Memorial Service for Jack L. Goldstein, Former Executive Director of Save the Theaters & TDF, to Take Place in September

A memorial service for Jack L. Goldstein, who organized a successful campaign in the 1980s to landmark over two dozen Broadway theatres, will be held on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 (5 PM) at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in-the-Highlands, Cold Spring, NY.

In 1982, Goldstein, who had a background in historic preservation, came to New York during a difficult financial period for Broadway, and witnessed the wrenching destruction of the Helen Hayes and Morosco theatres, which generated huge protests by the acting community at that time. Jack quickly got involved and volunteered with the Committee to Save the Theaters, which had been formed by Actors' Equity Association. He soon shifted and then became the Executive Director of the committee's spinoff, Save The Theaters, Inc., where he worked for six years.

Under his leadership, Save The Theaters fought and succeeded in getting landmark designations for 27 Broadway theatres from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Later he became the Executive Director of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), where he initiated a design competition that led to the creation of the new TKTS discount ticket booth in Duffy Square, topped with a dramatic cascade of 27 ruby-red glass steps that rise above 47th St.

"Jack had a great artistic eye and a deep commitment to good government" said Gretchen Dykstra, the former President of the Times Square Business Improvement District.

Goldstein also served as Special Assistant for Government Affairs to AEA President Ron Silver, and as the Project Director for the Broadway Initiatives Working Group, which was formed to evaluate Broadway's future.

In 2014, Goldstein told a conference at the Skyscraper Museum that "the destruction in the center of Broadway of beloved, important and from the actors' point of view, irreplaceable instruments of their art form and communication was an affront."

During the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearings, Jack collaborated on a report with renowned architect Hugh Hardy to include the overall geometry of theaters - their shape, layout, and acoustical properties in addition to decorative details ̶ as standards for landmark designation.

As an avid collector, Goldstein traded art and antiques, beginning with a seasonal shop in Rehoboth, DE and later in Cold Spring, NY. He is survived by his brother Leonard Goldstein.

The memorial gathering will be held on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023, at 5:00 PM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in-the-Highlands in Cold Spring, New York. Refreshments will be served. Church Address: St. Mary's Episcopal Church in-the-Highlands, 1 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring, NY 10516.

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