Architecture

The Row House Reborn:Architecture and Neighborhoods in NYC, 1908-1929

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The New York City Historic Districts Council is co-sponsoring a lecture on row houses at the Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue) on Monday, February 8 at 6:30 pm.

In the decades just before and after World War I, a group of architects, homeowners, and developers pioneered innovative and affordable housing alternatives. They converted the deteriorated and bleak row houses of old New York neighborhoods into modern and stylish dwellings.

Join Andrew S. Dolkart, author of The Row House Reborn: Architecture and Neighborhoods in New York City, 1908&#82111929, as he traces this aesthetic movement from its inception in 1908 to a wave of projects for the wealthy on the East Side to the faux artists’ studios for young professionals in Greenwich Village.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

$6 tickets when you mention the Historic Districts Council!
*A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

To reserve your discounted ticket, please call 212.534.1672, ext. 3395 or e-mail [email protected] and mention HDC.

Vermont Ranks 1st In Federal Historic Tax Credits

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A recent federal report ranks Vermont the top state in per capita use of Federal Historic Tax Credits to rehabilitate historic buildings and 10th in the nation overall – rising from 12th overall last year. A total of 34 rehabilitation projects with a total construction value of more than $23 million received $4.6 million in federal tax credits in the last fiscal year.

State officials credit the decision several years ago to require those seeking state historic Downtown Tax Credits to first get Federal Historic Tax Credits with putting Vermont to consistently within or just outside the top ten states nationally for use of the credits, despite its small size.

“This linkage allows building owners to layer the state and federal credits on a single project,” said Commerce and Community Development Secretary Kevin Dorn, “There is always risk in the rehabilitation of an older building because you never know what you will find when peeling back the layers.”

“Combining the programs not only leverages the economic impact of the state’s investment, it helps mitigate this risk and convinces more property owners to undertake historic rehabilitation projects in our downtowns and villages,” Dorn said.

In the past ten years, the program has leveraged over $38 million dollars in federal funds and $190 million in private capital to revitalize historic commercial buildings, most of them in Vermont’s downtowns and village centers.

Projects have ranged from small village storefronts in Hardwick to multi-million dollar downtown redevelopments like the Fellows Gear Shaper plant in Springfield.

The federal program returns 20 percent of eligible expenses for the rehabilitation of income producing historic buildings listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in the form of federal tax credits.

The state credit adds another 10 percent, and other state credits for facade improvement or installing elevators, sprinklers, or other code improvements can be added as well. Over 10,000 buildings in Vermont are pre-qualified for tax credits.

The program has played an important role in the downtown and village revitalization evident across the state and is now a key component the state’s efforts to promote smart growth and sustainable development.

Renovating historic buildings for higher and better uses reduces the loss of open space and farm lands to development and makes use of existing infrastructure, eliminating the need for taxpayer dollars to construct new sewer or water services.

Finally, by concentrating business, commercial, and residential uses in downtown or village center areas, redevelopment projects reduce dependence on automobiles, thereby conserving energy resources, enhancing air quality, and improving quality of life for local residents.

Vermont’s ongoing commitment to investing in downtowns and villages has not gone unnoticed – these programs played an important part in the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations ranking Vermont fifth in the world and first in the United States for stewardship and authenticity.

“But more important is the fact that Vermont wins when these buildings are rehabilitated,” said Tayt Brooks, Commissioner of Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development.

“Property values increase, fire and safety risks are reduced, and new jobs and tax revenues are generated when and where we need them most,” Brooks said. “It’s especially important to capitalize on this opportunity as we work to create new jobs and stimulate Vermont’s economy.”

The programs are administered by the Division for Community Planning and Revitalization, in partnership with local communities. Additional details and application guidelines are available at www.HistoricVermont.org

Historic Districts Councils Morning Coffee Talks

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Each Month, the Historic Districts Council hosts a Coffee Talk &#8211 a presentation and question and answers session with folk important to local historic preservation. The first Coffee Talk of 2010, on January 11th, will feature representatives of the New York City Department of Design and Construction. The event begins at 8:30 am, in the Neighborhood Preservation Center, 232 East 11th Street, Manhattan.

