Architecture

State Board Recommends to State, National Registers

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The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended that 24 properties be added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including the nationally significant Haviland Middle School in Hyde Park and the birthplace of an important American statesman, William H. Seward.

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. Listing will oblige state and federal government agencies whose projects would adversely impact the properties to consider other options. Private projects are not subject to state or federal review after a property is listed, and private property owners – or in historic districts, a majority of property owners – must consent for the listing to move forward.

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 approximately 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

Dutchess County

Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, Hyde Park. – today the Haviland Middle School, the architecturally and historically significant Colonial Revival-style school shares direct associations with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who, along with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, dedicated the building at a public ceremony in October 1940, and made several subsequent appearances there.

Erie County

The Calumet, Buffalo – the 1906 commercial building is unique example of the use of glazed architectural terra cotta, decorated with running reeds, their leaves and flowers.

The Zink Block, Buffalo – the 1896 commercial building with Italian Renaissance styling is a particularly rare resource on the once thriving Connecticut Street commercial corridor, which before the mid-century stood as a thriving commercial anchor for the neighborhood.

Kensington Gardens Apartment Complex, Buffalo – the apartment complex built for the influx of workers to the city’s World War II industries reflects designs of the Garden City movement and was one of the earliest projects supported by the Federal Housing Administration.

Nassau County

Glen Cove Post Office, Glen Cove – the distinctive Craftsman/Tudor-style structure was built in 1905 to serve the community’s fast-growing population.

Johns S. Phipps Estate, Old Westbury – the National Register of Historic Places listing from 1976 will be amended to include a large part of the property known as Orchard Hill, which was part of the original estate, and the more information on the significance of the estate’s landscaping and architecture.

Onondaga County

John G. Ayling House, Syracuse – the 1915 Tudor Revival home was designed by noted Syracuse architect Ward Wellington Ward.

Indian Castle Village Site, Manlius and Carley Onondaga Village Site, Pompey – the two sites are significant in the history of the Onondaga Nation and the regional development of the Iroquois Confederation and have yielded significant archaeological insight into domestic life in the seventeenth century.

Orange County

John G. Beakes House, Middletown – built around 1884, the Queen Anne-style home is an architecturally significant example of fashionable middle class housing erected at a time when the city’s West Main Street was being developed as a desirable residential quarter.

Grace Episcopal Church, Middletown – a prominent and recognizable landmark built in 1846 and substantially modified in the late 1860s, Grace Episcopal Church’s soaring spire and highly picturesque masonry work mark it as a significant example of 19th century Gothic Revival-style religious architecture.

Mortimer Mapes House/William H. Seward Birthplace, Florida – the property includes an 1887 Queen Anne-style home built for a prominent local citizen as well as the 1797 home – later converted into a carriage house – where New York Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward was born.

Queens County

Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church, Forest Hills – the church and parish hall complex built in stages between 1924 and 1950 is an outstanding example of early-20 century Collegiate Gothic architecture.

Richmond County

Louis A. and Laura Stim House/Casa Belvedere, Staten Island – the 1908 Renaissance mansion, a prominent reminder of the 19th and early 20th-century development of Grymes Hill as a fashionable enclave of great estates and overlooking New York Harbor, is one of the few houses of its kind surviving on Staten Island.

Saratoga County

Nathan Garnsey House, Rexford – built in 1791 and remaining in the same family for generations, the home is a virtually untouched gem of Federal architecture owned by one of Clifton Park’s important first families

Jonesville Store, Jonesville – originally built about 1845 or 1850, and expanded in 1900, the Main Street building has been a community gathering spot since throughout its history.

Mohawk Valley Grange Hall, Clifton Park – the 1896 single-story wood frame building used as a gathering place for the agricultural community retains its rural setting, despite the town’s increasing suburbanization.

Abraham Best House, Vischer Ferry – built around 1815, the sophisticated brick federal farmhouse is a rare survivor from the agricultural era of Clifton Park.

Cyrus Rexford House, Rexford – the Stick-style Victorian was built in 1883 by Cyrus Rexford, who owned a canal store in the hamlet named for his father, and served as Clifton Park town supervisor and justice of the peace.

