The Municipal Art Society (MAS) of New York City was founded in March 1893. “To make us love our city, we must make our city lovely” was the first MAS motto.
     
“To make us love our city we must make our city lovely” was mentioned in a speech by E. Hamilton Bell (MAS Secretary) printed in the New York (NY) Times on June 21, 1894. The motto was again mentioned by Bell in a letter to The Sun (New York, NY) on December 19, 1894.
   
The motto has been only infrequently used since 1920.
     
     
Wikipedia: Municipal Art Society
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization that protects New York’s legacy spaces, encourages thoughtful planning and urban design, and advocates for inclusive neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
 
January 2010, MAS relocated from its longtime home in the historic Villard Houses on 457 Madison Avenue to the equally famed Steinway Hall on West 57th Street (across the street and east of Carnegie Hall). In July 2014, MAS moved into the landmark Look Building at 488 Madison Avenue, across the street from its former Villard home.
   
21 June 1894, New York (NY) Times, pg. 4, col. 7:
WORKING TO BEAUTIFY THE CITY.
Discussion by Members of Good Government Club E and Kindred Societies.
(...)
E. Hamilton Bell was the next speaker. He said:
 
The Municipal Art Society is only another phase of the movement for good government. The motto of the organization is: “To make us love our city we must make our city lovely.” Its object is to provide adequate sculptural and pictorial descriptions for public buildings and parks in New-York City. The society now has over 500 members, and our work has been remarkably successful. We believe that in beautifying the city we are helping toward better municipal government by educating the taste of people and making them love the city.
 
Newspapers.com
19 December 1894, The Sun (New York, NY), pg. 6, col. 5:
Join and Help the M. A. S.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN—Sir: The work of decorating the Court of Oyer and Terminer undertaken by the Municipal Art Society is progressing favorably, but it will be impossible for us to undertake a new work in the course of next year without a very large increase in the membership.
 
Our motto is, “To make us love our city we must make our city lovely,” and we feel that there must be more than 600 breasts in New York in which these words would stir a responsive echo.
(...)
EDW. HAMILTON BELL, Secretary.
 
Newspapers.com
12 May 1898, Brooklyn (NY) Daily Eagle, pg. 8, cols. 6-7:
MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY
Has Been Incorporated and the Scope of Its Work Is to Be Widened.
(...)
In this way the Society hopes not only to increase the field of its usefulness, but to still further stimulate the sentiment of civic pride which finds expression in its motto: “To make us love our city we must make our city lovely.”
   
June 1898, The Art Amateur; A Monthly Journal Devoted to Art in the Household (New York, NY), “Art and Art Notes,” pg. 20, col. 3:
In this way the Society hopes not only to increase the field of its usefulness, but to still further stimulate the sentiment of civic pride which finds expression in its motto, “To make us love our city we must make our city lovely.”
     
Google Books
November 1899, The Review of Reviews, pg. 607, col. 2:
The New York Municipal Art Society has the motto: “To make us love our city, we must make our city lovely.”
 
Google Books
Year Book of the Art Societies of New York, 1898-1988
New York, NY: Leonard Scott Publication Co.
1899
Opposite pg. 86:
The Municipal Art Society of New York.
(MAS seal is shown.—ed.)
“TO MAKE USE LOVE OUR CITY WE MUST MAKE OUR CITY LOVELY.”
 
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At MAS Livably City Awards, Vin Cipolla quotes Evelyn Blashfield:  “To make us love our city, we must make our city lovely.”
#summitnyc
7:43 PM · Oct 13, 2011·Twitter Web Client
 
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“To make us love our city, we must make our city lovely.” | https://artplaceamerica.org/blog/art-civic-processes?utm_source=ArtPlace+America+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=c88d783336-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4e3b668158-c88d783336-95394277
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The Art of Civic Processes
This month on the ArtPlace blog, we’re exploring the environment: from the built to the unbuilt; from natural vistas to the horizons of the civic commons. We published this insightful guest post by
artplaceamerica.org
10:05 AM · May 2, 2018·Hootsuite