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The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, classified into four categories: individual landmarks, interior landmarks, scenic landmarks, and historic districts.
The New York City borough of Manhattan consists of the main island of Manhattan; the neighborhood of Marble Hill, located on the North American mainland; and several smaller islands. The LPC has designated fifteen landmarks on four smaller islands in Manhattan, including two historic districts, twelve individual landmarks, and one interior landmark. These designations comprise two on Ellis Island, six on Governors Island, one on Liberty Island, and six on Roosevelt Island. The designations include the Statue of Liberty, a national monument, as well as numerous buildings that are all also on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The New York City borough of Manhattan contains numerous smaller islands in addition to the main island of Manhattan.[2] Three of these islands, Ellis Island, Governors Island, and Liberty Island, are located in Upper New York Bay,[3]: 9 though jurisdiction of Ellis Island is shared with neighboring Jersey City, New Jersey, and Liberty Island is an exclave of Manhattan within New Jersey.[4][5] There are also several islands in the East River, including U Thant Island, Roosevelt Island, Mill Rock, and Randalls and Wards Islands,[3]: 151 which are legally part of Manhattan.[2]
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law.[6] Formed in 1965,[7] the commission administers four types of landmarks: individual landmarks, which consist of the exteriors of objects or structures; interior landmarks, which consist of the interiors of structures; scenic landmarks, which include city-owned "parks or other landscape features"; and historic districts, which consist of geographically cohesive collections of buildings with a distinct architectural style.[8] Some are also on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), a separate program administered by the National Park Service.[9] As of May 2020[update], the LPC has designated 149 historic districts, 1,439 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, and 11 scenic landmarks.[10]
The smaller islands in Manhattan contain two historic districts, twelve individual landmarks, and one interior landmark.[11] Both historic districts contain landmarks within them: the Ellis Island Historic District includes one interior landmark while the Governors Island Historic District contains five individual landmarks.[11] As of May 2020[update], all twelve individual landmarks on Manhattan's smaller islands are on the NRHP;[12] Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are also part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument,[13] and all landmarks on Governors Island are also part of the Governors Island National Monument.[14] In addition, the Statue of Liberty is a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO,[15] and both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.[16]
The LPC designated its first landmarks on smaller islands in Manhattan during 1967, when five buildings on Governors Island were given individual-landmark status.[17] The LPC subsequently gave individual-landmark status to six buildings on Roosevelt Island in March 1976; the structures included a house, a lighthouse, a chapel, and three former hospitals.[18] That September, the LPC also designated the Statue of Liberty as a city landmark.[19] The LPC designated the entirety of Ellis Island as a historic district in 1993,[20][21]: 76–77 although most of the island is in New Jersey.[5] The interior of the registry room inside Ellis Island's main building was also designated at the same time.[22]: 1 In 1997, the LPC designated 90 acres (36 ha) of Governors Island as a historic district, which included approximately 100 buildings. The designation overlays that of the five individual landmarks that had been previously designated.[23]
Despite the protections given by the LPC, some landmarks have fallen into decay after their designations.[24] These landmarks have included the Octagon Tower,[25] Blackwell House,[26] and Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island.[27] The Octagon Tower was incorporated into an apartment complex in 2005 after the LPC approved the tower's renovation.[28]
| [a] | Landmark name | Image | Date listed[b] | Location | Island | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellis Island Historic District |  |
 40°41′58″N 74°02′30″W / 40.699398°N 74.041723°W | Ellis Island | A group of some 30 structures that formed the Ellis Island federal immigration station.[21] | |
| 2 | Governor's Island Historic District |  |
 40°41′26″N 74°00′59″W / 40.690516°N 74.016415°W | Governors Island | A group of over 100 structures that were used by the U.S. military continuously for over two centuries.[29]
|
All of these individual landmarks are also listed on the NRHP.[12]
|
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan on islands |
| [a] | Landmark name | Image | Date listed[b] | Location | Island | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Admiral's House |  |
Nolan Park 40°41′25″N 74°00′50″W / 40.690278°N 74.013889°W | Governors Island | Used by the commanding officers of the Army and Coast Guard units.[30] | |
| 2 | Blackwell House | .jpg) |
501 Main Street 40°45′38″N 73°57′05″W / 40.760556°N 73.951389°W | Roosevelt Island | Built in 1796 by a descendant of the first English owner of the island.[31] | |
| 3 | Block House |  |
Nolan Park on Barry Road 40°41′20″N 74°00′51″W / 40.688889°N 74.014167°W | Governors Island | A small military prison on Governors Island.[32] | |
| 4 | Castle Williams | |
Hay Road and Andes Road 40°41′34″N 74°01′11″W / 40.692778°N 74.0197°W | Governors Island | A circular 19th century fortification of red sandstone on the northwest point of Governors Island, part of a system of forts to protect New York City from naval attack.[33] | |
| 5 | Chapel of the Good Shepherd |  |
543 Main Street 40°45′42″N 73°57′02″W / 40.761667°N 73.950556°W | Roosevelt Island | A historic Episcopal church designed by architect Frederick Clarke Withers, now known as the Good Shepherd Community Ecumenical Center.[34] | |
| 6 | Fort Jay |  |
Quadrangle Road 40°41′29″N 74°00′59″W / 40.691389°N 74.016389°W | Governors Island | A 1794 coastal star fort, built to defend New York Harbor.[35] | |
| 7 | The Governor's House | .jpg) |
Building 2, Andes Road 40°41′27″N 74°00′48″W / 40.690833°N 74.013333°W | Governors Island | A historic house on Governors Island.[36] | |
| 8 | Lighthouse | .jpg) |
North end of Roosevelt Island 40°46′22″N 73°56′26″W / 40.772778°N 73.940556°W | Roosevelt Island | An 1872 lighthouse located at the northeast tip of Roosevelt Island in the East River.[37] | |
| 9 | The Octagon |  |
888 Main Street 40°46′08″N 73°56′38″W / 40.768889°N 73.943889°W | Roosevelt Island | Originally serving as the main entrance to the New York City Lunatic Asylum, which opened in 1841, it was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis.[38] | |
| 10 | Smallpox Hospital |  |
E Road 40°45′06″N 73°57′36″W / 40.751667°N 73.96°W | Roosevelt Island | Originally designed by architect James Renwick Jr., the 100-bed hospital opened in 1856, when the area was known as Blackwell's Island. Its ruins have been stabilized and preserved.[39] | |
| 11 | Statue of Liberty |  |
Liberty Island, New York Harbor 40°41′21″N 74°02′40″W / 40.689154°N 74.044441°W | Liberty Island | The iconic statue named Liberty Enlightening the World[1] | |
| 12 | Strecker Memorial Laboratory | .jpg) |
E Road 40°45′09″N 73°57′31″W / 40.7525°N 73.958611°W | Roosevelt Island | Built in 1892 to serve as a laboratory for City Hospital, it was "the first institution in the nation for pathological and bacteriological research." The building was designed by architects Frederick Clarke Withers and Walter Dickson in the Romanesque Revival style.[40] |
| [a] | Landmark name | Image | Date listed[b] | Location | Island | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellis Island, Main Building (Interior) |  |
Ellis Island 40°41′57″N 74°02′22″W / 40.699160°N 74.039491°W | Ellis Island | The interior of the second- and third-floor registry room of Ellis Island's main building, where immigrants were processed.[22] |
