25 Years of Seven to Save

This is a big year for the League – 2024 marks both the organization’s 50th Anniversary and the 25th Anniversary of our flagship Seven to Save program. The League has been helping New York State communities retain and reuse threatened sites through our Seven to Save program since 1999, with 119 listings since the program’s inception. Building on partnerships with groups and individuals, inclusion on our Seven to Save list has been a key catalyst to the successful revival of dozens of buildings, landscapes, downtowns, and neighborhoods.

Since we first began drawing attention to at-risk places with a Seven to Save designation, some places have been lost, some are still endangered, and others have gone on to be remarkable success stories. There are lessons to be learned in all three cases. For our anniversary year, we wanted to look at the program with a thematic retrospective – highlighting seven themes we’ve seen pop up in our listings over the past 25 years. Over the course of the year, we’ll be digging into our STS archive to highlight places across the state that help tell a broader story of preservation in New York. In this post we are teasing the themes we’re going to be looking at more deeply later in the year. We hope you’ll follow along!

Main Streets

The Downtown Oneonta Historic District is a remarkably intact, mixed-use Main Street. Inclusion on our 2022-2023 Seven to Save list was meant to showcase the economic benefits of investing in their historic infrastructure and alleviate any public misconceptions about what preservation could mean for their community.

Main Streets are the lifeblood of our communities. The state of a Main Street and its buildings tells you a lot about that community. Over the past 25 years, many Main Streets across the state have landed on our Seven to Save list – from Downtown State Street in Schenectady back in 2000 to the listing of Downtown Oneonta’s Historic District just last year.

Sustainable Communities

A portion of the East End Historic District in Newburgh (STS 1999) was rehabilitated by RUPCO to provide much-needed affordable housing. Photo of 46,48,50 Lander Street by David Mitchell.

By our count, almost 20 neighborhoods have been included as Seven to Saves over the years – not counting Main Streets! Two threats tend to loom largest over Seven to Save communities: development pressure and deterioration. Gentrification and overdevelopment can push longtime residents out of their homes. Disinvestment and lack of resources can make it difficult for residents to take care of their historic homes. The people who live in and take care of historic homes are a driving force in preserving these kinds of sustainable communities. Tools like historic district designation, Homeowner Historic Tax Credits, and a push for affordable housing in historic neighborhoods helps to build sustainable communities. And of course, retaining existing building stock by rehabbing instead of demolishing keeps those materials out of the landfill — a key component to combatting climate change.

Underrepresented Histories

A large group of residents pose on the beach in Sag Harbor. The historically Black vacation communities of Sag Harbor Hills, Azureset, and Ninevah Subdivision (SANS) was included on our 2020-2021 Seven to Save list. Photo courtesy of Donnamarie Barnes.

Marginalized histories tend to also be at high risk of erasure. In terms of our built environment, this can manifest in displacement, disinvestment, and demolition. Amplifying underrepresented histories and supporting local communities is essential to a strong preservation movement.

Transportation Infrastructure

Now an iconic tourist destination, the High Line was included on our inaugural Seven to Save list in 1999. Photo by Timothy Schenck showing artist Yu Ji’s Column-Untitled No.3 on the High Line at 20th Street via thehighline.org.

Waterways, roadways, railways, and airports – the architecture of how we get around can tell us a lot about the time in which it was constructed and how our communities have evolved and developed over the years. Whether purely utilitarian in its original conception or a grand statement of forward-looking aspirations, many great buildings and structures have fallen out of use and landed on our Seven to Save list.

Schools & Libraries

The former St. Paul’s School in Garden City has been vacant for several decades — and was included on our Seven to Save list in 2003.

With shifts in population, budget constraints, and older buildings no longer meeting contemporary needs, many educational buildings have been vacated and left to deteriorate without an immediate new use on the horizon. In some cases, the buildings were so large that finding a new use proved difficult. In others, districts outgrew their historic buildings and moved on. Regardless of particular circumstances, educational buildings tend to be local landmarks, deeply connected to a community’s identity and sense of place. People often have a strong emotional connection to these places because they used them as a children, or members of their families did. Losing these places can be a major blow to a community.

History on the Water

Schenectady’s Stockade Historic District lies in the floodplain of the Mohawk River and was included on our 2016-2017 Seven to Save list because of the ever-present threat of flooding. Seen here is a stretch of the neighborhood during major flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 (photo credit: Schenectady Daily Gazette).

In many ways, New York is defined by its relationship to water. New York City and Long Island are surrounded by it. The Hudson River shoots north all the way into the Adirondacks. The Finger Lakes are home to picturesque landscapes and thriving communities. Lakes Ontario and Erie form our western border. And of course, the Erie Canal is the reason New York is called the Empire State. Our coastal, river-, lake-, and canal-side communities are rich in history. But being on the water can also put historic structures at risk – from natural erosion and increased flooding caused by climate change to development pressure caused by increased real estate value.

Seemingly Lost Causes, Spectacular Comebacks

The Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport (STS 2001) suffered from disuse for years before coming back to life as the TWA Hotel. Photo of the restored lobby by David Mitchell.

By the time some historic places end up on the Seven to Save list they have suffered from years of vacancy and/or significant disrepair. Our final theme in this year's anniversary retrospective will highlight a few such listings that have since gone on to have incredible transformations.