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC), is the lead agency for New York City public construction projects such as street, water and sewer reconstructions, firehouses, libraries, police precincts, courthouses and senior centers. Because the agency is responsible for such a large portfolio (valued at over $6 billion), the Historic Districts Counciil believes it is essential that communities help make sure that each project that DDC undertakes respects and responds to the specific needs of the communities where the projects are located.

Richard Zetterlund, Associate Commissioner for Infrastructure and Sergio Silveira, Assistant Commissioner for Structures will discuss their respective divisions and how neighborhood advocates can provide input on major projects. Our speakers will also showcase some of DDC’s recent successful initiatives and talk about the efforts of DDC’s Historic Preservation Office.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required, as space is limited. For more information about this or other Coffee Talks, contact Frampton Tolbert at (212) 614-9107 or [email protected].

Photo: Brooklyn Terminal at Brooklyn Bridge c 1903.

28 Properties Recommended for Historic Register

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The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended the addition of 28 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including such nationally significant sites as the National Grid Building in downtown Syracuse, the Bird Homestead in Westchester County, and a French and Indian War archaeological site in Saratoga County.

State and National Historic Register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing the structures, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are 90,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.

STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

Broome County

Vestal Central School, Vestal – a distinctive 1939 Art Deco school built as part of the town’s centralization program to accommodate a fast-growing population and designed by one of the region’s prestigious architectural firms.

Chemung County

John Brand Jr. House (Parkside Apartments), Elmira – a distinguished and largely intact example of a large-scale Queen Anne/Shingle style residence built around 1890.

William S. Gerity House, Elmira – a large-scale Queen Anne/Eastlake style residence built around 1880 that is likely the work of Thomas Gerity, William’s father and a prominent contractor responsible for many of Elmira’s major buildings.

Erie County

Alling & Corey Warehouse, Buffalo – the 1910 building is an excellent and early Buffalo example of the type of reinforced concrete industrial buildings that came to be known as the &#8220Daylight Factory.&#8221

Buffalo Trunk Manufacturing Building, Buffalo &#8212- a 1901 &#8220slow-burn&#8221 masonry and wood factory that embodies the characteristics of a turn-of- the-twentieth-century industrial building constructed in manner to safeguard against the ravages of factory fires.

The Kamman Building, Building – the 1883 commercial building is a rare survivor of the Hydraulics/Larkin Neighborhood, one of Buffalo’s earliest, distinct neighborhoods, and Buffalo’s first manufacturing district, founded in the 1820s, which was an important self-contained neighborhood with a mix of industrial, commercial and residential architecture through the mid-20th century.

Essex County

Willsboro School, Willsboro – the 1927 Neoclassical style school building retains a high level of its original standardized school building design of the period.

Fulton County

Oppenheim and St. Johnsville Union Society Church, Crum Creek – a highly intact, representative example of vernacular religious architecture in rural Fulton County constructed in 1853.

Herkimer County

Overlook, Little Falls – the High Victorian house was built in 1889 for David H. Burrell, whose dairy industry inventions and innovations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries helped make Little Falls one of the most important cheese-producing centers in the United States.

Kings County

The Jewish Center of Kings Highway, Midwood – built in 1928-30, the Neo-Classical synagogue dates from a period when Brooklyn had emerged as one of the world’s major Jewish population centers and combines religious facilities with classrooms, a social hall, and a gymnasium, as was characteristic of the &#8220Jewish Center&#8221 movement.

Kingsway Jewish Center, Midwood – built in 1951, it is an example of a post-World War II modern synagogue in Brooklyn.

Young Israel of Flatbush – built in 1925-29 for an Orthodox Jewish congregation, the Moorish Revival synagogue reflects an international trend to adapt the more ‘Eastern’ Moorish-style to synagogue design.

Monroe County

First Baptist Church of Mumford – a largely intact representative example of vernacular Greek Revival style church architecture built in 1852 for a rural Protestant congregation.

Teoronto Block Historic District, Rochester – the well-preserved examples of mid-19th century commercial architecture reflect the city’s rapid growth as a mill center and Erie Canal boomtown.

Onondaga County

The Niagara Hudson Building (National Grid Building), Syracuse – completed in 1932, the headquarters for then the nation’s largest electric utility company is an outstanding example of Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity.