Suffolk County

Winganhauppauge, Islip – the 1941 French Provincial style home was built for Dr. Richard Pasternack, a research scientist whose work allowed Pfizer, his employer, to become the largest producer and distributor of pharmaceuticals in the world in the twentieth century.

The Edwards Homestead, Sayville – believed to be the oldest extant residence in Sayville with a portion dating to 1785, the home is an excellent surviving example of an early Long Island farmstead that began as a smaller New England Colonial but expanded over time by the family of early colonial settlers.

Sullivan County

Greenville Preparative Meeting House/Catskill Meeting House, Grahamsville – built in 1838-39 by Quakers from New England and the Hudson Valley, the simple and symmetrical building remains virtually unchanged since its original construction, lacking central heat, electricity, and indoor plumbing.

Washington County

L.C. Simonds Adirondack Cabin, Clemons – the 1910 cabin built by a Whitehall manufacturer features the hallmarks of the so-called Adirondack style, popularized in the late 19th century, including saddle-no
tched spruce log walls, rustic rough hewn masonry chimney, wraparound porch, and interior rustic detailing.

Westchester County

Hartsdale Railroad Station, Hartsdale – built in 1914 to replace and earlier, smaller wood frame structure, the Tudor Revival-style structure has a pivotal role in the connecting Hartsdale to New York City and attracting homeowners to the community.

Preservation League Applauds Private Investment Act

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Upstate revitalization projects may soon be on a faster track, now that banks and insurance companies can more readily utilize New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits to support commercial redevelopment projects according to the Preservation League of New York State.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida) and Assemblymember Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo, Grand Island), was seen as a key component in realizing the benefits of New York’s Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, by bringing new private investment to these efforts. The Governor signed the bill recently, and the new law takes effect immediately.

The League led a coalition of developers, financiers, municipal officials, architects, not-for-profits and other groups to make this change to bring new investments to bear on redevelopment projects in New York State by allowing banks and insurance companies to apply the state Rehabilitation Tax Credits against their New York State franchise tax liabilities.

Banks and insurance companies are among the most active users of the Federal rehabilitation tax credit. Previously, companies based outside of New York State could only apply the credit against their general corporate income tax liability, which reduced the incentive for many companies to invest in rehabilitation projects in the Empire State. These companies may now apply the rehabilitation tax credit program against their state franchise tax liability.

According to Daniel Mackay, the Preservation League’s Director of Public Policy, &#8220This new law will allow a significantly larger pool of experienced and well-capitalized investors into the market for New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits. This will enable several important projects to move forward, despite the recently-enacted state tax credit deferral program.&#8221

In Part Y of the 2010-2011 Enacted Budget, tax credits for some thirty state business and economic development programs will be deferred to help balance the state spending plan, including incentives for the rehabilitation of commercial properties.

Critics worry that deferring incentives of the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program will prevent projects from securing financing, as backers will no longer be assured of a timely return on investment. Homeowner rehabilitation projects are capped at $50,000 and are not affected by the deferrals.

&#8220The Senate and Assembly will be returning to Albany in the coming weeks,&#8221 said Mackay, &#8220and we will continue our advocacy in hopes of restoring the tax credit program to its intended format so that New York will finally begin to enjoy the long-sought economic and community redevelopment benefits of this program.&#8221

Thomas Coles New Studio Plans Revealed

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There will be a party at Thomas Cole’s home in Catskill with cocktails on the lawn followed by dinner at one of several magnificent river-front homes nearby on Saturday September 11, 6pm. The event is a fundraiser, and the newly completed architectural drawings for Thomas Cole’s &#8220New Studio&#8221 will be unveiled. The building was designed by Cole and built in 1846, but was demolished in 1973. The original stone foundation has been unearthed, and the fascinating archaeological site will be on view. The evening includes a viewing of the current exhibition in the Main House, &#8220Remember the Ladies: Women of the Hudson River School.&#8221 Tickets are $225 for the cocktail and dinner, or $70 for the cocktail party only.

