City considers landmarking Barbizon 63

In response to a request from the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the city is considering the Barbizon, a building formerly home to Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Joan Didion and Sylvia Plath, for landmark status, the New York Times reported.

Now a condo named Barbizon 63, the building, at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue, opened in 1927 as the Barbizon Hotel for Women. It became a safe haven for women from across the country seeking their fortune in New York.

“It has a social importance,” said Tara Kelly, executive director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, “not only because of the many famous women who lived in the building, but the hundreds of everyday women coming to the city looking to make something of themselves. It’s a great example of something that has both cultural and architectural significance.”

The building was converted into 70 condo units by BPG Properties in 2006. The developer did not make any changes to the exterior during conversion. [NYT]