Albany, NY - September 19, 2014 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended adding 22 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
"Preserving these historic locations is an important way to honor and share New York's legacy," Governor Cuomo said. "These sites are an enduring example of our state's proud and diverse heritage, and I encourage all New Yorkers to learn more about our State's vibrant history."
“These nominations highlight the diverse forces that have shaped New York’s history,” said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “Listing these landmarks will give these physical reminders of our past the recognition and support they deserve.”
State and National Register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Spurred by the state and federal commercial historic rehabilitation tax credits administered by the State Historic Preservation Office, developers invested $1 billion statewide in 2013 to revitalize properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, while homeowners using the state historic homeowner rehabilitation tax credit invested more than $14.3 million statewide on home improvements to help revitalize historic neighborhoods.
The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 90,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.
Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.
The nominations include:
Albany County
Washington Park Historic District, Albany – the nomination expands the boundaries of a district created in 1972 to include 23 additional historic buildings northeast of the park and on Spring Street, including many former stables and carriage houses that served larger residences on State Street.
Bronx County
Chevra Linas Hazedek Synagogue of Harlem and the Bronx, Bronx – the synagogue was built in stages from 1928 to 1932 after new subway lines made it possible for New York’s Jews to migrate to the Soundview neighborhood, and this largely intact example of Romanesque Revival synagogue architecture today serves as the home of the Green Pasture Baptist Church.
Delaware County
Maxbilt Theatre, Fleischmanns -- the distinctive and exceptionally intact example of a small regional theater was built in 1929 during the heyday of the Catskills resort era by Max Silberman, a Russian Jewish immigrant who became one of the most prominent real estate developers in the region.
Chemung County
Mount Saviour Monastery, Pine City – beginning with its purchase in 1865 by German immigrants, the farm has been in continuous operation through the present and represents the shift from large-scale cash crop production in the 19th century to self-sufficiency and specialized production as it was integrated into monastic farm life for the Mount Saviour Monastery, which bought the property in 1950.
Columbia County
Barringer-Overbaugh-Lasher House, Germantown – the original section of the house, built ca. 1800, is an important example of New World Dutch timber-frame construction in an area where few examples of 18th-century dwellings have been identified.
Erie County
Central Avenue Historic District, Lancaster – the intact enclave of primarily commercial architecture dating from ca. 1860 - ca. 1935 encompasses a notable collection of mostly Italianate and Queen Anne commercial styles, reflective of a time of prosperity in the Village of Lancaster.
The Wayne and Waldorf Apartments, Buffalo – the apartment buildings were constructed in 1897 to serve middle-income residents in the developing “North Main Street” area as a rapidly growing population and the new electric streetcar system encouraged people to move out of the city center.
Franklin County
Debar Pond Lodge, Duane – built 1939-40 at the head of Debar Pond, a picturesque body of water between Baldface and Debar mountains, the rustic lodge designed by Saranac Lake architect William G. Distin hosted its owners’ gatherings of family and friends for leisure in the Adirondack Mountains.
Hamilton County
Grace Methodist Church Complex, Speculator – the 1909 church and 1928 Dutch Colonial style parsonage portray the history of an important institution in Speculator; the church continues to serve the religious needs of both permanent and seasonal residents.
Monroe County
Miller-Horton-Barben Farm, Mendon – established in 1808 by Salmon Miller, one of the early pioneers of the region, the 90-acre farm is one of oldest farm properties in the town of Mendon and has been continuously farmed to this day.
Nassau County
Denton Homestead, East Rockaway – built ca. 1795, the rare surviving former tavern and farmhouse from the village’s early period served as a base for four generations of the Denton family’s extensive real estate development activities.
Niagara County
Niagara Falls School District Administration Building, Niagara Falls – the 1928 Classical Revival style office building was built during a decade when the Niagara Falls Board of Education was actively expanding its public school facilities to accommodate a growing population and the merger of two village school systems.
Ontario County
Woodlawn Cemetery, Canandaigua – the cemetery was established in 1884 when two settlement era burial grounds reached capacity and a group of citizens formed the Canandaigua Cemetery Association to create a new, state-of-the-art cemetery that would reflect the beauty and prominence of the village.
Oswego County
Derrick Boat No. 8, Oswego – known to be among the few surviving steam-powered derrick barges to have worked on the New York State Barge Canal System, the riveted steel and wood vessel was built in 1927 in Syracuse to service locks, perform dredging and lift loads on the canal.
Putnam County
Valhalla Highlands, Cold Spring – built between 1928 and 1951, the community was envisioned by a pair of immigrant developers from Austria and Norway who created a man-made lake and began laying out eclectic rustic residences to capitalize on the growing desire for summer retreats.
Queens County
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878, Queens – the 1923 building is a distinctive architectural example of a 20th-century fraternal organization building designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style.
Rensselaer County
Marsh-Link-Pollock Farm, Brunswick – the farmstead, including a farmhouse that dates to about 1840, is an important and locally significant resource that represents Brunswick’s agrarian past.
Schoharie County
Stacked plank house at 461 Spruce Lake Rd, Summit – the Greek Revival residence, built sometime in the mid-19th century, utilized the atypical method of stacked horizontal plank construction – a system of laying sawn boards flat on one another and secured with nails or pins.
Schuyler County
The Second Baptist Church of Wayne, Wayne – today known as the Wayne Village Baptist Church, the 1848 Greek Revival style house of worship retains a high degree of architectural integrity.
Suffolk County
Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island – the 225-acre site includes the 1737 Georgian manor as well as nationally significant archaeology that has provided tremendous insights into the early interaction between European Americans, Native Americans and enslaved African Americans engaged in barrel-making and other activities to supply provisions to plantations in Barbados.
Ulster County
Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne Estate, Esopus – the nomination expands a 2002 National Register listing to largely match the historic outlines of the estate as assembled in 1909 and contains all contributing historic structures that were complete or under construction at the time of Payne’s death in 1917.
Yates County
The Beddoe-Rose Cemetery, Jerusalem – the small, settlement era cemetery, within what is now Keuka Lake State Park, contains the graves of 14 members of two of the area’s earliest and best known families, who established it in 1815 and continued to use the small parcel for burials until 1908.
More information on the nominations is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.