Webinars on Historic Preservation Tax Credits

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New government incentives will help many owners of older houses and commercial buildings repair or rehabilitate their buildings. Two free webinars presented by staff from the State Historic Preservation Office will review the basic guidelines for the programs and answer questions about the application process.

The programs require that buildings are individually listed in the State or National Register of Historic Places, or in a listed historic district. Additionally, the buildings must be located in an eligible census tract. The New York State Historic Homeowner Tax Credit Program will cover 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs of owner-occupied historic houses in certain target areas, up to a credit value of $50,000. The Historic Commercial Tax Credit will cover up to 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs up to a credit value of $5 million. Commercial property owners must be approved for the federal historic preservation commercial tax credit, which offers an additional 20% credit on qualified rehabilitation costs. Note that the Commercial Tax Credit program includes rental housing.

Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010

1:00 – 3:00 Historic Preservation Tax Credit Programs for Commercial Properties

3:30 – 5:00 Historic Preservation Tax Credit Programs for Homeowners

&#8220The Historic Preservation Tax Credit can be a profoundly effective tool in fostering sustainable neighborhoods and revitalizing vacant buildings,&#8221 said Carol Ash, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. &#8220It’s been said that the greenest building is the one that is already built. Under this new initiative approved by Governor Paterson last year, owners of qualified historic homes could qualify for tax credits ranging from $1,000 all the way up to $50,000 for home improvements, including repairs to doors, windows, roofs and plumbing, heating and wiring systems.&#8221

For information about the tax credit programs and further details about the webinars, visit the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation website at www.nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo.

To register for a webinar, send an email to [email protected] and type &#8220commercial webinar&#8221 or &#8220homeowner webinar&#8221 in the subject line. Registrants using that address will receive a response with information only on logging in. For questions regarding the webinar, contact Sloane Bullough at 518-237-8643, ext. 3252 or [email protected].

Registration is limited. Information about the tax credit programs can be found online at http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo/tax-credit-programs/.

The webinars are sponsored by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and the New York State Education Department.

Destruction of Historic Staten Island Beach Community?

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Following a determination by the New York State Historic Preservation Office that the Cedar Grove Beach Club was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, Staten Island elected officials have called on NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe to abandon plans to demolish the 99-year old community in New Dorp.

Cedar Grove Beach Club is a collection of 41 historic beach bungalows largely built between 1920 and 1940 in New Dorp, Staten Island. The community was established around 1907 as one of many beach campgrounds during the heyday of Staten Island’s shore. Today the Beach Club, located south of the corner of Ebbitts Avenue and Cedar Grove Avenue, is a close-knit community of families who have been on the beach for generations. In the 1960s, New York City took land and cottages by eminent domain as part of a plan to build an expressway through the site. While the road was never built, the scheme that resulted in the destruction of almost all of Staten Island’s historic seaside resort communities.

Cedar Grove alone escaped demolition because the bungalow owners and the Beach Club have rented the property back from the City for nearly 50 years while being responsible for all maintenance of the public beach, playgrounds and property. As one resident remarked, “the Beach Club now pays more in rent in a year than the City paid for the bungalows.”

In December 2009, NYC Parks announced they would not renew the Club’s lease, and ordered the bungalow community’s residents to vacate by December 31, 2009. Following public outcry, and with the support of local community groups and elected officials, Parks agreed to extend the lease until September 30, 2010. Parks has recently announced its intentions to demolish most of area’s buildings immediately after the lease expires, although, as Congressman McMahon’s letter of July 22, 2010 points out, the City has no projected start date or funding for its plans to furnish the beach with lifeguard and concession stands or to facilitate greater public access to the beach area. The sand beach area of Cedar Grove is currently open to the general public and accessible from New Dorp Beach Park to the north and Great Kills Park to the south.

Area residents fear that the city will evict the current occupants of the bungalow colony and defer any future plans for the property indefinitely, leaving the site unmaintained and littered with construction debris, the same situation that exists at the adjacent New Dorp Beach Park. This fear is supported by fact that the city has not initiated the process to obtain appropriate permits to demolish historic structures, to begin new construction on a site designated by the State as a potential sensitive wetlands area, or any of the other clearances typically necessary for a proposed capital project.

