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Manitoga Unveils Bronze Plaque Marking Prestigious National Historic Landmark Designation
 | | E.L. 'Roy' Hunt (center) from the National Park Service Advisory Board, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and Putnam County Legislator Vincent Tamagna at the unveiling. |
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Manitoga/The Russel Wright Design Center dedicated the official bronze plaque honoring its designation by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark on Monday, July 23, 2007. Set in a two-ton boulder chosen from indigenous stones on the site, the plaque denotes Manitoga's national significance.
E.L. "Roy" Hunt, from the National Park Service Advisory Board Landmarks Committee, presented the plaque to David M. McAlpin, Manitoga Board President, and Kitty McCullough, Manitoga Executive Director. Also attending were Aviva Meyer, representing Congressman John Hall, NYS Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, Putnam County Legislator Vinny Tamagna, Max Anik, Russel Wright's grandson, and Professor Blair Reeves, Trustee Emeritus of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
National Historic Landmarks are sites determined by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to be nationally significant to American history and culture. Examples include Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, the Apollo Mission Control Center and the Empire State Building. Fewer than 2500 historic places in the U.S. bear National Historic Landmark distinction.
Hunt, chair of the National Trust panel that approved Manitoga's Landmark status, presented a congratulatory letter from Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service. In it, Bomar affirmed Manitoga's national significance and the need to preserve the site: "Manitoga is exceptionally significant for its association with the life and work of Russel Wright, one of the most acclaimed and influential designers of the twentieth century. His household works are integral parts of many museum collections and are exhibited to illustrate excellence in American design. The award of a matching Save America's Treasures grant for $250,000 in 2005 was a clear statement of Manitoga's national significance. I often say that there are special places that unite all of us as Americans. Manitoga is one of those places, and gaining National Historic Landmark designation constitutes an important step in sustaining public awareness of and support for the property's preservation."
In accepting the plaque, Manitoga Board President David M. McAlpin outlined the organization's recent accomplishments and future plans: "Designation as a National Landmark will help further Manitoga's mission to preserve and share Russel Wright's legacy as an inventive designer of products, structures, landscapes and experiences inspired by and consonant with the natural world. Since Manitoga opened Wright's home and studio to the public in 2002, growing numbers of visitors have been introduced to his world. We've completed two major restoration projects funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and this fall we break ground on work initiated by a Save America's Treasure matching grant. Our progress toward becoming a center for design, which Wright envisioned, is the result of hard work by past and present board, staff and supporters. On behalf of all who treasure Manitoga, thank you for this validation of our work and vision."
Executive Director Kitty McCullough welcomed guests to the outdoor dedication ceremony set in Manitoga's lush, 75-acre woodland garden designed by Russel Wright. McCullough gratefully acknowledged the support given to Manitoga: "We thank our national supporters, such as Mr. Hunt, and the local leadership that has made it possible for Manitoga to realize this success. The ongoing support of our State Senator Vincent Leibell, State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and County Legislator Vinny Tamagna has been critical to Manitoga's achieving National Landmark status and we are very grateful to Congressman Hall for seeing our potential as an international tourism anchor. Non profits are small businesses, and we are pleased that Manitoga's Landmark status can be an asset to our small business family in Putnam County and the lower Hudson Valley."
Created through Russel Wright's great vision, Manitoga was decades ahead of its time in its concept of reclaiming environmentally damaged land and transforming it into a place of beauty. Russel Wright's daughter Ann remembered her father's achievement in restoring the land and designing Dragon Rock and the garden that surrounds it: "When my father found this property in 1942, it had been damaged by a century of quarrying and lumbering. Over the next three decades, until his death in 1976, he carefully redesigned and resculpted Manitoga's 75 acres using native plants, his training as a theatre designer and sculptor, and his innovative design ideas. For my father, it was entirely about establishing an American identity. He would indeed be honored to have his efforts culminate in a National Landmark designation."
Manitoga annually welcomes more than 2500 visitors from across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe for tours and programs and, each year, thousands of hikers use its four miles of trails connecting to the Appalachian Trail. For information about tours, events and volunteer opportunities, go to www.russelwrightcenter.org.
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