Preserve New York Grants - 2004

At its August meeting, the Preserve New York Grant Program panel selected 10 projects in eight counties for support totaling $78,600. Preserve New York is a partnership grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts.With the announcement of the 2004 awards, the total support provided by Preserve New York since its launch in 1993 is nearly $942,000 to 160 not-for-profit groups and municipalities in support of their important local initiatives.

BRONX COUNTY

Historic House Trust – Van Cortlandt House, Bronx

Grant of $5,000 toward the cost of preparing an historic structure report for the Van Cortlandt House, constructed in 1748 for Frederick Van Cortlandt. Now located in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the house was once part of a 2000-acre estate which included a mill, brewery and farmlands. The report will establish a construction chronology for the house and compare the architectural evidence to archival resources and other documentation on the property and the Van Cortlandt family. The results will be used to guide restoration of the mansion and development of the museum’s interpretation.

The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx

Grant of $7,500 toward the cost of completing a cultural landscape report for the New York Botanical Garden, acclaimed as one of the largest and most significant of the botanical gardens in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. The Garden’s historic landscape, buildings and gardens are the work of some of the leaders of architectural, landscape and garden design including Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, the Olmsted Brothers, Beatrix Farrand and Marian Cruger Coffin. The report will be prepared by Heritage Landscapes, Preservation Landscape Architects and Planners, of Connecticut and Vermont, and will address the stewardship of the Garden’s 250 acres which include 48 designed gardens and collections.

CAYUGA COUNTY

City of Auburn, Historic Resources Review Board

Grant of $8,500 toward the cost of completing a cultural resources survey of properties associated with Abolitionism and African American life between 1820 and 1870 in Cayuga County. The survey will identify the homes, churches, businesses and other sites significant to the lives of freedom seekers and their sympathizers throughout the City of Auburn and Cayuga County. Auburn, the home of underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman and her supporters William H. and Frances Seward, was especially active in the national Abolition movement. The survey will be completed by Judith Wellman, Historical New York Research Association of Fulton, and its results will be used for planning, heritage tourism activities and landmark designations.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency, Jamestown

Grant of $9,000 toward the cost of completing an historic structure report for the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station. This former passenger and freight station was built in 1931 and continued service until 1970. Since then, the station languished to the point that it was included as a threatened building in the League’s 2002 Seven to Save list. Thanks to new attention and funding, the station is now the focus of downtown renewal efforts. The report will be prepared by Clinton Brown Company Architecture of Buffalo and will be used to guide structural repairs and mixed-use rehabilitation plans for this Art Deco style landmark.

GREENE COUNTY

Lexington Center for the Arts (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Lexington

Grant of $9,000 toward production of an historic structure report for the 1883 Lexington House, one of the last remaining Catskill hotels. The building is now part of a complex of the Lexington Center for the Arts, owned and operated by the Ensemble Studio Theatre which is based in New York City. The Lexington House site also includes the former ice house, carriage house and bowling alley. Lexington Center for the Arts offers artist residencies, workshops and conferences to foster the development of new works in theater, dance and music. There are also public programs, exhibits and performances presented on the site. The Center will work with preservation architect Marilyn Kaplan of Albany to produce the report which will guide the rehabilitation of the Italianate style building.

MONROE COUNTY

Town of Gates, Gates

Grant of $8,000 toward the cost of completing an historic structure report for the Hinchey House. This Italianate style residence was built between 1874 and 1880 and is remarkably intact. Facing an uncertain future, the Town and the Gates Historical Society collaborated to acquire the property and plan for its use as a museum. The report will be prepared by Bero Architecture of Rochester and its results will be used to guide restoration and interpretation of this local and National Register landmark.

NASSAU COUNTY

Sea Cliff Landmarks Preservation Commission, Village of Sea Cliff

Grant of $10,000 toward the cost of a cultural resources survey for the village. Originally the site of a Methodist camp, the Village of Sea Cliff is located on Oyster Bay and retains the street patterns and late 19th-century architecture common to camp communities. The survey will be conducted by Nora Lucas, a consultant based in Mamaroneck, and will guide designations of landmarks and historic districts at the local, state and national levels. It will also serve as an important planning tool for the commission which works closely with the local planning, zoning and architectural review boards to guide development in the community.

NEW YORK COUNTY

Hamilton Heights/West Harlem Community Preservation Organization, New York City

Grant of $9,600 toward the cost of a cultural resource survey of the Manhattanville neighborhood in West Harlem, originally a separate village settled in 1806. Eric Washington, a New York City author and historian, will produce the survey and a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The survey area is located between 125th and 133rd Streets from the Hudson River to Broadway, and is characterized by structures relating to transportation, industry and dairy processing. These include the 1900 Riverside Drive Viaduct, the 1904 Broadway IRT subway viaduct, the 1923 Studebaker Building, and the 1907 Prentis Hall.

Historic Districts Council, New York City

Grant of $7,000 toward the cost of preparing a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places for the proposed John Street/Maiden Lane historic district. The Lower Manhattan area has an especially rich and intact collection of early skyscrapers and office buildings constructed between the 1880s and 1920s, some designed by prominent New York architects. However, post-9/11 development plans threaten the integrity of the area and it was included in the League’s 2003 Seven to Save listing. The nomination of approximately 60 buildings will be prepared by Andrew Dolkart of New York City and will be used for community education, advocacy and landmark designation purposes.

SULLIVAN COUNTY

Village of Liberty, Liberty

Grant of $5,000 toward the cost of preparing a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places for the proposed downtown historic district in the Village of Liberty. The project will expand the current two-block historic district to one that includes most of Main Street, an intact commercial area of approximately 125 buildings. The nomination will be prepared by Neil Larson and Associates of Woodstock and supports the village’s strong revitalization program.