A 'Friend' of the Upper East Side
By Andrew Seguin
 “All love affairs with New York City seem to start ‘small’!” says Anne Millard ’52. Indeed. Mrs. Millard’s love of the Upper East Side’s historic buildings began where she lives, in a penthouse above a carriage house on East 73rd street. In 1982 her neighbor, Helena Rosenthal, called to ask for her help in preserving the unique character of their block, and she immediately got involved.
“Although the ‘bones’ of the carriage houses were pure and intact, they were the worse from not having ‘tender love and care,’” Mrs. Millard recalled in a written account of the experience. But, “as time went by, this assemblage became more and more beloved and cared for. Neighbor knew neighbor, and each carriage house bore its new dignity with broad shoulders and great pride. We had a personality!”
Mrs. Millard sees personality all over the Upper East Side, which is no doubt one of the reasons that she is the president of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. The organization is dedicated to preserving the six historic districts of the Upper East Side, as well as maintaining and improving the zoning laws that govern the neighborhood’s buildings. Its members go to court, meet with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and put out a variety of publications, from maps of the historic districts to a preservation guide and a quarterly newsletter.
Some of the buildings overseen by Friends are right next to Chapin. Henderson Place, just west of East End Avenue on 86th street, is one of the Upper East Side’s historic districts. The townhouses on that street were originally built in 1881 and 1882 for “persons of moderate means,” but they feature beautiful design elements such as terra cotta plaques and arched entryways.
Another notable building in the Chapin area is the Asphalt Green AquaCenter, which Friends included in a 2001-2002 exhibit of modern architecture on the Upper East Side. The exhibit can now be seen on the Friends’ Web site, and it explains how the AquaCenter’s wave-like exterior reflects both the Olympic swimming pool housed within and the building’s proximity to the East River.
While Friends concerns itself with the Upper East Side’s architectural past, it does so with an eye for its future. One of the initiatives that Mrs. Millard is particularly excited about is the Young Friends program, wherein trained docents visit elementary school classrooms to teach students about architecture and its role on the Upper East Side. “The students walk the neighborhood, learn the vocabulary of architecture and design their own building,” Mrs. Millard said.
She added that Friends is always looking for volunteers and would be glad to have Chapin students get involved. “It’s a wonderful world out there,” Mrs. Millard said of the neighborhood she knows and loves, and that she is helping to preserve for others.
Click here to see a photo gallery of Upper East Side Landmarks
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