Recently, Manhattan Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito (chair of the Parks Committee of City Council) has joined her Staten Island colleagues Vincent Ignizio, James Oddo and Deborah Rose, Congressman McMahon, NYS Senator Lanza, Assmebly member Janele Hyer-Spencer, the New Dorp Central Civic Association and the Historic Districts Council in calling for Parks to abandon their plans to destroy this important historic district and evict 41 families from the Beach Club.

In a letter citing the historic importance of the site, Congressman Michael McMahon, State Senator Anthony Lanza (NY-24), and Councilmen James Oddo (50th District) and Vincent Ignizio (51st District) objected to the Parks Department’s lack of firm plans and the absence of funding for any project at the property, stating that they “fail to see the logic” of evicting the site’s long term residents, especially “given the current economic climate faced by the city” and “the significant financial burden” of taking new construction on the site.

Troy: Chances to Tour Limited Access Sites

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Hidden history will be revealed as the Rensselaer County Historical Society offers unique opportunities to tour limited-access sites around Troy. From a riverfront warehouse painstakingly renovated into an elegant loft apartment to the attic of the 1786 Melville House, the Rensselaer County Historical Society’s Hidden History programs offer the public opportunities to tour historic buildings and sites not normally open to the general public.

Participants may register for individual programs ($12 members/$15 not-yet-members) or for the whole 4-program series ($45 members/$50 not-yet-members). All tours last an hour and meet at the location specified. Call 518-272-7232, x12 to register or register online at http://www.rchsonline.org/registration.html.

HIDDEN HISTORY: 169 River Street Renovation
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2010- 4:30-5:30 pm

Place: 169 River Street, Troy

169 River Street was once home to the Wustefeld Candy Company. Now, this renovated warehouse building on Troy’s riverfront is a great example of the adaptive re-use of historic structures. Explore this former warehouse building and learn about how it was transformed into a modern loft apartment &#8211 with some wonderful traces of its industrial past remaining.

HIDDEN HISTORY: Herman Melville House
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010- 4:30-5:30 pm

Place: Corner 1st Ave and 114th Street, Lansingburgh
The 1786 Melville House was home to Herman Melville while he wrote his first two novels and is now home to the Lansingburgh Historical Society. Join us for a tour of this historic building, including its “Attic Museum” which highlights Lansingburgh’s unique contributions to the area economy.

HIDDEN HISTORY: Lighting Research Center/Gurley Building
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2010- 4:30-5:30 pm

Place: 21 Union Street, Troy
This National Historic Landmark building was built in 1862 and opened just 8 months after the original building on the site burned to the ground in the Great Fire of Troy. Rensselaer’s innovative Lighting Research Center occupies floors of the building that were once home to production lines for Gurley’s world famous surveying equipment.

HIDDEN HISTORY: Rensselaer Model Railroad Society
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010- 4:30-5:30 pm

Place: Davison Hall, RPI.

Hidden deep within the RPI campus and not normally open to the public, the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society has created a 33 feet wide by 123 feet long historically accurate railroad layout of 1950s Troy. RMRS has generously opened their doors for us to see this unique re-creation. For more information, please visit http://railroad.union.rpi.edu. Please note – the layout is not handicapped accessible and for safety reasons, is only open to ages 12 and up.

Poughkeepsie: Historic Family Homes Reunited

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Historic Huguenot Street has announced that it has reached an agreement with Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie to transfer to it the properties and collections of Locust Lawn located in the town of Gardiner, New York. The agreement is result of months of planning to reunite the family homes of Annette Innis Young, who was responsible for establishing both estates as protected historic sites.

Transferring ownership and “reuniting” these two estates fulfills the original vision of Annette Young. It was Miss Young’s desire to jointly preserve the Locust Lawn and Locust Grove estates under one organizational umbrella hoping “the foundation will maintain these houses as an example of the lives of three generations of a wealthy and cultured Hudson Valley family.” Unfortunately, she was unable to achieve this during her lifetime.