Onondaga Highlands-Swaneola Heights Historic District, Syracuse – a turn-of-the-twentieth-century subdivision where the rolling topography, uniform building setback, and popular residential styles form a cohesive neighborhood that retains its architectural integrity.

Orange County

Newburgh Colored Burial Ground, Newburgh – an archeological site with great potential to yield information about the city’s mid-19th century African-American population.

Walsh-Havemeyer House, New Windsor – the Greek Revival influenced house was built around 1835 for a family who operated one of the region’s early industries on the adjacent Quassaic Creek.

Lower Dock Hill Road Stone Arch Bridge, Cornwall-on-Hudson – an early example of 19th century stone arch bridge construction.

St. Lawrence County

First Congregational Church of Madrid – the 1890 Eastlake-style church building has been the spiritual and social center for the oldest congregational church society in St. Lawrence County.

Sunday Rock, Colton – public outcry has twice saved the 64,000 pound glacial boulder, a natural traveler’s landmark for centuries, from demolition to make way for construction of State Highway 56.

Saratoga County

The Royal Blockhouse – built in 1758 in the vicinity of Fort Edward, the Royal Blockhouse was a key part of one of the largest British military complexes in North America at the beginning of the French and Indian War, and its remnants are likely to yield a wealth of archaeological information about 18th century military practices.

Schenectady County

Ronsendale Common School, Niskayuna – the rural school building, which served students from its construction in the 1850s until 1915, retains an exceptionally high degree of architectural integrity in a rural setting despite rapid commercial and residential development in the town.

Steuben County

Atlanta Presbyterian Church, Atlanta – a well-preserved example of Queen Anne-style church architecture which reflects Atlanta’s late-nineteenth century prosperity as an important local transportation, food processing and commercial center.

Ulster County

Lattingtown Baptist Church, Marlborough – Constructed circa 1810, in what was the original center of activity for the town of Marlborough, the Federal period meeting house style church is closely associated with the settlement, growth and development of this riverside town.

Warren County

Methodist Episcopal Church, Stony Creek – Built in 1856-59, the building is a good e
xample of wood frame church architecture in a small Adirondack cross-roads settlement.

Westchester County

The Bird Homestead, Rye – the 1835 Greek Revival was the home of Henry Bird and sons Roland T. Bird and Junius Bird, three prominent scientists who made discoveries of national significance in the fields of entomology, paleontology, and archeology respectively, and were leading members of the American Museum of Natural History.

Tuckahoe High School, Tuckahoe – the 1930-31 school is an outstanding example of Art Deco public architecture, reflecting the importance of education to its suburban community.

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NYS 2009 Historic Preservation Awards Announced

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New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has announced the recipients of the 2009 New York State Historic Preservation Awards. Established in 1980 to honor excellence in the protection and rejuvenation of New York’s historic and cultural resources, this year’s winning projects included several buildings adapted or rehabilitated for affordable housing and one that created affordable work spaces for small manufacturers.

Not-For-Profit Achievement:

The Public Policy Program, Preservation League of New York State for outstanding leadership and commitment to the development and enactment of the New York State Historic Preservation Tax Credit legislation. A multi-year effort came to fruition when legislation expanding the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits was approved and signed into law in July, 2009. The new law offers financial assistance to homeowners and commercial developers.

The League used one of the first applications of GIS mapping to demonstrate the potential impact of legislation during an advocacy process. Mapping and analysis demonstrated the degree to which residents and building owners would benefit from the legislation.

Individual Achievement:

The late Raymond V. Beecher. When the Thomas Cole house in Catskill was placed on the market in 1979, Mr. Beecher, of Coxsackie, saw past the immediate obstacles to restoring the house and property. He envisioned the site as a viable historic resource and led the Greene County Historical Society’s purchase and restoration of the property. The site was designated a National Historic Site in 1999 and opened to the public in 2001.

Mr. Beecher held a number of positions in the community including Greene County Historian, Town of Coxsackie Historian, leadership roles in the Greene County Historical Society for over 50 years and librarian at the Vedder Research Library. A prolific researcher and author, Mr. Beecher understood the importance of documenting the full record of Greene County’s built heritage. In order to raise awareness and encourage the preservation of this heritage, he initiated the establishment of the Historical Society’s Greene County Historical Register in 1990. The organization has just published the first volume of listed properties. Mr. Beecher died in October, 2008.

