2022 marks the bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth. To help mark the occasion, we reached out to our friends at Highland Park Conservancy to collaborate on a walking tour of the jewel of Rochester’s park system.
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Beautifully detailed 1899 “Mail & Express” Broadway Streetscape Illustrations demonstrate the urgency of Village Preservation’s campaign to landmark the area #SouthOfUnionSquare.
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We got the @syracusehistory tour of Syracuse and now we share our knowledge with you. Spend a weekend in Syracuse — you won’t regret it!
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Many families own a home that has been a gathering place for the family over generations. We are often asked how to keep such a property in the family and there are several techniques to consider, all of which have pluses and minuses, and may have financial costs as well. Most importantly, it is essential that you confirm with your children and their families that they wish to retain the property – with due respect, they may have other plans!
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Presented in partnership with the Tenement Museum, this webinar explored the intersection of social justice and preservation. How can the act of preserving and stewarding a building tie directly into a broader social justice mission? We wanted to explore the idea that preserving, restoring, rehabilitating, and stewarding a physical place can be integral to social justice work. In this conversation, we dig into how different kinds of organizations can incorporate preservation practices, without necessarily being a “preservation” organization.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
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In this webinar, Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr discuss their new book Olmsted & Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea.
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The League is proud to announce the recipients of this year's Zabar Family Scholarship: Emily Conklin (Columbia); Jeffry Iovannone (Cornell); and E.J. Shin (Columbia). Many thanks to Lori Zabar and the Zabar Family for their generous support of the Zabar Family Scholarship program. Lori passed away earlier this year, but her generosity and support of preservation lives on.
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Gifts of stock are a simple and powerful way to support the work that the Preservation League is engaged in every day. It also offers financial benefits to you!
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Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2022 Pillar Awards one of our most inspirational yet. On Tuesday night we were joined by over 200 friends, supporters, activists and donors, both in person and virtually, to celebrate our 2022 Pillars of New York, Nancy & Otis Pearsall, A’Lelia Bundles, and Elizabeth & Ethan Finkelstein. The admiration and support was truly palpable.
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In your lovely (possibly historic) home, you have likely collected, and perhaps inherited, a lifetime of possessions — some of which may be financially valuable and many of which will have sentimental meaning to your family. What should you do with everything? The best advice based on years of experience is not to leave it for your heirs to deal with after you are gone, but to attend to it while you are alive.
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The 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.
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In this guest blog post, Andrew Roblee, President of the Preservation Association of Central New York, explores how deconstruction can fit into the field of historic preservation. PACNY is one of the founding partners of CR0WD, the Circularity, Reuse, and Zero Waste Development task force.
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