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.
Threat: Demolition; Deterioration; Lack of Public Awareness; Loss of Visual/Architectural Integrity; Vacancy
An 1890 postcard of Downtown Oneonta looking east. Credit: Stephen Yerly
“Oneonta’s Downtown Historic District is not just a business district, it is representative of generations of hopes and dreams, it is an investment made by those who came before us and one that we will leave for those who come after,” said Stephen Yerly, Deputy Community Development Director for the City of Oneonta. “Historic preservation is collective memory and valuing the experiences and places that have shaped us and will continue to shape future generations.”
The interior of the Oneonta Post Office (1915), currently in use as City Hall. Credit: Stephen Yerly
The Downtown Oneonta Historic District is representative of more than two centuries of economic activity and urban development. The district remains largely intact, and contains an architecturally significant collection of commercial, converted residential, and civic buildings. The downtown district characterizes broader trends in small urban areas where disinvestment and rural poverty are a direct threat to historic resources. Small cities like Oneonta represent important parts of the overall historic tapestry of New York State that without creative solutions could be lost forever. Investing in their historic fabric could bring renewed interest to Downtown Oneonta, alleviating vacancy and deterioration, and bringing more life to an important Mohawk Valley city.
Historic preservation can serve as an economic life raft for upstate cities like Oneonta, but the public perception of preservation is a challenge for community buy-in. The League is eager to work with the City of Oneonta to provide outreach that engages a broad audience to help clarify the benefits of preservation and their historic downtown.