Project Achievement:

Knox Street Apartments, Albany for an outstanding rehabilitation project and commitment to community revitalization. WINNDevelopment Company of Rochester, NY and Boston worked in partnership with the City of Albany and the Capital City Housing Development Fund Corporation on an Urban Renewal Plan for Park South Neighborhood. The first implementation phase of the project was the rehabilitation of 18 rowhouses on Knox Street. Project consultants included The Architectural Team, Keith Construction, and Landmark Consulting.

Financing for the affordable housing project included Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits and low income housing tax credits. The rehabilitation has proven to be a catalyst for other neighborhood projects. These included the rehabilitation of one rowhouse whose owner qualified for the first use of the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits for homeowners.

221 McKibben Street, Brooklyn, for an outstanding rehabilitation project and commitment to community revitalization. Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) rehabilitated the building for affordable work spaces for small manufacturing firms. Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits and New Market Tax credits were two key financing tools. Project partners included New York City-based preservation consultants Higgins and Quasebarth, OCV Architects, Westerman Construction and PCF State Restoration.

Residential development pressures have forced many Brooklyn businesses and small manufacturing firms to close or move. By preserving an industrial site for continued use, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center is preserving the industrial heritage of Brooklyn.

Park Lane Apartments at Sea View, Former Nurses’ Residence of Sea View Hospital, Staten Island, for an outstanding adaptive use project and commitment to community revitalization. The Arker Companies and The Domain Companies developed the former dormitory into affordable senior housing units with the help of Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Other project partners were Building Conservation Associates and Hugo S. Subotovsky, Architects, LLC. The Sea View hospital campus was constructed from 1913 to 1938 for the treatment of tuberculosis, and it was the site of clinical trials that led to the cure for the disease.

The project was the first historic structure to be funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s affordable green design initiative program.

Packard Building, Buffalo, for an outstanding adaptive use project and commitment to community revitalization. Regan Development adapted the 1926 Packard Automobile Showroom and storage facility into affordable housing units and commercial space. Hamilton Houston, Lownie, Architects and Resetarits Construction were the consultants. The work was funded in part by Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits and affordable housing tax credits.

The partners took extra efforts to preserve the building’s distinct character. The architects searched nationwide for a firm to custom design replacement windows. In addition, the developers chose to retain and stabilize the building’s water tower, recognizing it as one of the landmark structure’s distinguishing features.

Public Sector Achievement:

The Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council and the Western Erie Canal Alliance for commitment to the field of historic preservation as a tool for community revitalization. The partnership of the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council and the Western Erie Canal Alliance is a model for a comprehensive, regional approach to economic development programs and historic preservation programs.

The Council and the Alliance focus many of their programs on smaller communities where municipal staff may not have the benefit of historic preservation training. Their regional approach is particularly appropriate for encouraging municipalities to collaborate on the community preservation and development programs instead of trying to address economic challenges in a vacuum.

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which is part of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, helps communities identify, recognize, and preserve their historic resources, and incorporate them into local improvement and economic development activities. The SHPO administers several programs including the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program, state historic preservation grants, the Certified Local Government program, and the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places, which are the official lists of properties significant in the history, architecture, and archeology of the state and nation.

Dutch Influence: Cookies, Coleslaw and Stoops

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To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch arrival off the coast of Manhattan, the renowned linguist Nicoline van der Sijs along with Amsterdam University Press have published Cookies, Coleslaw, and Stoops: The Influence of Dutch on the North American Languages.

From Santa Claus (after the Dutch folklore saint Sinterklaas) and his sleigh (the pronunciation of the Dutch slee is almost identical) to a dumbhead talking poppycock, the contributions of the Dutch language to American English are indelibly embedded in some of our most vernacular terms and expressions. This fascinating volume charts over 250 Dutch loan words that journeyed over the Atlantic on Henry Hudson’s ship the Halve Maan and into the American territory and languages. Each entry marks the original arrival of a particular term to American English and offers information on its evolving meaning, etymology, and regional spread.

