NYC aims to reclaim drawings by architect who helped craft famous Central Park features
By APThursday, August 12, 2010
NYC aims to reclaim notable Central Park drawings
NEW YORK — New York City officials want a New Jersey real estate broker to hand over long-lost Central Park drawings that his father found in a trash bin more than a half-century ago.
The city went to court last month after learning that owner Sam Buckley had placed more than 80 of the Jacob Wrey Mould drawings with Christie’s auction house for potential sale.
Mould helped design such Central Park landmarks as Belvedere Castle and Bethesda Terrace.
City lawyers call the drawings “priceless antiquities” that belong to the Parks Department. It’s unclear how and when they were lost or discarded.
Christie’s and Buckley have since agreed not to sell the 19th-century works while settlement talks play out.
