Stage III – Additional Annotated Bibliography

Research Questions

  • Comparing to the pre demolition, how well is the composition (culture center, universities and etc.) help promoted the existing site.
    • How does Lincoln center affect the surrounding buildings and land use
    • How does the Lincoln center represent the surrounding neighborhood before and after renovation.
    • What was the purpose of Lincoln center being built as a performance art center, when the community was in a “slum clearance”?
    • How does Lincoln Center pre and post demolition affect the social justice of the surrounding community?
    • Does Lincoln Center show justice to the legacy of a destroyed community and neighborhood in the present?

Bibliography and Annotations – Richard

“Lincoln Center History.” Zippia, 27 Aug. 2020, www.zippia.com/lincoln-center-careers-348311/history/. 

  • Shows a timeline from before demolition and after demolition of the community. Like how the increase of population of the community affected the development speed of the community. How they specifically targeted San Juan Hill to revitalize the neighborhood.

“Remembering the Ramifications of Robert Moses’s Lincoln Square Renewal Project: Mostly Mozart on WQXR.” WQXR, www.wqxr.org/story/remembering-ramifications-robert-mosess-lincoln-square-renewal-project/. 

  • Talks about how the people of San Juan Hill influenced the community around the neighborhood before the demolition of the community. Jazz was a huge part of their community as well as entertainment like movies that were shot there. Then it talks about the removal of San Juan Hill, slum clearance, removal of the poorer end of society.

Nestor, Matt. “Vintage Photos: The Lost San Juan Hill, Lincoln Center and a West Side Story.” Untapped New York, 14 Jan. 2019, untappedcities.com/2014/03/19/vintage-photos-the-lost-san-juan-hill-lincoln-center-and-a-west-side-story/. 

  • Talks about the people that once lived in San Juan hill, like the Irish and blacks and Hispanics. They always had conflict between one another, while Robert Moses was in the middle of planning to place a modernized building in the middle of Manhattan. But when that happens, it brings the community together to try to defend their land.

Bibliography and Annotations – Jingfeng

Miller , Aaron. “LINCOLN CENTER: A BATTLE BETWEEN COMMUNITY AND CULTURE.” URBAN STUDIES, 12 Dec. 2019, blogs.riverdale.edu/urbanstudies/2019/12/12/lincoln-center-a-battle-between-community-and-culture-by-aaron-m/. 

  • The author first described the exterior of the Lincoln center, then talked over his feelings on the buildings. The author points out that they are lifeless, huddled together in a way meant to create a sense of warmth and community, but in reality, it was an opposite example of city renewal movement, which intended to perfect the ratio between housing and open spaces. While all buildings are accessible to pedestrians, the grand pillars, white Travertine marble, and 300 meter long wall, completed with security guards, high ticket prices and predominantly white patrons, suggests that only a certain social class is fit to enjoy this sanctuary of arts. The author provides several thoughts on the building to send the message that in terms of the architecture design, it was a great building, however it was incompatible with the surroundings and missing the soul.

Foulkes, Julia L. “The Other West Side Story: Urbanization and the Arts Meet …” JSTOR, 2007, www.jstor.org/stable/41158305. 

  • In the article, the author discussed how the Lincoln center was classified in the community and turned into an elite campus in a different perspective. The government used Lincoln center as a tool to feature the best of the performing arts from the United States and provide a place to present the best of the performing arts from countries around the world  to U.S. audiences. In that period of time, the city noticed that art culture is the crucial thing, because the famous cities in history were known for their arts. It created a whole new culture on top of the old one.

Newsreel. “Case Against Lincoln Center, The : Newsreel : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, Newsreel, 1 Jan. 1968, archive.org/details/6381_Case_Against_Lincoln_Center_The_01_47_41_20. 

  • The video started with a scene that showed how vibrant the community was in San Juan Hill, but as the video shifted to the construction signs, it was silent. It implies that the community will be changed. After the Lincoln center was built, it appears the strong contrast between the community and the Lincoln center. As the video shows, people were separated in the community, and when the camera shifted to the Lincoln center it was muted. Then the narrator talked about the cost for the Lincoln center was expensive, and it is not even representing the culture in the community. The community turned into a high-rent area for the upper middle class.

Bibliography and Annotations – Zhuoying Tan

“Archive 1970s.” Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, www.aboutlincolncenter.org/about/history/archive-1970. 

  • This is a history timeline of Lincoln Center starting from 1950s to present. As reading the timeline, it show how the Lincoln Center have develop what we see today. It takes a lot of time and a lot of work. It start from the 1955 when the Mayor have give a approval for Urban Renewal on Lincoln Squares. Then took them 4 years of discussion of how this project will be going until in 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower break the ground of the Lincoln Center Site. But in these 4 years, neighborhood has been taken down. Later on in the year, the Lincoln Center have start to development and have more art performance. Which it go well what they have propose as a World first known art performance center.

Simon, Arthur R. “New Yorkers Without a Voice: A Tragedy of Urban Renewal.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 Apr. 1966, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1966/04/new-yorkers-without-a-voice-a-tragedy-of-urban-renewal/305329/. 