NYC Landmarks Commission Rejects Half of a Building

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The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 6-3 on Tuesday to designate the B. F. Goodrich Company Building (1780 Broadway) as a landmark and at the same time reject the B. F. Goodrich Company Building at 225 West 57th Street. Although the buildings face adjacent streets, they are on the same lot and were both developed in 1909 by the same architect, Howard Van Doren Shaw, for the B. F. Goodrich Company. They are Shaw’s only extant buildings in New York.

The Historic Districts Council issued the following Preservation Alert after the vote:

At today’s hearing, all nine commissioners present stated their support for the designation of 1780 Broadway, mentioning its architectural design but stressing its historic connection to Automobile Row. Six commissioners stated that 225 West 57th Street was of lesser significance because it did not have Broadway frontage and was “an accessory building” to the larger Goodrich headquarters. The other three commissioners defended the significance of the building and spoke highly of its architectural merit as well as its history of automobile-related uses.

225 West 57th Street, cureently under scaffolding and construction shroudOf particular interest was LPC Chair Robert Tierney’s statement referring to the City Council’s concerns about this designation. After the public hearing on August 11th, Council Members Daniel Garodnick, Melinda Katz, Jessica Lappin and Christine Quinn sent a joint letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission opposing the designation of 225 West 57th Street based on “its drab appearance”, that “the company never occupied the building” and that “the designation of 225 West 57th Street could fatally compromise the footprint of the proposed development on this site”. This unprecedented message reframed deliberations about the significance-based worthiness of the buildings into “the argument for preservation against the economic development rationale… [of] allowing for new development on sites where buildings stand today”. Commissioner Tierney went on to state his belief that since there was a likelihood that the City Council would overturn the designation of 225 West 57th Street, the LPC should make a priority of designating 1780 Broadway which everyone agreed should be preserved.

The buildings’ preservation had been supported by HDC, other preservation groups and the local community boards on the basis of their significance to the development of New York City as the center for the nascent American automobile industry, as well as for the importance of the buildings’ architectural design. 225 West 57th Street specifically was a very early and unusual fusion of traditional and Modern design elements, using motifs and techniques from the Chicago and Viennese Secessionist Schools. These points were supported by research in the LPC’s files.

Representatives of the owner, Extell Development, as well as the American Institute of Architects/New York Chapter testified in favor of the designation of 1780 Broadway but opposed to 225 West 57th Street, stating that the buildings were only significant historically as they related to Automobile Row. Since West 57th Street was not on Automobile Row and the building was not occupied by the B. F. Goodrich Company, it was not worthy of being preserved. Additional owner’s representatives also stated that they might pursue a hardship application if 225 West 57th Street was designated (Extell is proposing to build a 60+-story building on the block including this site and has been assembling lots and air-rights to allow for this development for some time.)

In the end, it would appear that the developers won. Thanks to their lobbying efforts the City Council leadership was apparently convinced that this landmark designation was detrimental to the City. The Council’s opposition to the designation resulted in the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s rejection of the building. This is not how it should work.

HDC is exceptionally disappointed in the LPC’s yielding to political pressure. If the City Council was going to reject the designation of a worthy building, then the Council should have been put in a position of justifying that action. By ceding the designation of 225 West 25th Street, the LPC has set a terrible example for future designations.

HDC is also extraordinarily disturbed by the Council’s actions in this instance. While it is entirely appropriate for CM Daniel Garodnick to weigh in on a designation within his district, doing so before the community board has a chance to review the project is, at best, precipitous. The joint letter from the four council members, with its not-so-veiled threat, was a direct assault on the independence of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the integrity of the Landmarks Law.

HDC has contacted these council members about our concerns over their involvement and we will be taking additional steps to make sure that the Landmarks Preservation Commission and their process remain transparent and independent. We look forward to updating you in the coming months.

Photo: 1780 Broadway, NYC

Books: Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville

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Cultural historian and journalist David Freeland has published his latest book,Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan’s Lost Places of Leisure, a rediscovery of the historic remnants of New York City’s leisure culture, including bier gartens in the Bowery, music publishers on Tin Pan Alley, jazz clubs in Harlem, and other locations throughout the city that remain partially intact, but obscured by the city’s development.

