The Preservation League was saddened to learn of the loss of the former Kenwood Convent, also known as the former Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Albany. In 2010, shortly after the building was vacated, the League listed the building on our Seven to Save list; our colleagues at the Historic Albany Foundation likewise included it on their Endangered Historic Resources List. This beautiful campus was rich in both history and frustrations: architecturally distinctive, historically fascinating, but subject to a series of failed development projects in recent years. The site was left vacant and vulnerable for over a decade. On March 23, despite the valiant efforts of first responders, it was lost to a terrible fire. Thumbnail image: Jim Franco for the Times Union
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A recap of two days in DC for this year’s Preservation Advocacy Week.
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On December 6, preservationists, architects, contractors, environmentalists, students, academics, recycling coordinators, and city planners were among the 60 or so attendees at the first annual statewide Deconstruction Summit, held at Russell Sage College in Troy. The summit was co-hosted by The City of Troy and TAP Inc., with support from NYSAR, Russell Sage College, CR0WD, and NYSERDA. The goal was to generate ideas about potential statewide deconstruction legislation.
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Have former asylum properties, built in the late 19th century to house people with mental illness, outlived their usefulness? Or can they once again contribute to modern society? In selecting the former Willard Asylum property for the 2022-2023 Seven to Save list, the League chose optimism. We’ve now researched a number of other asylum reuse projects in which properties very similar to Willard have charted a path toward productive and beneficial reuse, and have begun sharing this information with community members and decision-makers.
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During the recent PastForward virtual conference, the League was pleased to again lead New York’s team of advocates as we met with key members of our state’s Congressional delegation to share our enthusiasm for preservation. Although the timing of the conference – just days before the midterm elections, November 1-4 – was challenging, we held a series of productive meetings in which we thanked representatives and their staffers for their support, updated them on federal preservation issues, and requested their support for our current priorities.
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On an unseasonably warm and beautiful November day in Buffalo, League staff enjoyed a full schedule of behind-the-scenes tours, visits with colleagues and grantees, and a chance to see current and future success stories throughout the city. As packed as our schedule was, we also added many other sites to our wish list for another Buffalo tour in 2023!
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Members of Congress are generally in their home districts in October, so now is a great time to contact your Representative to invite them to tour a local Historic Tax Credit project! Visits to rehabilitated historic buildings – or projects in progress – are great opportunities for you to educate legislators about the benefits of historic preservation in your community. Congresspeople welcome the chance to visit exciting projects in their own hometowns and connect with constituents who are doing great work. They can see for themselves how rehabilitated historic buildings contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of local communities, and you can boost your connections with your lawmakers and their staff.
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Since including Opera Houses on the 2018-19 Seven to Save list, the League has worked to document and develop strategies for the preservation of this important building type. We define the term “opera house” fairly broadly to include buildings that historically provided commercial and/or civic space on the first floor with a multi-use performance / meeting space in the upper stories. This summer, our colleagues at Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) and BAC/Architecture + Planning, PLLC completed a Building Investigation on one such building: Paramount Lodge No. 73. The League was able to provide funding for this report thanks to a generous grant from the Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, which previously funded a statewide study identifying and documenting extant opera houses.
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On Monday, August 15, the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) issued an official determination that the former Willard State Hospital complex is eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Finger Lakes campus, which straddles the town lines of Ovid and Romulus, is one of the League’s 2022-2023 Seven to Save sites.
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The Parrott Hall Coalition, a working group that includes the Landmark Society of Western NY, Friends of Parrott Hall, City of Geneva, and the Preservation League of NYS, has been watching with excitement as Massa Construction nears completion of their masonry and roof stabilization project at Parrott Hall in Elmira. Work began in December 2021; after a winter hiatus, work resumed in May 2022 and has progressed quickly in the last several weeks.
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The Preservation League is working closely with our colleagues at Adirondack Architectural Heritage and the Debar Pond Institute to advocate for the preservation of Debar Pond Lodge, a historic, National Register-listed Adirondack lodge built circa 1940.
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The 2021-2026 Plan is meant to identify ways in which all New Yorkers, not just those who are traditionally included in the preservation field, can have a role in identifying and protecting places that are important to them. Unlike past plans, the 21-26 plan places increased emphasis on ideas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
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