Margot Gayle

Margot Gayle with an enlarged photograph of the Jefferson Market Courthouse building. Margot McCoy Gayle (Born Sarah Margaret McCoy May 14, 1908 – September 28, 2008) was an American historic preservationist, activist, and writer. She led efforts to preserve historic 19th century infrastructure across the United States, and to create the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District which preserved Victorian era cast-iron architecture in New York City.

Early life and education

Margot McCoy was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She earned an undergraduate degree from University of Michigan and a master's degree in bacteriology from Emory University. Gayle married accountant William T. Gayle and the couple lived in Greenwich Village in New York City until their divorce in 1957. She had two daughters, Carol and Gretchen. While studying in Atlanta, she lobbied for repeal of the Jim Crow-era poll taxes that were meant to suppress voter registration, and was so active on that issue that she earned the nickname "Poll Tax Margot".

In 1957, she made a New York City Council bid as a reform candidate running with the slogan "We need a woman in City Hall."

In the wake of the destruction of Pennsylvania Station, she helped lobby on behalf of the landmarks preservation law of 1965. She was nicknamed the "Time Lady" and "Cast Iron Lady", and has described herself as a "professional clock agitator". Gayle was especially interested in public clocks, and successfully fought to get many of them protected, including the Yorkville Clock at 85th St and Third Avenue (landmarked in 1981) and the Sun Clock, near City Hall at Broadway and Chambers Street.

Jefferson Market Courthouse

In 1958, after hearing that the Victorian-Gothic Jefferson Market Courthouse was being considered for sale by the city, Gayle began a community effort calling for the preservation of the building. The group included other local activists and luminaries like Ruth Wittenberg, Jane Jacobs, Lewis Mumford, Edward Hopper, Maurice Evans, and e.e. cummings.

Gayle also worked to get landmark status for individual buildings including 287 Broadway, designed by John B. Snook; 319 Broadway, designed by David and John Jardine; and 90–94 Maiden Lane, the Roosevelt & Sons building. Gayle was also involved in the designation of the Bennett Building, New York City's largest cast-iron-fronted building.

Bishop's Crook Lamppost In 1973 Gayle convinced the New York City Department of Water Supply, Gas, and Electricity to save 24 examples of the original 1896 "Bishop's crook" gas street lamp designed by Richard Rogers Bowker. They were later reproduced and became the standard street lamp model for historical projects in New York City.

Writing Gayle first moved to New York City as a script writer for CBS Radio. She wrote a talk show called The Margaret Allen Show, and sometimes included segments about architectural landmarks she was interested in preserving, like the St. Peter's Church clock in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. A limited edition of a special beer was created and brewed in her honor In 2020 (and again in 2022). It was brewed by the Torch and Crown Brewing Company of SoHo New York and was named "Magnetic Energy." The name refers to the magnets she gave to participants on her tours of SoHo. The magnets were used to identify the cast iron components in each building's facade.

In 2022 a newly created public plaza in SoHo, Manhattan was named Rapkin-Gayle Plaza after Margot Gayle and urban planner Chester Rapkin.