John Beyer, a preservationist, architect and final surviving co-founder of the agency Beyer Blinder Belle, died final Tuesday at his Manhattan residence, the New York Occasions reported. He was 92.
A consultant from his eponymous agency confirmed his dying. No explanation for dying was given.
Beyer, Richard Blinder and John Belle based the corporate in 1968 after breaking off from shopping center pioneer Victor Gruen. The agency staked out a repute for preserving New York Metropolis’s historical past and adapting outdated properties into extra up to date makes use of.
Born on Feb. 13, 1933 in Hackensack, New Jersey, Beyer grew up in Teaneck. His father was a jeweler. Beyer studied at Denison College, receiving his diploma in artwork in 1954 earlier than pursuing a bachelor’s and grasp’s diploma in structure at Harvard College, setting him on the course to outline a era of New York Metropolis buildings.
His agency’s most notable work might have been the restoration of Grand Central Terminal, which it remodeled from grungy to glamorous in 1998, cleansing layers of soot, including a grand staircase and eradicating a billboard that obscured pure gentle.
Different important renovations included the Met Breuer constructing, the principle New York Public Library property, the Frick Assortment and the flagship Henri Bendel retailer, rebuilt right into a Fifth Avenue rowhouse. The agency additionally operated in Washington, D.C.
After 9/11, Beyer Blinder Belle was commissioned to develop website plans on the World Commerce Middle, which Beyer took the lead on. The design was deemed underwhelming and the agency was changed by Studio Daniel Libeskind, however lots of the guiding rules pitched by Beyer Blinder Belle in the end remained.
The agency remained one of many metropolis’s active developers in recent times and Beyer was part of that, even after the passing of his co-founders; Blinder died in 2006, whereas Belle died in 2016. The demise of Innovation QNS introduced a chance for Beyer Blinder Belle, listed because the architect of a 560-unit, 498,000-square-foot mixed-use constructing filed at 35-18 Steinway Avenue by BedRock and L+M.
Beyer’s passing comes lower than two weeks after the dying of his spouse. He’s survived by two kids from his first marriage, three from his second marriage and 9 grandchildren.
Learn extra
These were the city’s 10 most active architects in 2021
Architecture And Design
New York
John Belle, lead designer of Grand Central Terminal’s restoration, dies at 84
$2B Queens project dead, but smaller ones planned
