Preserve New York Grants - 2014
At its August, 2014 meeting, the Preserve New York grant program panel selected 14 applicants in 12 counties around the state to share $91,500 in funding. With the announcement of the 2014 awards, the total support provided by Preserve New York since its launch in 1993 is some $1.9 million to 306 projects statewide.
Albany County
Westerlo Public Library
A grant of $8,400 toward completion of a Historic Structure Report for the Westerlo Public Library. The commercial storefront building that currently houses the Westerlo Public Library has evolved over the last 180 years. Deeds note a house and store on the site as early as 1831. The storefront was built circa 1840 and used almost continuously as a general store, known as the Whitford Store, until 1982, which the owner, Mr. Harold Bell, donated the store to the town in order for them to create a public library and museum. Turning the general store into the town library and museum was a labor of love for this small town, who carefully documented the transformation in a scrapbook. This report, which will be completed by preservation architect Mark Thaler with assistance from architect David Coe, will help guide the library’s plans for the future, including possibilities for internal reorganization, measured drawings, and a historic paint analysis.
Chautauqua County
Chautauqua County Historical Society
A grant of $7,500 as partial support for an historic structure report for the McClurg Mansion, the organization’s headquarters and museum. Constructed between 1817 and 1820 as a residence for a Pittsburgh industrialist, the mansion is one of the oldest buildings in Western New York. The Federal style home was expanded to 14 rooms through additions in the 1840s and the Victorian era. It was occupied by the McClurg family almost continuously until 1938, then stood vacant and was rescued from demolition by the Chautauqua County Historical Society in 1950. The historic structure report, to be prepared by Flynn Battaglia Architects, will guide the society’s restoration, rehabilitation and interpretation efforts.
Columbia County
Town of Livingston
A grant of $8,200 toward a reconnaissance-level Cultural Resources Survey of the town. Founded in 1788, the Town of Livingston was part of the 1686 land grant made to Robert Livingston for Livingston Manor. The survey will document the rich history of this community, which is census-tract eligible for the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit, and serve as a planning tool for the town. The survey also responds to the League’s 2014-15 Seven to Save designation of the Historic and Cultural Resources of Columbia County. Documentation of Livingston’s historic and cultural heritage will help inform New York State officials as they plan for possible expanded power line development in the Hudson Valley. Preservation consulting firm Larson Fisher Associates will complete the survey.
Erie County
Village of Springville
A grant of $4,000 toward the cost of completing a State and National Register of Historic Places nomination for the East Hill Historic District. This largely residential area along East Main and Prospect Streets will include approximately 65 homes constructed in the mid-to- late-19th century. The nomination, to be completed by Clinton Brown Company, will position the district’s property owners for state tax credit use. Additional funding is being provided by the village and the state’s Certified Local Government Program.
Essex County
Fort Ticonderoga Association, Inc.
A grant of $7,500 to complete a Historic Structure Report for the Log House, part of Fort Ticonderoga’s 2000 acre campus. Fort Ticonderoga includes a restored 18th century fort, the Pell family estate, and buildings associated with Fort tourism in the 20th century. The Log House has served as the Fort’s Visitor’s Center since its construction in the 1920s. It has had three expansions in the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s, each time in-keeping with the initial log roadhouse style. According to architectural historian, Richard Longstreth, the Log House is one of two Adirondack log road houses remaining in Adirondack State Park. John G. Waite Associates will complete the Historic Structure Report, which the Fort will use to assess the building’s condition and document its building chronology as the organization plans for its future.
Town of Westport
A grant of $7,000 toward completion of a National Register Historic District nomination for the hamlet of Westport. Westport was established in 1815 and sits on the shore of Lake Champlain within the Adirondack Park. The proposed historic district will include Main Street commercial and mixed-use buildings, churches, high-style resort houses, as well as vernacular 19th and 20th century homes. More than 250 properties have been declared eligible for inclusion in the Historic District by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. All of the buildings in the nomination area fall within a New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit-eligible census tract. Historic District designation would open doors for financial incentives for rehabilitation of commercial and residential properties. Preservation consultant Paula Dennis will complete the project.
Genesee County
LeRoy Business Council Village of LeRoy
A grant of $4,000 toward the cost of completing a State and National Register of Historic Places nomination for an historic district in downtown LeRoy. This area along NYS Route 5 includes the Town Hall, designed by famed Rochester architect Claude Bragdon, and about 50 two-to-four story commercial and public buildings. The firm Preservation Studios will complete the project which will support the Council’s Main Street revitalization programs and open doors to state and federal tax credit use.
