Seven to Save — Blog — Preservation League of NYS

25 Years of Seven to Save

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!

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMarch 1, 2024STS 25th Retrospective, 50th anniversary

Brooks Park Pair

Part of the League’s 2023 Seven to Save artist commissions, this pair of carvings by Fitzhugh Karol was inspired by the roofline of James Brooks’ studio. Together, these two carved cedars, cut from the forest in Springs, are representative of the collaborative creative life of James Brooks and Charlotte Park.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceSeptember 25, 2023STS Artist Interventions, Long Island, 2022-2023 STS, NYSCA

A Mural for Oneonta's Downtown Historic District

Historic preservation can serve as an economic life raft for upstate cities like Oneonta, but the public perception of preservation can be a challenge. As a way to celebrate the historic district, the League commissioned local artist Emily Falco to create a site-specific sidewalk mural strategically located in front of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society.

Albany's Kenwood Convent Lost to Fire

The Preservation League was saddened to learn of the loss of the former Kenwood Convent, also known as the former Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Albany. In 2010, shortly after the building was vacated, the League listed the building on our Seven to Save list; our colleagues at the Historic Albany Foundation likewise included it on their Endangered Historic Resources List. This beautiful campus was rich in both history and frustrations: architecturally distinctive, historically fascinating, but subject to a series of failed development projects in recent years. The site was left vacant and vulnerable for over a decade. On March 23, despite the valiant efforts of first responders, it was lost to a terrible fire. Thumbnail image: Jim Franco for the Times Union

Seven to Save, Preservation ColleaguesKatie Eggers ComeauMarch 31, 2023Albany

A Determination of Eligibility for Willard State: One Step Toward Saving This Historic Site

On Monday, August 15, the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) issued an official determination that the former Willard State Hospital complex is eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Finger Lakes campus, which straddles the town lines of Ovid and Romulus, is one of the League’s 2022-2023 Seven to Save sites.

A Look at the History of the Penn Station Neighborhood

The proposed Pennsylvania Station Civic and Land Use Project (the "Penn Area Plan") would demolish multiple blocks of historic buildings in New York City in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Station while displacing thousands of residents and businesses. The devastating plan put forward by New York State's Empire State Development Corporation is an eerie echo of the loss of the original Pennsylvania Station, coming as it does 60 years after the famous 1962 sidewalk picket by the Action Group for Better Architecture in New York (AGBANY), which included Jane Jacobs and a host of notable architects and preservationists fighting to prevent the demise of that great train station.

Seven to SaveEmpire Station CoalitionJuly 11, 20222022-2023 STS, NYC, Penn Neighborhood

Women’s History South of Union Square

The neighborhood South of Union Square holds a unique place in the history of women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements. In the very same University Place building where a prominent 19th-century philanthropist donated to women’s causes, a famed lesbian bar attracted trailblazing women writers. In two buildings on Fifth Avenue, numerous progressive organizations were founded and blossomed: the first organization to insure contraception, the first African American magazine, and a chapter of the oldest women’s peace organization — the latter two under female leadership. On East 14th Street, the headquarters of the New York City Woman Suffrage League led the organizing effort for achieving women’s suffrage in New York State; and back on University Place the first woman doctor in America established her home and office.

Seven to Save: Did It Work?

The 2022-2023 inclusion of the Proposed South of Union Square Historic District on the League’s Seven to Save list marks the third time the League has worked with our colleagues at Village Preservation through the STS program. First in 2002 with the Gansevoort Market District and then in 2012 with South Village, the League’s support helped turn the tide for both in securing their much-deserved landmark designations.

South of Union Square Master Architect: James Renwick, Jr.

James Renwick, Jr. (November 1, 1818 — June 23, 1895) was one of the 19th century’s most prolific and successful American architects. Renwick is best known for his mastery of the Gothic Revival and Romanesque styles, as evidenced in his masterworks Grace Church (1843-1858), St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue (1859-1878), and the Smithsonian Institute on Washington D.C.’s Mall (1846). James Renwick, Jr.’s New York roots are in the area south of Union Square. Descended from the Brevoort family who held a great deal of land in the neighborhood, it is no surprise that Renwick left his mark on the built environment of this neighborhood.

