Architecture

Inside The Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City

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A new book, Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, by Michelle and James Nevius offers 182 short chapters that tell the story of the city from Henry Hudson’s voyage of discovery in 1609 to the present-day rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. At the back, fourteen self-guided tours allow you to use the chapters to create your own explorations of the city.

This fast-paced narrative history unfolds in mini-chapters designed to guide you to obscure and prominent historic places throughout the city. The supplemental maps and step-by-step directions make using the book to explore the city in a new way easy and accessible. The book is broken down into several parts that include New Amsterdam, the Revolutionary Era, and the Birth of New Republic- The Great Port, 1805-1835- The Growth of the Immigrant City, 1836-1865- The City in Transition, 1866-1897- The New Beautiful City, 1898-1919- Boom and Bust, 1920-1945- and the City Since World War Two.

The layout makes reading the book as a traditional history possible and brings to life the city’s fascinating and dramatic past for locals, tourists, and anyone eager to better know the stories and places of New York City history. Also check out the authors’ blog.

Locals Elected to Adirondack Architectural Heritage Board

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For your information comes the following press release issued by the Adirondack Architectural Heritage on the recent election of their Board of Directors:

On June 13, 2009, Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) held its annual meeting at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake, during which time the following individuals were elected to serve their first three-year term on AARCH’s Board of Directors: Willem Monster (Northampton), and Albert Price (Piseco Lake)- Jane Mackintosh (Queensbury), and Howard Lowe (Plattsburgh), were elected to serve their second three-year term- William Johnston (Westport), Jay Higgins (Lake Placid), and Phebe Thorne (Keene Valley), were elected to the AARCH Advisory Council. And, at the July AARCH Board meeting, Stewart de Camp (Thendara) was elected to serve on the AARCH Board for a first three-year term.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage is the private, non-profit, historic preservation organization for New York State’s Adirondack Park. AARCH was formed in 1990 with a mission to promote better public understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Adirondack’s unique and diverse architectural heritage. For more information on membership and our complete program schedule contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328 or visit our website at www.aarch.org.

An Architecture Kids Camp at Jay Heritage Center

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From architraves to anthemia, children age eight to eleven can immerse themselves in the world of New York State’s varied architecture during an architecture camp for kids at the Jay Heritage Center all next week (Mon. August 17 to Fri., August 21, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm). The campers will discover the fundamentals of architecture by studying the Greek Revival 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House, along with the two other 19th-century mansions, which are part of the Boston Post Road Historic District. Kids can learn how Hudson Valley architects like Minard Lafever and AJ Davis championed inspirational designs that still capture our imagination.

With guidance from professionals, each camper will then design and construct their own dream house or a building essential for a city, such as a school or fire department. After learning about the basic principles of zoning, they will organize their buildings on a giant map of the Boston Post Road. Cardboard boxes and other recycled materials are used to create the colorful, bustling mini city. This year the campers will also learn about green building and how historic structures can be environmentally sustainable.

The cost is $200 per camper. The Jay Heritage Center is located at 210 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580. Limited enrollment. For further information call 914-698-9275 or e-mail [email protected].

Photo: The Greek Revival Architecture exhibit in the 1907 Carriage House at the Jay Heritage Center, Rye. NY.

Uncovering The Roots of NYCs Preservation Movement

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The controversial demolition of Pennsylvania Station in 1963 is often said to have given birth to New York City’s historic preservation movement. As Randall Mason reveals in his new book The Once and Future New York: Historic Preservation and the Modern City, historic preservation has been a force in the development of modern New York City since the 1890s. Mason is associate professor of city and regional planning in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design and co-editor of Giving Preservation a History.

Rich with archival research, The Once and Future New York documents the emergence of historic preservation in New York at the turn of the twentieth century. The book counters the charge that preservationists were antiquarians concerned only with significant buildings. Primarily using three significant projects &#8211 City Hall Park restoration, the failed attempt to save St. John’s Chapel, and the building of the Bronx River Parkway &#8211 Mason argues that historic preservation in this period, rather than being fundamentally opposed to growth, was integral to modern urban development.

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book’s webpage:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/mason_once.html

Saint Lawrence Seaway Celebrates 50 years

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July 9-12, 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of the engineering feat that created the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The best way to see the seaway is to take the 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail which parallels the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania. A journey along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail offers an authentic American experience of the fresh waters and shoreline landscapes that has shaped much of America’s history.