As an alternative, she donated Locust Lawn to Historic Huguenot Street (which was then known as the Huguenot Historical Society), an organization in which she was already involved. Upon her death in 1975, Annette Young’s will established a not-for-profit educational corporation to preserve Locust Grove and its contents in perpetuity for the &#8220enjoyment, visitation, and enlightenment of the public.&#8221

The Locust Grove Estate was purchased by Annette Young’s father, William Young in 1901. The Young family cherished Locust Grove’s extensive grounds and historic buildings and added their own important collections of furniture, paintings and ceramics.

Locust Lawn is located on Route 32 South in Gardiner. It features an historic federal-style home was built in 1814 by Josiah Hasbrouck, a businessman and gentleman farmer whose ancestors were among those that founded New Paltz. Josiah Hasbrouck was Annette Young’s great-great grandfather and a U.S. congressman. The Hasbrouck family left Locust Lawn in 1885, leaving behind 70 years of finery and furnishings. The house was a repository of family history for another 70 years until it was donated to Historic Huguenot Street by Annette Young in 1958.

In addition to transferring the property and collections of Locust Lawn, Historic Huguenot Street will donate its adjoining properties, which include the historic Terwilliger stone house as well as the Little Wings Bird Sanctuary and Meadow. The Terwilliger House will continue to be protected as a historic building, open to the public. The existing protections on the Little Wings Bird Sanctuary and the Conservation Agreement on the Meadow also will remain in place with the transfer of the properties. Together, all of these properties preserve the core of the estate created by Josiah Hasbrouck.

The executive directors of the respective organizations have cooperated over the years to ensure that the collections and history have stayed linked to each other. These connections led to the formal transfer that is now taking place.

It is anticipated that Locust Grove will assume ownership and management of Locust Lawn by the end of August. Under the terms of the transfer, which has already been approved by the boards of both organizations, all restrictions placed on the property by Annette Young at the time she gifted the site will remain in effect. In the short term, the site will continue to be open to the public by appointment. Locust Grove plans an expanded program of public events in the future.

Photo: Locust Lawn Front Facade Courtesy of Historic Huguenot Street.

Preservationists Decry Proposed Cuts to Tax Credits

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The Preservation League of New York State joined economic development, smart growth and environmental groups in denouncing the Legislature’s plans on tax law amendments that it says will &#8220undermine years of work to revitalize the upstate economy, protect open space and foster green initiatives.&#8221

The New York State Senate and Assembly are considering tax law amendments that would temporarily defer certain state tax credit incentives for up to six years. Among the targeted credits are the recently expanded (2009) NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit programs. Just last week, the Senate and Assembly passed legislation designed to bolster these programs by bringing new private investment to redevelopment projects.

&#8220The New York State Legislature is considering tax law changes that will gut this program one week after they passed legislation that allows it to attract significant new national investment to distressed communities throughout New York State,&#8221 said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. &#8220Just as redevelopment projects are set to launch in cities throughout the state, this proposed change pulls the rug out from beneath their financing plans.&#8221

According to Robert Simpson, CEO of the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity in Syracuse, &#8220This rehabilitation tax credit has been anticipated by many as one of New York’s most effective economic development programs, but before we can begin to realize its long-sought economic and community redevelopment benefits, the Legislature is about strip the program of the incentives that make it work.&#8221

Deferring incentives of the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program are expected to prevent some projects from securing financing, as partners will no longer be assured of a timely return on investment.

&#8220When the expanded Rehabilitation Tax Credit program was adopted in 2009, a number of modifications were made to reflect New York State’s difficult financial situation,&#8221 said Daniel Mackay, Director of Public Policy for the Preservation League. &#8220This program has already been adapted to work in a tough fiscal climate. If further changes are imposed upon the program, it will lose all effectiveness as an economic development tool.&#8221

In 2009, the rehabilitation tax credit programs were limited to distressed census tracts in New York State, commercial rehabilitation project credits were capped at a maximum value of $5 million, and the credits were limited to a five-year pilot program, set to sunset in 2014. Despite those limitations, an economic benefits assessment for the program commissioned by the Preservation League showed a $12:1 return on state investment, noting significant job creation and increased local and state tax revenue returns in addition to community redevelopment benefits.

