The Fine Arts Federation of New York 2015 Annual Meeting

Thursday, September 17, 2015
6:30 p.m.
The National Arts Club
Sculpture Court
15 Gramercy Park South

On September 17, 2015, The Fine Arts Federation celebrated journalist and architectural historian Christopher Gray, presenting him with The Fine Arts Federation Award for outstanding public service to the arts.

For nearly thirty years, Mr. Gray’s New York Times column “Streetscapes,” about the history of New York City architecture, real estate, and public improvements, offered a weekly tutorial on the oddities, rarities, and untold stories that form our everyday built environment. From 1987 until the column’s conclusion in 2014, “Streetscapes” helped a generation of New Yorkers rediscover their shared history—one faded chateau, white brick apartment house, and unassuming side street at a time. With wit, elegance, and sharp intelligence, Mr. Gray has educated us about the power of architecture and design to enrich our city and our lives.

Mr. Gray was joined in conversation by New York Times reporter and “Building Blocks” columnist David W. Dunlap, whose nuanced explorations of preservation and development over the past forty years have informed, enlightened, and inspired countless New Yorkers to look afresh at the city around them.

The Federation is proud to toast Mr. Gray’s career-long campaign—through writings, research, and award-winning publications—to make architectural history a window on the future as much as the many-splendored past.

Photographs by Zachary Tyler Newton