Fifty years ago Queen Elizabeth II and Dwight D. Eisenhower opened the manmade waterway route into the North American interior. Since then, rhe Saint Lawrence Seaway has been called “the Gateway to North America” and the 120-mile east-to-west start of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail is its road-based parallel. The byway then continues another 398 miles to the Pennsylvania-Ohio border along Lake Erie.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Locks Visitor Center, from which you can watch the world’s oceangoing vessels rise and lower the equivalent of a six-story building in the locks at Massena, NY, is one of many iconic destinations on the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Other popular destinations include the 1000 Islands, small harbors along the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie shorelines, Niagara Falls, and the Seaway Trail Pennsylvania Erie Bayfront. Learn more online at www.seawaytrail.com.

Governor Signs Rehabilitation Tax Credit Enhancements

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ny capitolJoined by state, municipal and local advocates for community revitalization and historic preservation, Governor David Paterson signed legislation that greatly improves the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. The measure (A.9023-Hoyt/S.6056-Valesky) provides incentives and program features for developers and municipalities seeking to rehabilitate historic buildings, and is hoped to advance redevelopment and economic stimulus goals throughout New York State.

“We have every reason to believe that the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit will prove one of the most effective economic and community development programs in the state,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of New York State, the not-for-profit organization that led the charge for enhanced tax credits.

Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen of the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal said, “The Rehabilitation Tax Credits will foster new private and federal investment where it is most needed: our economically distressed downtowns and commercial districts, main streets, and older residential neighborhoods. Further, these incentives will encourage the use or reuse of existing affordable housing resources. I’m delighted that we now have a more powerful tool for revitalizing communities across New York State. “

New York’s first-ever rehabilitation tax credit was adopted as Chapter 547 of the Laws of 2006, but limitations of both the commercial and residential programs failed to provide sufficient incentives to deliver economic and community revitalization to municipalities in need. An economic impact study recently conducted by HR&A Advisors of New York, an industry leader in economic development, real estate and public policy consulting, predicts that the enhanced rehabilitation tax credit will spur over $500 million dollars of economic activity in New York State and create some 2,000 jobs over its initial five-year lifespan.

The act will take effect on January 1, 2010. For more information on New York’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit Programs, call the New York State Historic Preservation Office at (518) 237-8643 or visit http://nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo/investment/index.htm .

Enhanced Preservation Tax Credits Approved by Legislature

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New Yorkers could find it more affordable to make repairs on older homes after the New York State Senate unanimously approved a bill that would improve the existing but underutilized New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit programs. The same bill passed the Assembly in June, and now awaits the signature of Governor David Patterson.

An economic impact study recently conducted by HR&A Advisors of New York projects that the rehabilitation tax credit will spur over $500 million dollars of economic activity in New York State and create some 2,000 jobs over its five-year lifespan. The measure (S.6056-Valesky/A.9023-Hoyt) provides incentives and program features for developers and municipalities seeking to rehabilitate historic buildings, and is hoped to serve as a &#8216-Smart Growth’ initiative.

&#8220We feel this program will prove one of the most effective economic and community development programs in the state, directing significant private investment to the State’s economically distressed municipalities and neighborhoods&#8221 said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of New York State. Similar programs in other states have served to provide critical gap financing for rehabilitation projects.

The Preservation League has been leading a partnership of developers, architects, economic development officials, tax credit professionals, preservationists and others to renew the push for stronger state-level rehabilitation tax credits. Last year, both houses of the legislature passed enhanced preservation tax credits, but the measure was vetoed by Governor David Paterson, citing the state budget crisis. In 2009, bill sponsors Assemblymember Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo, Grand Island) and Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida) revised the legislation to address these concerns.

New York’s first-ever rehabilitation tax credit was adopted as Chapter 547 of the Laws of 2006, but limitations of both the commercial and residential programs failed to provide sufficient incentives to deliver economic and community revitalization to municipalities in need.

