Memo From New York: What’s Trending

New York is not known as a terribly nostalgic city, but 2014 has been a banner year for projects that draw upon the Big Apple’s illustrious past. At the top of the list is the return of Tavern on the Green. Shuttered since 2009, the iconic restaurant in the heart of Central Park was brought back to life under new management with lush new interiors by architect Richard H. Lewis to its 1870 building, originally used to house sheep.

For a different kind of dining experience, Grand Banks is a new seasonal oyster bar on deck of the historic Sherman Zwicker. Launched in 1942 and once part of a large fleet of schooners that fished the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic, the Sherman Zwicker is the last original, saltbank fishing vessel in existence. Docked at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 in Tribeca, the 142-foot sailboat is the largest wooden vessel in New York City. For more traditional dining, an impressive roster of designers has served up 10 new and noteworthy restaurants all across the boroughs.

Back on land, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will reopen its doors to the public on December 12 after a major renovation of its landmark building, the former residence of Andrew Carnegie. While key elements of the Carnegie Mansion on Museum Mile were restored to their original grandeur, gallery spaces are now enhanced and expanded. A team of leading design firms including Gluckman Mayner, Beyer Blinder Belle, Hood Design, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Thinc Design, has joined forces to update the historic building and its gardens and create new exhibitions.

And in a Carnegie Library designed by Carrère & Hastings and built in the Washington Heights neighborhood in 1914, architect Andrew Berman completed a small but intimate project for a children’s reading room. The brightly colored, flexible, and more accessible space creates a vibrant landscape within its magnificent 100-year-old shell.