Twenty-eight other business tax credits were also mentioned in legislative discussions, a number of which address environmental clean-ups, promote alternative fuel and energy development, stimulate affordable housing and green building development, and conserve open space.

The tax credits under threat include the Rehabilitation of Commercial (Historic) Properties Credit (expanded in 2009, 2010 enhancement bill is Governor’s program bill, and has passed Senate and Assembly), and the Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit (expanded in 2009, 2010 enhancement bill is Governor’s program bill, and has passed Senate and Assembly).

The proposal under consideration would defer 50% of allowable credits accrued by a project from 2010 – 2013 until 2013 -2016. Rules for allocation in 2013-2016 will be promulgated by the Commissioner of Tax & Finance, so there is not yet any suggestion as to how the credits will be issued in that three year period.

35 Places Recommended to State, National Registers

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The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended that 35 properties and historic districts be added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including Manhattan’s iconic Park Avenue and the nationally significant Crotona Play Center in the Bronx and the Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo.

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 approximately 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 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. Listing will oblige state and federal government agencies whose projects would adversely impact the properties to consider other options. Private projects are not subject to state or federal review after a property is listed, and private property owners – or in historic districts, a majority of property owners – must consent for the listing to move forward.

STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

Allegany County

Ceres School, Ceres – the 1893 one-story frame structure is a surviving example of a late 19th century schoolhouse which served students from both Pennsylvania and New York.

Bronx County

Crotona Play Center, Bronx – the Art Moderne complex was one of eleven immense outdoor swimming pools opened in 1936 by then Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, built through the Depression-era Works Progress Administration.

Cattaraugus County

School House #10/Ivers J. Norton Elementary, Olean – the 1909 school is a rare example of an early 20th century public school constructed with architectural references to the Prairie School style of architecture.

Chemung County

John Brand, Sr. House, Elmira – the intact 1871 large-scale Italianate home is a reflection of the prosperity and prominence of its owner, John Brand, Sr., a late 19th century brick manufacturer, grocer and tobacco farmer.

Chenango County

Rockwell Mills Historic District, Rockwell Mills – laid out along the Unadilla River is an intact example of a 19th century water-powered manufacturing hamlet.

Columbia County

Van Salsbergen Home, Hudson – built as a two-room limestone house around 1700 and expanded around 1860, the noteworthy home was built by early European settlers of the Hudson Valley.

North Hillsdale Methodist Church, North Hillsdale – built between 1837 and 1838, with the portico and steeple added in 1859, the Greek Revival church is a significant example of 19th century rural meetinghouse architecture.

Delaware County

Erskine L. Seeley House, Stamford – the distinctive Queen Anne style house was built in 1900 for Erskine Seeley, a well know leather manufacturer, merchant and prominent citizen of Stamford.

Dutchess County

Second Baptist Church of Dover, Dover Plains – built around 1833, the oldest religious building in the hamlet is an outstanding example early 19th center Protestant meetinghouse design.

Erie County

Hotel Lafayette, Buffalo – the 1902 French Renaissance style hotel is the most important building still standing designed by Louise Bethune, a Buffalo architect who was the first woman in the United States to be recognized as a professional architect by the American Institute of Architects and the Western Association of Architects.

Greene County

Torry-Chittenden Farmhouse, Durham – erected by Revolutionary War veteran William Torrey around 1799, it is distinct intact example of the type of late 18th century farmhouse built by settlers of New England origins.

Moore-Howland Estate, Catskill – built in 1866 by painter Charles Herbert Moore, the cottage with fine views of the Hudson River and Catskills was expanded in 1900 by the members of the wealthy Howland family.

Herkimer County

Thendara Historic District, Webb – a collection of five surviving late 19th and early 20th century associated with development around the Adirondack Division of the New York Central and Hudson Railroad that brought thousands of tourists to the region.

