Breuer Building Gets Landmark Status Before Sotheby’s Moves In

The modernist Breuer building, formerly home to the Whitney Museum of American Art and purchased by Sotheby’s auction house in 2023, on Tuesday had its interior designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The designation, which was voted on Tuesday morning, will protect much of the building from any potentially radical changes that had concerned preservationists as the building undergoes a renovation by the Pritzker-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron. The museum’s galleries were not included as part of the designation.

“We would have preferred the galleries were included in the designation,” said Liz Waytkus, the executive director of Docomomo US, an organization dedicated to preserving modern architecture which filed the request with the Preservation Commission seeking interior landmark status for the Breuer. “But we’ve spoken to Sotheby’s and they have assured us they are treating all gallery surfaces as if they are designated and using a light hand in their restoration.”