Gratz Grant - The City of Amsterdam for the Mohasco Power House
Amsterdam Mayor Michael Villa and Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo
On July 13, the Preservation League of New York State presented an $8,900 grant to the city of Amsterdam to support the cost of an analysis of the Mohasco Power House, also known as the McCleary, Wallin and Crouse Power House. Built in 1903, it is one of the few buildings to survive from the city’s once-flourishing carpet manufacturing industry.
The grant is the sixth made from our Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund.
Since 1836, when William K. Greene opened his first Amsterdam carpet mill, names like Stephen Sanford and Sons, McCleary Wallin & Crouse, and the Shuttleworth Brothers Company were synonymous with high-quality woven carpets. These mills used the North Chuctanunda Creek to power their machinery. In 1920, a merger led to the creation of Mohawk Carpet Mills, and three decades later, Mohasco Industries was formed. By the late 1960s, however, the company had moved to Georgia, and the power house sat vacant for many decades. It is now owned by the City of Amsterdam.
The City of Amsterdam sought grant funding as part of an effort to establish a walking trail along the North Chuctanunda Creek celebrating Amsterdam’s industrial history and natural beauty. A previous grant from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor produced wayside signage connecting the North Chuctanunda Creek Trail with the Mohawk Valley Pedestrian Bridge and Erie Canalway Trail.
Before they could integrate the power house with the walking trail, the City would need to fund a conditions assessment and code analysis of the power house, prioritize a list of recommended repairs to the bridge and power house exterior, and determine a preliminary construction cost. Such a study would allow the city to determine the best use for the power house and offer guidance on staging the stabilization and restoration.
With an $8,900 grant from the League’s Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund, the City has retained Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture and Preservation LLP of Albany to complete the analysis, including the bridge, rooms between the south entrance and bridge entrance, and the condition of the power house’s southern and eastern exterior walls. The City of Amsterdam will provide a $500 retainer for Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson.
“We are thrilled to receive this funding and appreciate the support from the Preservation League as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the Chuctanunda Creek Trail and our City’s rich history,” said Amsterdam Mayor Michael Villa. “This powerhouse building, more than a century old, reminds us of the workers that built Amsterdam. If we are fortunate enough to restore this historic piece of property, it will provide a significant point of interest and a look back to the city’s manufacturing and industrial heritage.”
“The League is New York’s only statewide organization providing comprehensive – and predominantly pro bono – services to New Yorkers seeking to identify, preserve, protect, reuse, and promote historic resources as community assets,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. “The goal of the City of Amsterdam – to merge the natural landscape with industrial heritage to leverage community revitalization – is a perfect match for our Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund. We’re so pleased to be able to help them realize their goals.”