To Happen Upon City Landmarks, by Way of an App. By Kerri MacDonald.
Steve Romalewski, head of the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research has developed an application called Landmarks:New York. The app makes it possible for your phone to use it’s GPS capabilities in order to list all declared or semi-declared landmarks within your area in any of the five boroughs (That’s right including Staten Island!). It can pinpoint your area and provide pictures and statistics for the detected landmarks. This app is solely based in the New York area in Romalewski’s efforts to make the city’s architectural history more accessible.
The appeal is for, but not limited to:
- historic preservationists,
- urban explorers,
- and students studying architecture
“Landmarks: New York lists the official landmarked buildings and sites near you, anywhere in the 5 boros. It tells you when each landmark was designated (some as far back as 45 years! and as recent as December 2010), provides info from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and provides links to Wikipedia. Thumbnail photos from Wikipedia are displayed for more than 600 landmarks, plus links to hi-res images. You can view the location on a map, and email details about the landmark with just a single tap. With more than 1,300 officially landmarked buildings, structures, or interiors throughout the city, almost every neighborhood in New York contains one…“