would destroy a city I think this is one of the great things that we see in a few cities coming to the fore now and not of the mayor as a greeter. Or the mayor as someone who is the supervisor of the services but of the mayor who is the keeper of the beauty and balance and order of his city it will take a generation and it will take a national commitment far broader than a Manhattan project our space program and above all it will take in my judgment a new alliance of the politicians the designers the enlightened businessman and what I choose to call the urban conservations will take that kind of alliance to see this thing through and we see some hopeful beginnings here this see. But the best hope today that I see on the horizon is that there are scraps of evidence you have seen time on the screen that such an alliance is beginning to take shape these awards then Philip Johnson and Marilyn J. are in a very real sense ephemeral I don't know how significant they are but I do hope that they will quicken the conscience and elevate the aspirations of all thank you. That concludes this broadcast of Wednesday night's Bart award ceremonies the principals beakers were secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and Mayor John Lindsay as transcribed special broadcast was presented by your city station in the public interest now in the time remaining before the news at ten fifty five we listen to a portion of calm sea and prosperous voyage by Mendelssohn in this performance by. Conducting the Berlin Philharmonic.