This Call for Nominations will result in the listing of seven at-risk sites. Sites selected for the Seven to Save program will receive enhanced attention from the Preservation League’s experienced advocacy and technical assistance staff from January 2025 through December 2026.
Read MoreSaratoga Springs Preservation Foundation successfully preserved 65 Phila Street, a historic property built in 1851 and later modified to the Italianate style, which had fallen into severe neglect (before and after photos of the front facade shown above). After years of advocating against demolition and working with the city to enforce property maintenance codes, the Foundation acquired the building in May 2021 with the assistance of Mark Haworth, a long-time member of the Foundation. The Foundation undertook a comprehensive rehabilitation, including environmental remediation, structural stabilization, and exterior restoration. Through monetary and in-kind donations, the "Revive 65" campaign raised over $500,000. The project, completed in 2024, removed long-standing blight, increased property tax revenue, and demonstrated the community and economic benefits of historic preservation. The property is now on the market, with proceeds going to the Foundation’s Historic Property Redevelopment Fund.
Read MoreWith the official public announcement of the 2024 Preserving Black Churches Grants on January 15, the Friends of Thomas Memorial are proud to share that Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church has received $100,000 in funding from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Read MoreEven small money can make a big difference in small towns. In this session from PastForward 2022, panelists dig into the results of the Northeast Heritage Economy Program (NHEP) grants, administered in 2020-2022. NHEP is a collaborative initiative of the Preservation League of New York State, New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, Maine Preservation, and Preservation Trust of Vermont.
Read MoreJust like we did last year, when NYS announced its Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) grant recipients, we dove in to find League connections. Announced at the end of 2022, the Round XII REDC grants awarded $90 million in funding to 74 projects. Of those, 17 projects receiving grants totaling $8.9 million have also received direct involvement in the form of advocacy, grants, or loans from the Preservation League. When you break down the numbers, these projects were able to leverage every $1 of League funding for $5 from NYS.
Read MoreUnderstanding and Advancing the Preservation Trades provides an overview of the current status of these professions in the Northeast, and offers a wealth of insights from tradespeople, educators, workforce development professionals, and preservation specialists. Together, these perspectives inform a variety of recommended actions suitable for individual practitioners, businesses, nonprofits, training programs, and other stakeholders who aim to strengthen the preservation trades workforce.
Read MoreThe Preservation League of New York State, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the New York Landmarks Conservancy filed an amicus brief on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, supporting a lawsuit challenging New York State’s proposed demolition of several blocks around Penn Station.
Read MoreThe Downtown Oneonta Historic District is included on the League’s 2022-2023 Seven to Save list. As part of our outreach, we contacted local nonprofit Springbrook to learn more about their current Historic Tax Credit project in the downtown district. In addition to graciously hosting us for a tour of the building, they also shared this guest blog post. Keep reading to learn more about the revitalization of the Ford Block building.
Read MoreSince including Opera Houses on the 2018-19 Seven to Save list, the League has worked to document and develop strategies for the preservation of this important building type. We define the term “opera house” fairly broadly to include buildings that historically provided commercial and/or civic space on the first floor with a multi-use performance / meeting space in the upper stories. This summer, our colleagues at Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) and BAC/Architecture + Planning, PLLC completed a Building Investigation on one such building: Paramount Lodge No. 73. The League was able to provide funding for this report thanks to a generous grant from the Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, which previously funded a statewide study identifying and documenting extant opera houses.
Read MoreA public survey, open through July, seeks to understand workforce development challenges, barriers, opportunities, and successes in the Northeast region. The Northeast Regional Initiative for the Preservation Trades is a cooperative project between the Preservation League of New York State, Preservation Trust of Vermont, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, and Maine Preservation.
Read MoreThe Parrott Hall Coalition, a working group that includes the Landmark Society of Western NY, Friends of Parrott Hall, City of Geneva, and the Preservation League of NYS, has been watching with excitement as Massa Construction nears completion of their masonry and roof stabilization project at Parrott Hall in Elmira. Work began in December 2021; after a winter hiatus, work resumed in May 2022 and has progressed quickly in the last several weeks.
Read MoreThe Preservation League is working closely with our colleagues at Adirondack Architectural Heritage and the Debar Pond Institute to advocate for the preservation of Debar Pond Lodge, a historic, National Register-listed Adirondack lodge built circa 1940.
Read MoreThe effort to save the Pyrrhus Concer Homestead demonstrates how interdisciplinary coalition-building can support historic preservation efforts, centered around issues of equity and social justice.
Read MoreThe City of Cohoes received a Preserve New York Grant in 2021 to fund a Building Condition Report of the National Bank Building — home to the city’s visitor center and the Cohoes Music Hall.
Read MoreBecause so much of our statewide work is behind the scenes, providing advocacy, technical services, and grants often at the very beginning of preservation efforts, it can be hard to pin down just how far-reaching the League’s work can be.
Read MoreWith a general contractor selected and funding in hand, the future looks bright for this Finger Lakes landmark.
Read MoreA 2021 Preserve York grantee is restoring their historic bakery to help connect across cultures, with a focus on immigrant stories and fresh baked rolls.
Read MoreA look at one of our 2020 Technical Assistance Grant recipients: Along a stretch of 6th Avenue in Troy, between 110th Street to the north and Glen Ave to the south, the Sanctuary for Independent Media has transformed vacant buildings and empty lots into an incubator for science, art, and social justice.
Read MoreThe Parrott Hall Stabilization and Remediation Project is officially out to bid!
Read MoreThe Town of Huntington received a Technical Assistance Grant from the League in 2020 to fund an Engineering Structural Analysis of the Peter Crippen House (TAG is a regrant partnership program between the League and the New York State Council on the Arts). We reached out to their Town Historian Robert Hughes to get an update on the project.
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