Monroe County

Edward Harrison House, Brockport – today the Brockport Alumni House, the French Second Empire home was built in 1877 by successful Brockport merchant tailor and civic leader Edward Harrison.

East Side Presbyterian Church, Rochester – today the Parsells Avenue Community Church, the simple Romanesque Revival church reflects the growth of the Beechwood section of Rochester in the early 20th century, where the church was built in two stages in 1909 and 1926.

Montgomery County

Caspar Getman Farmstead, Stone Arabia – a significant and highly intact example of family farm buildings from the late 18th to mid 19th century, operated by descendents of the Palatine Germans who settled the region.

Margaret Reaney Memorial Library, St. Johnsville – the 1909 Beaux Arts library and museum donated to the village by local textile manufacturer Joseph Reaney is an excellent example of civic architecture.

New York County

Park Avenue Historic District, New York – the linear corridor from 79th to 96th Street is a repository of some of the finest 1910s and 1920s apartment buildings in New York City, mostly built after a landscaped center mall was erected over an open railroad tunnel, making the avenue more desirable for residential development.

133 East 80th Street, New York – a distinct 1929-30 luxury apartment house designed in the French Gothic and Tudor Revival styles by not architect Rosario Candela, where several citizens nationally prominent in the arts, law, business and government have lived.

Niagara County

The Chilton Avenue-Orchard Parkway Historic District, Niagara Falls – the district includes a rare collection of contiguous, largely intact residential building from the late 1800s and early 1900s that reflect the appearance and character of the city in its heyday.

Park Place Historic District, Niagara Falls – the residential district features intact examples of American residential styles, spanning from late Italianate and Victorian-era Queen Anne to early 20th century craftsman and revival styles.

Morse Cobblestone Farmhouse, Wilson – constructed around 1840, the farmhouse is an excellent example of cobblestone masonry construction in New York.

Oneida County

Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica – the 1960 museum and arts center is a significant example of modern architecture designed by internationally-renowned architect Philip Johnson.

Onondaga County

Shepard Settlement Cemetery, Skaneateles – the rural cemetery founded in 1823 contains the graves of at least 30 armed forces veterans of all wars from the Revolutionary War to World War II.

Otsego County

Tunnicliff-Jordan House, Richfield Springs – one of the village’s earliest buildings, it was built between 1810 and 1825 by the sons of an early s
ettler, John Tunnicliff, who operated a saw and grist-mill industry at the site.

Rensselaer County

Chapel and Cultural Center, Troy – the 1968 example of Modernist quasi-religious architecture has been an important venue for the performing and visual arts in Troy.

Rockland County

Houser-Conklin House, Viola – the oldest sandstone portion of the 1775 house was built for Henry Houser, a veteran of the American Revolution.

William Ferndon House, Piermont – the high-style Neoclassical, also known as Ferndon Hall, was built in 1835 for William Ferndon, a successful Piermont woolen mill owner.

Schoharie County

Abraham Sternberg House, Schoharie – a distinctive and intact example of pre- and post-Revolutionary War Dutch and English building practices, built sometime in the late 18th century on land owned by the Sternberg family since the 1740s.

Steuben County

Gold Seal Winery, Hammondsport – originally the Urbana Wine Company, the 1865 Keuka Lake complex was the second winery established in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Suffolk County

Frank W. Smith House, Amityville – the 1901 Queen Anne was built by prominent store owner Frank Smith during a period of rapid growth in the village due to the arrival of the railroad.

Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church, Sayville – the distinctive 1887-88 English Romanesque/Norman Revival church and its 1879 rectory were designed by noted Long Island architect Isaac H. Green, Jr.

Tompkins County

Telluride House, Ithaca – the 1909 example of early 20th century American architecture at Cornell University was built by Lucien Nunn, who made his fortune mining in Telluride, Colorado, and founded the Telluride Association to encourage pursuit of technical careers, particularly engineering.

Ulster/Delaware Counties

Amelita Galli-Curci Estate, Fleischmanns – the 1922 Catskill mountain estate named Sul Monte was designed by renowned country house architect Harrie T. Lindeberg for acclaimed Italian-American opera soprano Amelita Galli-Curci.