&#8220An expanded rehabilitation stimulus program is needed to encourage re-use of existing infrastructure, address affordable housing needs, and stimulate new private investment in the redevelopment of urban cores,&#8221 said DiLorenzo. &#8220Because this bill is fiscally sound while promoting economic stimulus, we urge Governor Paterson to sign this revised legislation and to deliver a program that can fuel the revitalization of New York’s downtowns and neighborhoods.&#8221

Cobblestone Quest – Road Tours of NYs Historic Buildings

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Cobblestone Quest &#8211 Road Tours of New York’s Historic Buildings is a great new resource of self-guided tours to visit and learn about cobblestone buildings that were built in Western New York State before the Civil War. Part of our pioneer history, cobblestone buildings are buildings built with stones that can be held in one hand (as opposed to pebbles, or boulders). According to the guide, which was written by Rich and Sue Freeman (Sue also runs one of favorite blogs &#8211 New York Outdoors), the word cobblestone comes from the Middle English cob meaning a rounded lump and ston, for small rock.

The Freemans have divided the cobblestone building period into three eras: The Early Period (1825-11835) which features crude irregular designs of stones of vary shapes and color. The Middle Period (1835-1845) is distinguished by the use of smaller stones set in more geometrical patterns. In the final period, designated by the Freemans as the Late Period (1845 to the Civil War), stones of uniform color and shape were used with almost machine-like precision. Although cobblestone building began on farms where the stones were plentiful after the clearing of fields, the building method did eventually move into villages in smaller numbers.

The book is filled with facts about cobblestone construction methods and the Freemans are quick to note that &#8220cobblestone is a construction method, not an architectural style.&#8221 Most of the buildings featured in the book are Greek Revival, although some are Federal, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Post Colonial and Victorian style.

Cobblestone Quest features 17 tours through western New York between Syracuse and Buffalo, plus lots of other resources, including cobblestone museums, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, antique shops and galleries, a guide for owners, an index and bibliography, and a more. It’s available from Footprint Press for $19.95.

In and Around Essex, Architecture Focus at History Center

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The Adirondack History Center Museum will host two events in July that look at the landscape and built environment in Essex County. A reception, slide show and gallery tour by photographer Betsy Tisdale featuring the exhibition, In and Around Essex will be held on July 8th, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. The slide show highlights photographs not included in the exhibition and focuses on changes that have taken place in Essex, NY over the last 30 years. Light refreshments will be served including an array of pies contributed by Essex community members for a taste of hometown Essex. Donations accepted. Please call for reservations.

Celebrating a Landscape of Culture and Ideas: 1609-2009, is the focus of this season at the History Center which is offering its next event on Sunday, July 12 at 4:00pm. A lecture by Ellen Ryan, Community Outreach Director at Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), features “What can we learn about people and their environment by looking at architecture?” The presentation corresponds with the exhibition currently on display at the museum: Race, Gender, and Class: Architecture and Society in Essex County. Please call for reservations. $10/non-members, $5/members, $2/students.

The museum is located at 7590 Court Street, Elizabethtown (corner of Hand Avenue and Court Street). For more information please contact the museum at 873-6466 or [email protected].

Adirondack Architectural Heritage Awards Seeks Nominations

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The deadline for nominations from the general public for the 2009 Adirondack Architectural Heritage Awards program is June 30th. Adirondack Architectural Heritage seeks nominations for projects that recognize exemplary historic preservation work throughout the Adirondack Park including examples of sensitive restoration, rehabilitation, and demonstrated long-term stewardship. Past winners have included projects as diverse as a 19th Century Irishtown school restoration, stewardship of Santa’s Workshop, restoration of the circa 1906 Stark Hardware Building in Saranac Lake, restoration of the Twin Pines boathouse on Loon Lake (circa early 1900s) and relighting of the Split Rock lighthouse, in Essex on Lake Champlain.

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.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is the nonprofit historic preservation organization for New York State’s Adirondack Park. AARCH was formed in 1990 with a mission to promote better public understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Adirondack’s unique and diverse architectural heritage. This legacy includes not only the nationally recognized &#8220Great Camps&#8221 and other rustic buildings but also the many other structures that embody the whole range of human experience in the region. These other structures include: a wide variety of homes and farmsteads- the churches, commercial buildings, town halls and libraries that make up most Adirondack settlements- bridges, railroad buildings, lighthouses and other transportation related structures- and industrial sites related to the region’s important iron, wood, quarrying and tanning industries. AARCH website, maintains a list of endangered properties in the Adirondacks.