Press Release
March 09, 2010
Eileen Larrabee
Dan Keefe
518-486-1868
State Board Recommends 22 Properties for Historic Register Listing
The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended the addition of 22 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including a rare pre-fabricated aluminum house in Rochester, a synagogue known as the "Carnegie Hall of Brooklyn," and a Spanish-American War monument.
"The nominations illustrate the great diversity and personality of New York's communities," said Carol Ash, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "These landmarks are worthy of preservation, and placing them on the State and National Registers of Historic Places will provide the recognition and assistance to help ensure they last well into the future."
State and National Historic Register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing the structures, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.
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 approximately 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.
STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS
Broome County
Dovers Inn and Rounds Family Residence, Vestal - the 1844 turnpike-era inn and the 1895 residence were built by the family of the town's earliest settlers near an important Susquehanna River crossing.
Cayuga County
Owasco Reformed Church, Owasco - built in 1811-15 in the style of a late Georgian/early Federal New England meeting house, one of the county's earliest buildings has served as a place of worship for nearly two centuries.
Columbia County
Forth House, Livingston - built between 1835 and 1840, the Greek Revival home is the last of a succession of high-style masonry homes built for Livingston family members in the area once defined as Livingston Manor.
Silvernail House, Ancram - the mid-19th century Greek Revival and Italianate home reflects the growing prosperity of a Hudson Valley farming family that occupied the home for five generations.
Erie County
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Buffalo - the Late Gothic Revival church and Queen Anne rectory, which maintain a strong level of architectural integrity, has been an important site of Episcopalian worship since the complex was completed in 1927.
Greene County
Rushmore Farm, Athens - a distinctive late 18th century farmhouse constructed of uncoursed fieldstone.
Kings County
Temple Beth El of Borough Park (Young Israel Beth El), Brooklyn - built in 1920-23 for a significant Jewish population in Brooklyn, the Moorish Revival synagogue became known for its cantorial tradition, gaining a reputation as "the Carnegie Hall of Brooklyn."
Lewis County
Moser Farm, Kirshnerville - today the Mennonite Heritage Farm, the highly intact 19th century dairy farm established by one of the region's earliest Mennonite families, serving as the family's home for almost 150 years.
Monroe County
Alcoa Care-free Home, Rochester - an example of post-World War II housing made with aluminum and prefabricated elements produced by aluminum manufacturer Alcoa, one of only 26 such homes made nationwide and the only one in New York State.
Grace Episcopal Church, Scottsville - built in 1885, the Richardson Romanesque Revival-style church was designed in part by architects Arthur Rotch and George T. Tilden of Boston, and the nationally renowned architect/artist Harvey Ellis of Rochester.
New York County
Elmendorf Reformed Church, New York - built in 1894, the church is important in the social history of East Harlem, where the Reformed Church congregation's roots date to 1660.
Niagara County
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church Complex, Niagara Falls - the church, rectory, convent and school, built between 1906 and 1914, are outstanding examples of Romanesque Revival architecture as well as the workmanship of the regional architects and craftsmen.
Onondaga County
Saint Paul's Armenian Apostolic Church, Syracuse - originally the Park Avenue Methodist Church, the 1888 Victorian eclectic church began serving the small Armenian community in Syracuse in 1958.
The Barnes-Hiscock House, Syracuse - built in 1851 by industrialist George Barnes, it was the home of Frank Hiscock, who served as the chief justice of the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, and who with his wife Mary Elizabeth remodeled it in the Colonial Revival style in the 1890s.
Orange County
Olivet Chapel, Goshen - today the St. John's African United Methodist Protestant Church, the modest 1910 chapel was built as a mission to Goshen's African-American community by the First Presbyterian Church.
Suffolk County
Frank Melville Park, Setauket - established in 1937 to preserve the old Setauket Millpond and its surroundings the Melville family created a community park for visitors to enjoy the scenery and landscape as they strolled around the pond.
Union Savings Bank, Patchogue - a 1912 Classical Revival bank built during the peak of the growth the national banking industry, which saw savings banks established in villages and towns across the country.
Rev. Paul Cuffee Gravesite, Hampton Bays - the 1812 gravesite of the "Indian Preacher," who was well-known for his missionary work among Long Island's eastern tribes, is one of 48 historic cemeteries in Southampton that collectively represent more than three centuries of Long Island history.
Ulster County
Christ Lutheran Church and Parsonage, Ellenville - Originally built in 1862 as a vernacular, Greek Revival style edifice, the church was relocated, expanded, and radically altered in 1903-04 into a fashionable Neo-gothic building on a lot with an intact 1850 home that has served as the parsonage.
Washington County
Alexander McNish House, Salem - the 1794 Georgian-inspired home was built for a veteran of the Battles of Saratoga and prominent sheep farmer.
Westchester County
Walter's Hot Dog Stand, Mamaroneck - the landmark roadside stand - with its striking copper pagoda-style roof and dragon lanterns - has been a village cultural and culinary institution since it opened in 1928.
Spanish American War Monument to the 71st Infantry Regiment, Hastings-on-Hudson - Resembling one of the stone blockhouses the Spanish erected to defend San Juan Hill, the 1901 structure was commissioned to commemorate the 109 lives lost by the regiment during the war.