The Eclectic Streetscapes South of Union Square

Beautifully detailed 1899 “Mail & Express” Broadway Streetscape Illustrations demonstrate the urgency of Village Preservation’s campaign to landmark the area #SouthOfUnionSquare.

Seven to Save Spotlight: James Brooks / Charlotte Park Home & Studios

James Brooks and Charlotte Park’s Home and Studios in East Hampton has been included on the 2022-2023 Seven to Save list. The Brooks-Park site belonged to Abstract Expressionist painters James Brooks and Charlotte Park who were foundational members of the AbEx Art movement. The site has been vacant since 2010 and has fallen into significant disrepair. A group of grassroots advocates have sprung up to fight to save this important historic site and the natural landscape on which it sits. The League is eager to assist this efforts and bring much-deserved attention to the artists who made this place their home.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Long Island, artists

Seven to Save Spotlight: Willard State Hospital

Willard State Hospital is one of this year’s Seven to Save. Situated on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes village of Romulus, Willard State has been a key part of the community since it first opened as a psychiatric hospital in the late 1800s. It began a second life as a correctional facility in 1995, but the complex has just recently been completely abandoned. The League is eager to work with local stakeholders to stabilize the buildings and grounds and explore potential new uses for this sprawling historic complex.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Finger Lakes

Seven to Save Spotlight: Downtown Oneonta Historic District

Oneonta’s Downtown Historic District has been included in the 2022-2023 Seven to Save list. Downtown Oneonta is a remarkably intact historic district, but public perception of preservation has made it difficult for the community to fully embrace its historic fabric.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Oneonta, Mohawk Valley, historic district

Seven to Save Spotlight: Penn Station Neighborhood

The Penn Station Neighborhood has been named one of this year’s Seven to Save. The proposed redevelopment of Penn Station and the surrounding area has been met with intense criticism since it was first put forward in 2020. Despite revisions, the Plan still presents major issues — most notably the human impact of displacing thousands of residents and business owners and the environmental impact of needlessly demolishing buildings that could be retrofitted and put back to active use.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 2022NYC, 2022-2023 STS, climate change

Seven to Save Spotlight: Proposed South of Union Square Historic District

The proposed South of Union Square Historic District is one of this year’s Seven to Save. This neighborhood in Manhattan boasts a wide variety of of building types, many of which have ties to important social and cultural movements. Our colleagues at Village Preservation have been pushing for landmark designation and zoning protections to preserve the area’s historic character, limit out-of-scale construction, and prevent needless demolition.

Seven to Save, Preservation ColleaguesKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, historic district, NYC

Seven to Save Spotlight: Genesee Valley Park's Woodland Buffer

Rochester’s Genesee Valley Park, specifically its historic, Frederick Law Olmsted-designed woodland buffer, is one of the League’s 2022-2023 Seven to Save sites. This listing follows an earlier inclusion of the Olmsted-designed pedestrian bridges of Genesee Valley Park on the 2014 Seven to Save list. The League is eager to continue working with local advocates to protect this important Rochester landmark.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Rochester, Parks

Seven to Save Spotlight: Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church

Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church in Watertown is one of the League’s Seven to Save sites for 2022-2023. The small African American Church has been without an active congregation since 2012, but a grassroots coalition has sprung up to save this important part of Adirondack history. Led by former Watertown resident Shameika Ingram of Preservation in Color, this working group is actively seeking ways to return the church to active use and be a benefit for its community and an inspiration for people in the region and beyond.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Adirondacks, BIPOC, Thomas Memorial

Seven to Save: 2022-2023 Edition

“The individual sites included on this year’s Seven to Save list embody key preservation issues affecting places across New York State,” said Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo. “From the negative environmental impact of senseless demolition to bringing little-known, but important, histories to light, the League is excited to work alongside on-the-ground advocates to save each of these seven at-risk places.”

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, Press Release, Seven to Save

Seven to Save 2020-2021

A sacred burial ground, a vulnerable lighthouse, a reimagined high school, a susceptible beachside enclave, an iconic canal system, a para-architectural installation, an imperiled research center; each site speaks to what makes our state special.

Seven to SaveErin TobinFebruary 5, 2020Press Release

Seven to Save: 2018-19 Edition

Announcing our biennial list of the most endangered sites in New York State.

Seven to SaveFrances M. SternApril 9, 2018Press Release, Opera Houses, Barns

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Celebrating 50 years // 1974-2024