LOUISIANA LANDMARKS SOCIETY ANNOUNCES
2007 MARTHA ROBINSON LECTURE EVENT

The Louisiana Landmarks Society announces its 26th Martha Robinson lecture to be held on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Williams Research Center at 410
Chartres Street in the French Quarter. This year’s guest speaker is New York-based author and urbanist Anthony M. Tung. His lecture is called “Splendor from out of Injury: Creating Beauty in the Cityscape after Disaster.” The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

Mr. Tung’s experience in preservation and planning matters is vast. He has been a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, an instructor in architectural history at the Metropolitan useum of Art, and a visiting professor on international urban preservation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Additionally, he has lectured and consulted worldwide, sharing his expertise with groups in Singapore, Spain, Holland, Turkey, Scotland, Greece, Mexico, Austria, Japan and across North America.

But what intrigued Landmarks and cemented the decision to ask Mr. Tung to speak was his recent authorship of a book called Preserving the World’s Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis. As we approach the second anniversary of our own disaster, Mr. Tung’s knowledge of how other cities have rebounded from their own injuries should prove especially fascinating for New Orleanians. In his lecture on May 7, Mr. Tung will make specific comparisons to the rebuilding of Athens after the razing of the Acropolis by invading Persians in 480 B.C., and the recovery of London after the Great Fire of 1666, and the recreation of Warsaw after its destruction in World War II.

Now in its 25th year, the Martha Robinson lecture was established in 1981 as a way to honor Ms. Robinson, a founding member of the organization and a tireless worker for preservation and effective government. The annual event focuses attention on a specific matter of importance to preservation and governance.

The Louisiana Landmarks Society was founded in 1950 as a preservation advocacy organization. In the 1960s, Landmarks moved and restored the Pitot House to its current location and now operate it as a house museum. The mission of the organization is to influence the community about the importance of preserving neighborhoods, historic sites, and landmarks.