Renowned New York State preservationist to speak at Syracuse University Oct. 16

Renowned New York State preservationist to speak at Syracuse University Oct. 16October 09, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Kent L. Barwick ’62, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York, which was instrumental in organizing the “Tribute in Light” after September 11, will present the annual Francis E. Hares Preservation Lecture at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 in Syracuse University’s Slocum Hall, Room 108. The lecture, presented by the School of Architecture, is free and open to the public.

Barwick, who is also director of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a project of the Municipal Art Society, will present “The Uses of the Past: Re-Imaging Lower Manhattan.”

Barwick has been president of the Municipal Art Society of New York since January 1999. He previously served as the society’s president from 1983 to 1995 and as its executive director from 1970 to 1975. From 1995 to 1997, he was president of the New York State Historical Association and was the NYSHA vice chairman from 1993 through 1995.

In 1998, Barwick became director of “The Waterfront Project” (now known as the “Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance”), which was organized by a coalition of leading New York and New Jersey foundations.

From 1978 to 1983, Barwick was chairman of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and, in 1977, was administrator of the Adopt-A-Station program to improve New York City’s subways. Prior to that, Barwick was director of the New York State Council on the Arts (1975-1976). An early organizer of the South Street Seaport, he served as co-chair of the Architectural and Engineering Committee for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. From 1981 to 1987, he served as an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and was its northeast regional chairman from 1988 to 1990.

Barwick currently serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition, the Catskill Center, the Clark Foundation, the Cook Foundation, Glimmerglass Opera, Historic Hudson Valley, Hudson River Park Alliance, New York Council on the Humanities, New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, New York Parks and Conservation Association, Riverside South Planning Corporation and the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy.

An honorary member of the American Institute of Architects/New York Chapter, he is also a trustee and secretary of the New York Foundation for the Arts, chairman of the State Council on Waterways and past president of the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Barwick also attended Harvard University as a Loeb Fellow. He is a founder of the Preservation League of New York State, the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Historic Districts Council, and is the recipient of a number of awards for his civic works from organizations such as the AIA, the Parks Council and the American Planning Association.

The Francis E. Hares Preservation Lecture series was established in honor of Hares ’38, who died in 1998. Hares was an influential member of the Central New York preservation community, having served as a founding member of the Preservation Association of Central New York, a member of the board, vice chair and chair of the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board, and a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He was a principal in the firm of Hueber, Hares and Glavin until his retirement. After his death, his friends and colleagues in the local preservation community collaborated with members of the Class of 1938 to create an endowment in his honor, and the lecture series fund was begun.