Back to the City collection
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Abstract
The Back to the City collection spans the period 1974 to 1983 and is mostly comprised of materials relating to Back to the City's annual national conferences held during the period 1974 to 1978 in the cities of New York, N.Y.; St. Paul, MN; Washington, D.C.; San Antonio, TX; and Hartford, CT; as well as the 1983 annual conference held in Brooklyn, N.Y. Materials relating to each of the above conferences largely focus on urban renewal and restoration efforts in the city in which the conference was held, with the most extensively documented conferences being those in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Historical Note
Back to the City, Inc., commonly referred to simply as Back to the City, was a national organization dedicated to fostering neighborhood restoration and preservation in America's cities. The organization grew out of the Brownstone Revival Committee of New York (later the Brownstone Revival Coalition), which in 1974 held a national conference on urban restoration and preservation called "Back to the City" at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. After this initial formation, Back to the City engaged in a range of urban renewal and community development activities for the next 13 years, including participating in and supporting activism campaigns, holding annual national conferences at cities around the country, and issuing a regular newsletter. Back to the City's headquarters were located at 12 East 41st Street in Manhattan.
Source:
- Brownstone Revival Coalition. "Home Page." Accessed March 25, 2011. http://brownstonerevival.org/
Scope and Contents
The Back to the City collection spans the period 1974 to 1983 and is mostly comprised of materials relating to Back to the City's annual national conferences held during the period 1974 to 1978 in the cities of New York, N.Y.; St. Paul, MN; Washington, D.C.; San Antonio, TX; and Hartford, CT; as well as the 1983 annual conference held in Brooklyn, N.Y. Materials relating to each of the above conferences largely focus on urban renewal and restoration efforts in the city in which the conference was held, with the most extensively documented conferences being those in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Items include city maps and brochures, correspondence, conference proceedings, building restoration and preservation guides, handouts, lists of conference participants, newsletters, pamphlets and leaflets, photocopies of news clippings, and brownstone purchasing guides. The collection also includes an additional folder of similar material pertaining to nationwide urban restoration and preservation campaigns, issues, and projects. Several allied organizations are also represented in the collection, particularly the Brownstone Revival Committee of New York.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Back to the City collection, 1991.036, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition unknown. Formally accessioned in 1991.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
