The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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Over the past 10 years, historical houses and properties in the New York metropolitan area have undergone a booming business in making themselves available to location scouts. The costs of maintaining these unique repositories of history and culture from our past have skyrocketed, causing historic trusts to seek new funding opportunities. Film crews, both large and small budgets, have come knocking en masse. Fueled by an increase in period filming like Downton Abbey, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Boardwalk Empire, these properties come as ready-dressed locations with much of the design work built in. In New York City alone, there are 16 properties that belong to the NYC Parks Department Historic House Trust that are available for rentals to TV shows and movies. Some of the houses have more historical accuracy than others but each is defined by the age that it was built. The properties are as varied as the Morris-Jumel Mansion, a Georgian 18th-century gem perched on a bluff in northern Manhattan, which housed George Washington during the Revolutionary War, to historic Richmond Town, a living history village comprised of 28 buildings, from farmhouses to trade shops, ranging from the late 17th century to early 20th century, that once served as the seat of Staten Island government. Frank Gehry, noted architect of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, among others, sums it up best, "Architecture should speak of its time and its place, but yearn for timelessness." In this respect, historical properties convey stories from a different era that add substance to today's stories. Preserving the architecture, land- scapes and traditions of our past connects us with our history, which is the story of our civilization. In addition to conserving local heritage, the preservation of historic properties is fiscally and environmentally responsible, conserving tax dollars and materials by restoring existing infrastructure. It's a logical win-win for the film community to support the preservation of architectural history. Krystyn Hastings-Silver, the Assistant Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at Lyndhurst, is a big fan of filming. "Film is an important factor in the financial sustainability of all historic sites. Revenue goes directly to our repair, restoration and maintenance. In one instance, a film company paid to restore the 1870s faux stone painting of the mansion entry doors. The result looked spectacular on film and gave our visitors a restored entryway." The Armour–Stiner House, better known to locals of Irvington- On-Hudson and location scouts as the Octagon House, has cap- tured our imagination ever since I can remember. I first passed it while visiting my sister 30 years ago, and stopped to admire it and knocked on the door. The homeowner explained that it wasn't a museum but invited me to wander the grounds, which I did. Although the restoration was still in its infancy, the shape of the house and the fanciful ornamentation already lent it- self to the house resembling a classical Roman temple. Paul Armour built the house in the 1860s; the architect unknown, lost to the drifts of time, but a book published in the day by Orson Squire Fowler touted the health benefits of living in an octagonal building. Joseph Stiner, a tea merchant, purchased the house in 1872, altering it by adding the dome and the wraparound terrace. He stylized the exterior whimsically with cast-iron embellishments, dog reliefs (his dog Prince), florid scrollwork Top row left & bottom: Lyndhurst Mansion bowling alley. Photos by Clifford Pickett. Top row right: Lyndhurst Mansion kitchen. Photo by Emma Gencarelli.