Greene County
Town of Lexington
A grant of $8,800 toward a townwide Cultural Resource Survey. Settlers first populated the area known as the Town of Lexington in 1788. The Town was established in 1813. The community sits within Catskill Park, southwest of Windham on the Schoharie Creek, and experienced flooding in Hurricane Irene. Lexington’s beautiful collection of early to mid 19th century homes, hotels, and commerical buildings reflect its history as a Catskill resort town. The community expressed interest in a townwide reconnaissance-level survey following its Bicentennial in 2013. The entire town is within an eligible census tract for the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Preservation consultant Jessie Ravage will complete the survey.
Montgomery County
Village of Fultonville
A grant of $6,000 toward a reconnaissance-level survey of the village of Fultonville.Fultonville was founded in 1824 and incorporated in 1848. Although the village had a tavern near the Mohawk River and some farms, little else was built in Fultonville until the construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817. The Erie Canal ran through the village center and commercial buildings flank Main Street on either side of what would be the historic canal bed. Unfortunately, the canal bed was torn up for construction of the New York State Thruway, Interstate 90, which now also bisects the village. All of the buildings within the survey area fall within a New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit-eligible census tract. Historic District designation would open doors for financial incentives for rehabilitation of commercial and residential properties. Preservation consultant Jessie Ravage will complete the survey.
Village of St. Johnsville
A grant of $7,300 toward a reconnaissance-level survey of the village, which was settled in the 18th century, established in 1838, and incorporated in 1857. The village includes an intact group of historic buildings from the Federal style through the mid-20th century. Several late 19th century industrial buildings remain, as does a 1909 Beaux-Arts-style library, the Reaney Library. This survey will help inform village planning efforts and determine possible National Register Historic District boundaries. Preservation consultant Jessie Ravage will complete the survey for this village, which is within an eligible census tract for the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit.
Orleans County
Village of Holley
A $5,000 award to complete a State and National Register of Historic Places nomination for an historic district to approximately 40 properties located on and near Holley’s downtown Public Square. The project, to be completed by Bero Architecture, will enhance this Erie Canal community’s revitalization efforts, especially opportunities to rehabilitate the vacant 1931 Holley High School designed by Rochester architect Carl Ade. Located in the heart of the downtown, the former school is included in the Landmark Society of Western New York’s “Five to Revive” endangered properties list of 2013. This handsome Classical Revival building could benefit from access to state and federal tax credits that would come with the listing of the proposed historic district.
St. Lawrence County
Town of Russell
A grant of $8,500 toward the cost of completing an historic structure report for the Russell Town Hall and Theater. This 1921 brick Classical Revival municipal building houses town government, the court, the post office and an ornate theater. It was designed by Samuel D. P. Williams, a prominent Ogdensburg architect. The site and funding were provided by Mr. and Mrs. Seymour H. Knox and Seymour H. Knox Jr., the family closely associated with Buffalo arts, culture and equestrian activities. The historic structure report will be completed by Holmes King Kallquist & Associates, Architects, and will guide the town’s effort to address masonry repair, accessibility, plaster and stenciling restoration, and other issues facing this State and National Register-listed landmark.
Steuben County
Town of Campbell
A grant of $5,100 toward the cost of completing a reconnaissance level survey for the Town of Campbell, a rural community located 10 miles northwest of Corning. Several 19th-century farmsteads and 20th-century public and commercial buildings contribute to the character of the township. The Preserve New York grant will help identify properties for future listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The project supports the town’s master plan goals and will be completed by Johnson-Schmidt & Associates, Architects of Corning.
Sullivan County
Town of Delaware, Hamlet of Callicoon
A grant of $4,200 toward completion of a National Register Historic District for the hamlet of Callicoon on the Delaware. This charming community, population 167 in the 2010 census, is located where the Callicoon Creek enters the Delaware River and is part of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor. The hamlet grew in the 19th century, when lumber transport via the Delaware River and Erie Railroad helped expand the community. Due to a late 19th century fire, most of the hamlet’s buildings date to the late 19th and early 20th century, although several early 19th century houses remain up the hill from Main Street. Callicoon’s Main Street is divided into upper and lower sections, split by the railroad, which passes straight down Main Street. All of the buildings within the survey area fall within a New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit-eligible census tract. Historic District designation would open doors for financial incentives for rehabilitation of commercial and residential properties. Preservation consulting firm Larson Fisher Associates will complete the survey.