The Victorian Society in America Information

The Victorian Society in America is the only national non-profit organization committed to historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth-century heritage. The VSA was founded in 1966 as a sister organization to the Victorian Society in the U.K., by such legends of historic preservation as Brendan Gill, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, and Margot Gayle. So outraged were they by the 1964 destruction of New York's magnificent Pennsylvania Station [McKim, Mead, & White, 1910] that they formed the Society to ensure that other important structures did not fall to the wrecker's ball. Since then, the VSA has fulfilled its mission through publications, symposia, architectural tours, and its famous Summer Schools in Newport, Rhode Island & London, England, and has made tremendous contributions to the preservation of many historic buildings. Indeed, Old House Journal included the founding of the Victorian Society as one of the 25 most significant milestones in American preservation. There are 19 registered Chapters of the Society around the country hosting a wide range of local events and lectures. There is also an active Summer Schools Alumni Association that sponsors exceptional architectural tours all over the world.