From the lights that never go out on Broadway to its 24-hour subway system, New York City isn’t called &#8220the city that never sleeps&#8221 for nothing. Both native New Yorkers and tourists have played hard in Gotham for centuries, lindy hopping in 1930s Harlem, voguing in 1980s Chelsea, and refueling at all-night diners and bars. The island is packed with places of leisure and entertainment, but Manhattan’s infamously fast pace of change means that many of these beautifully constructed and incredibly ornate buildings have disappeared, and with them a rich and ribald history.

David Freeland serves as a guide to uncover the skeletons of New York’s lost monuments to its nightlife. With an eye for architectural detail, Freeland opens doors, climbs onto rooftops, and gazes down alleyways to reveal several of the remaining hidden gems of Manhattan’s nineteenth- and twentieth-century entertainment industry.

From the lights that never go out on Broadway to its 24-hour subway system, New York City isn’t called &#8220the city that never sleeps&#8221 for nothing. Both native New Yorkers and tourists have played hard in Gotham for centuries, lindy hopping in 1930s Harlem, voguing in 1980s Chelsea, and refueling at all-night diners and bars. The slim island at the mouth of the Hudson River is packed with places of leisure and entertainment, but Manhattan’s infamously fast pace of change means that many of these beautifully constructed and incredibly ornate buildings have disappeared, and with them a rich and ribald history.

Yet with David Freeland as a guide, it’s possible to uncover skeletons of New York’s lost monuments to its nightlife. With a keen eye for architectural detail, Freeland opens doors, climbs onto rooftops, and gazes down alleyways to reveal several of the remaining hidden gems of Manhattan’s nineteenth- and twentieth-century entertainment industry.

From the Atlantic Garden German beer hall in present-day Chinatown to the city’s first motion picture studio—Union Square’s American Mutoscope and Biograph Company—to the Lincoln Theater in Harlem, Freeland situates each building within its historical and social context, bringing to life an old New York that took its diversions seriously.

Freeland reminds us that the buildings that serve as architectural guideposts to yesteryear’s recreations cannot be re-created—once destroyed they are gone forever. With condominiums and big box stores spreading over city blocks like wildfires, more and more of the Big Apple’s legendary houses of mirth are being lost.

NYS Conference on Preserving Historic Barns

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The New York State Barn Coalition and Historic Ithaca will present the 12th Annual Conference on the Preservation of Historic Barns on October 24. This conference, open to anyone with an interest in historic barns and their preservation, will be held at Ithaca Foreign Car Service, 501 West State Street. Built in 2006, this new timber frame building houses an auto shop in the heart of downtown Ithaca. For his contribution of this extraordinary building to the downtown streetscape, owner Dave Brumsted is the recipient of a 2007 Pride of Ownership award from the City of Ithaca.

A copy of the conference agenda is online via pdf. Late registration deadline is 12pm tomorrow October 22- the cost for the conference is $40. Contact Kristen Olson at (607)273-6633 to confirm that space is still available.

14th Adirondack Architectural Heritage Awards

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On Friday afternoon, October 9, 2009, preservation enthusiasts gathered at the The Inn at Erlowest on Lake George to honor and celebrate the 14th Annual Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) Awards. Six awardees shared their stories of challenge and success, passion and purpose amongst a lively and engaged group of supporters and friends. In all of the awards, the stewardship committee seeks representative examples of long-term stewardship and committed preservation practice as well as sensitivity to the original function and period of each resource.

This year’s awardees include:

William Gates, for long-term stewardship of the Gates Homestead, Bolton Landing

Paul and Susan Provost, for long-term stewardship of Hemlock Hall, Blue Mountain Lake

Sekon Association, for long-term stewardship of Fish Rock Camp and Camp Calumet, Upper Saranac Lake

Thomas Finnigan III, for long-term stewardship of T.F. Finnigan Men’s Clothing Store, Saranac Lake

The Atkinson Family, for long-term stewardship of their home, Keene Valley

Bruce and Beki Pushee, for long-term stewardshp of the Old Mill Bed and Breakfast, Elizabethtown

The Adirondack Architectural Heritage Awards program welcomes nominations throughout the year from its membership and the general public. Help us spread the word about the good work going on in our region by nominating a project from your community.

For more information about our awards program and to obtain a nomination form, contact Ellen Ryan, Community Outreach Director, Adirondack Architectural Heritage, 1790 Main Street, Suite 37, Keeseville, New York 12944, 518-834-9328 or visit their website at www.aarch.org.