LETTER: A Counterpoint on the Frick

To the Editor:

Re: Ian Alterman's "In Favor Of The Frick Expansion" (July 24).

My good friend but sometime-nemesis Ian Alterman -- a fine fellow, really, and a model of engaged citizenry -- is, I am certain, as he says, "a huge fan of the Frick."

But to this preservationist, the way to preserve, protect, and defend a gem like the Frick is simply to lavish the care upon it which is its due while leaving its original proportion alone.

This latest mania to expand, and thus to crowd out, historic properties -- museums and otherwise -- is adding greatly to a New Uglification which distorts perspective and bastardizes unique originals.

Look, for example, at what they did to the Guggenheim up the street: Lloyd Wright ought be turning in his grave.

Thus, I opine: Let the Frick be the frickn' Frick, for Heaven's sake!

Yours In Preservation,

Howard Charles Yourow, SJD