  • In this article, the author find himself involving in a New York redevelopment have demolition near East River. The old neighborhood he describe in the article are live with different ethnic group of people. Houses are built right next to each other. People live with no heat, bad plumbing, and bad ventilation. They have nowhere to complain the situation they were in. Even they sue their landlord, the landlord will always have a way to take their responsibilities off by paying a little fine. Peoples’ rent are also increase so they suffer with high rental payment with highly building that have violate the building code. Then, the author have find himself into a renewable project, which they think it can improve their living condition. With the condition of those new houses are not just for first class people but also it is affordable for the middle class people. Also, the site should not be isolate from the other but relate to the other block and replace the houses without displace large amount of resident.

Goldberger, Paul. “Architecture: Lincoln Center and Changes Wrought by 20 Years.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 May 1979, www.nytimes.com/1979/05/21/archives/architecture-lincoln-center-and-changes-wrought-by-20-years-an.html. 

  • In this article written in 1979 on New York Times have determine how building Lincoln Center have impact the surrounding. Once the Lincoln Center built, stores, restaurant, residential building, and housing start building up which slowly replace the previous “slum area”. It have become a advanced residential area. When it was 1959, 30% of the land of Manhattan West Side between 5th Street and 72nd Street seen Lincoln Center as the central core. Which brings 600 million of projects with 400% estate tax increased. It bring beneficial to the city economic but it is a disaster as seeing in architecturally. Since large amount of construction was happening around Lincoln Center, those projects are unfriendly to the neighborhood and also people. There is a 43 stories high building, called One Lincoln Plaza, described as a huge brown monster that blocks the Lincoln Center from the visitas. So later on the City Planning have decide to make site where Lincoln Center where locate as a special district, require zoning and building code.

Bibliography and Annotations-Bryam

Tokaji, András. “The Meeting of Sacred and Profane in New York’s Music: Robert Moses, Lincoln Center, and Hip-Hop.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, 1995, pp. 97–103. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27555884. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020.

  • In this journal article, the author (András Tokaji) focuses on defining the sacred on the profane and sacred regarding the music of New York, more specifically Hip hop, and its relationship with Lincoln Center. The Sacred- harmonic, suttle, and the perfect “musical sound.” The Profane-aggressiveness in tone, rhythmic, impulsive speech-like recitation, and “non-musical sound.” The author mentions that “Yet New York’s two cultures do meet at a certain point – and that point is Robert Moses.” In other words, Robert Moses was the breaking point as his remit includes Urban Renewal, which causes that the “sacred” to replace “profane” and the culture behind it.  
  • All this aroused discontent, despair, and anger in the communities that fled due to the urban renewal commission because they despised their new dwellings. Crime, drugs, joblessness, and violence arose as a consequence. Until the mid-seventies, as described in the article, when “the boys’ taste for fighting had weakened and a desire for reasoned behavior prevailed. The raging brute force and the outlaw attitude was gone. Aggression subsided and after a long freeze, club life, music, and dance flourished once more.” This lead to the creation of Hip Hop and a new form of expression.

“Case Against Lincoln Center, The: Newsreel: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, Newsreel, 1 Jan. 1968, archive.org/details/6381_Case_Against_Lincoln_Center_The_01_47_41_20. 

  • The film opens with contrasting imagery between sound and silence. Every time there is sound, images from kids and adults living their daily lives are shown, cut, and then Lincoln Center shots where there is no sound. Each time a cut passes, the contrast starts to become more prevalent. Then the pattern is broken, and a narrator starts to speak over the Lincoln Center shots; the narrator characterizes Lincoln Center as a “Palace of the Arts,” and then proceeds to tell the audience the amount of money utilized to build Lincoln Center. The shot ends with the narrator defining Lincoln Center as a “symbol of private Indulgence.” 
  • The film shows the Lincoln center’s detrimental effect on a Living Community. Twenty thousand people were displaced from their homes to make way for Lincoln Center. The film examines the “Palace of the Arts,” its patrons (monopolies and wealthy families), and the community and culture displaced there.

Zipp, Samuel. “The Battle of Lincoln Square: Neighbourhood Culture and the Rise of Resistance to Urban Renewal.” Planning Perspectives, vol. 24, no. 4, Oct. 2009, pp. 409–433. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/02665430903145655.

  • In this Article, the author discusses the organized resistance to urban renewal at Lincoln Square in New York between 1956 and 1959. It is also mentioned how Lincoln Center gave urban renewal, as the Article refers, “its most high-minded mission,” which consisted of providing the nation with an image of cultural maturity and an urban resurgence for use in the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union. Organized resistance to relocation at Lincoln Square brought growing discontent with urban renewal to a citywide audience’s attention. Most importantly, it explains how the Lincoln Square resisters defended their old neighborhood’s complex social world and revealed a vision of urban culture instead of that offered at Lincoln Center.
  • Ultimately, it is explained in the article the resistance that not only raised the alarm over urban renewal, but provided the glimmer of a new urban vision based on the complexity of the urban neighborhood not the simplicity of the modern superblock.