Seven to Save Spotlight: Parrott Hall
Bruce Reisch, Chair of the Friends of Parrott Hall, opening the door to historic Parrott Hall in Geneva, NY, shortly after the Coalition received the keys to the building. The Coalition is hoping to open the doors to the public once the building is stabilized.
The League has been involved in the effort to save Parrott Hall since we first became aware of the threat back in 2018. A concerned group of local community members were rallying to save the building from a demolition order. That was how the Parrott Hall Coalition first started taking shape. Along with the Landmark Society of Western New York, the City of Geneva, and the nonprofit group Friends of Parrott Hall, the League has helped give this building a second chance at being brought back to active use.
Parrott Hall was built in the 1850s as a private residence. In 1882, New York State purchased the house, outbuildings, and 125 acres of land so that the dwelling could house the headquarters of the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station (now called Cornell AgriTech). In 1950, it was renamed Parrott Hall in honor of Dr. Percival Parrott, the Station’s first entomologist and later director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Its historical significance was officially recognized in 1971 when it was listed on both the NYS and National Registers of Historic Places. It was acquired by the NYS Office of Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) in 1975 for the express purpose of creating a State Historic Site at Parrott Hall. Unfortunately, that never happened.
A spiral staircase hiding inside Parrot Hall. Photo by Crawford and Stearns.
After decades of deferred maintenance, OPRHP slated the building for demolition in 2018. Thanks to the grassroots efforts of the Friends of Parrott Hall and the collaborative work of the Parrott Hall Coalition, the demolition order was removed. Another victory came when Governor Cuomo announced a $400,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant for Parrott Hall in the 2018 Regional Economic Development Council awards. The City of Geneva finalized a license agreement with OPRHP in the summer of 2019 to manage Parrott Hall along with the Friends of Parrott Hall. In June of last year, the Coalition was finally granted access to the building and work began in earnest to assess the condition of the building and move forward with emergency repairs.
This past September, we were happy to announce that Crawford & Stearns, Architects and Preservation Planners LLC, working with engineering firm Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt, will create the Parrott Hall stabilization and roof replacement documents for the first phase of Parrott Hall’s rehabilitation. Clinton Brown Company Architecture, pc will complete a feasibility study for Parrott Hall. This project is funded through the League’s prestigious Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund, as well as a grant from The Landmark Society of Western New York’s Preservation Grant Fund.
It has been a long road to get to this point, but Parrott Hall is not out of the woods yet. By including the site on our Seven to Save list, we are further emphasizing the importance of this historic building and the urgency needed to save it. This month we’ll be sharing more highlights from Parrott Hall and we’re sure you’ll agree that this space that was a key part of New York’s agricultural heritage is worth preserving.