Westchester County

Witthoefft Residence, Armonk – the 1957 articulated steel structure is a rare example of modernist architectural design in the New York City suburbs, designed by architect Arthur Witthoefft.

Residents of The Grinnell Launch Centennial Celebration

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The residents of The Grinnell, a land-marked nine-story, triangular cooperative apartment house at 800 Riverside Drive in the Audubon Park Historic District, will begin a year-long celebration of their building’s centennial on June 10, 2010.

Heralding the festivities is the launch of www.TheGrinnellat100.com, a website combining oral history, media clips, historical essays, and images spanning the building’s 100-year history. The year’s events will also include centennial logo and photography competitions, exhibitions in the Grinnell’s community room, apartment tours, a gardening project, and a birthday party. A calendar of events is available on the website.

Constructed between June 10, 1910 and July 23, 1911, the Grinnell sits on a triangular plot of land in Washington Heights where the family of George Blake Grinnell once pastured a few cows when the surrounding area was known as Audubon Park. “The Park,” a bucolic suburb that grew out of John James Audubon’s farm Minnie’s Land, remained suburban into the 20th Century, but became prime property for real estate development when the subway opened at 157th Street in November 1904. Six years later, when the extended Riverside Drive opened, its path crossing Audubon Park, the Grinnell heirs, led by eldest son George Bird Grinnell, sold their property. Developers quickly snapped it up and between 1909 and 1911 erected a group of Beaux Arts apartment houses. Noting the effects of rapid transit, newspaper commentators dubbed the two-year period Audubon Park’s “rapid transformation.”

Like neighboring apartment buildings, the Grinnell lured the prosperous middle-class uptown with amenities such as uniformed staff, spacious apartments “adapted to those accustomed to private houses,” enameled woodwork and paneled dining rooms, and proximity to the subway (“only 200 feet”) – all at prices “30% less than the Middle West Side.” Built around an airy courtyard, The Grinnell remained a fashionable building through the Great Depression, usually fully occupied. In the late 1940s, the Evangelist Daddy Grace bought the Grinnell, considering it and the Eldorado on Central Park West the prime properties in his real estate portfolio. Both were part of his estate when he died in 1960. Although Daddy Grace reputedly refused to integrate his properties, the actress, playwright, and author Alice Childress lived at the Grinnell from the 1950s into the 1970s, though in the ‘50s, she was certainly an exception, rather than the rule.

During the 1970s, the Grinnell suffered landlord neglect as did many apartment buildings in Manhattan. Grinnell tenants organized and demanded better services, eventually resorting to a rent strike to force the owner into providing basic amenities such as heat and hot water. When the landlord abandoned the Grinnell, owing large tax and utility bills, the residents began the arduous process of assuming management of the building, eventually buying it from New York City in 1982. The resulting co-op became The Grinnell, HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation).

During the ensuing three decades, determined boards of directors and dedicated residents revived what was virtually a dead building, replacing and upgrading building systems and restoring common areas to their original beauty. Individual co-op shareholders have restored their apartments, improving their personal investments as well as the co-op’s financial health.

The centennial events will celebrate these achievements as well as the diversity of the Grinnell’s population. From a homogenous population at the beginning of the 20th Century, the Grinnell has progressed to a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic population mirroring the city around it.

A theme running through the centennial celebration is the Grinnell’s place in its community. Grinnell residents actively supported the Audubon Park Historic District effort and are the first private participants in the Heritage Rose District of New York City, a project sponsored by Borough President Scott Stringer’s office. During the centennial year, the Grinnell garden committee will increase its heritage rose collection to thirty bushes, all of them fully visible to the neighborhood, and will dedicate its Heritage Rose Garden in June 2011. An exhibition in September 2010, “The Ground beneath Our Feet,” will trace the close ties between the Grinnell and land surrounding it. A photo competition and exhibition in February 2011 will focus on the Grinnell’s neighbors- submissions must be views of the neighborhood as seen from the Grinnell’s windows. All events, including the Grinnell’s birthday party on October 17, 2010, will be open to the public.