Jack Goldstein, a preservationist who in the 1980s reacted to the razing of several venerable Broadway theaters under a Times Square redevelopment plan by helping to organize a successful campaign to give landmark status to more than two dozen other theaters, died on June 16 in Cold Spring, NY. He was 74.

Part of the process was examining theaters’ interiors and exteriors to determine which should be designated landmarks, and then persuading the landmarks commission of their worthiness. He collaborated on a report with architect Hugh Hardy that stressed the full geometry of the theaters — their shape, layout and acoustical properties — rather than just their decorative detail. In 1987, the commission designated 28 theaters as landmarks.