Press Release
December 06, 2018
Randy Simons | Dan Keefe
(518) 486-1868 | news@parks.ny.gov
State Historic Preservation Board Recommends 16 Nominations for State & National Registers of Historic Places
New York continues to lead the way in recognizing varied history
New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 16 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The nominations reflect the striking diversity of New York State's history and range from a rural one-room school house to the country estate of the Rockefeller family.
"Listing on the State and National Registers is an important step in helping to preserve and improve these assets. Helping communities preserve and revitalize our historic landmarks encourages smart growth, boost tourism and support local businesses," said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "I am particularly pleased by the nomination of the Rockefeller Pocantico Hills Historic District, which includes Rockefeller State Park Preserve and honors the conservation ethic and philanthropy that made the Rockefeller family among America's greatest benefactors of public park land."
State and National Registers 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. Since the Governor signed legislation to bolster the state's use of rehabilitation tax credits in 2013, the state and federal program has spurred more than $3.45 billion in completed investments of historic commercial properties and over $75 million in owner-occupied historic homes.
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 120,000 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. More information and photos of the nominations are available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.
Capital Region
Dresden District School No. 2, Clemons vicinity - The rural one-room school house in a remote location in the location between Lake George and Lake Champlain was erected ca. 1880 and continued to function as an educational building into the 1940s.
Rensselaer Society of Engineer's House, Troy - Located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the fraternal organization's 1924 home is an excellent local example of 1920s-era Neoclassical style architecture designed by Bertram G. Goodhue, a distinguished 20th century architect.
Central Region
St. Anthony of Padua Church Complex, Syracuse - The architecturally significant complex represents the parish's vitality and steady growth from the early to mid-20th century and includes the 1912 Romanesque Revival church, the 1926 Collegiate Gothic Revival convent and parochial school, and 1941 Italian Renaissance Revival rectory.
Mid-Hudson
Ashokan Field Campus Historic District, Olive Bridge - The Catskill Mountain site illustrates several centuries of development, beginning with the late 18th century farming and industrial development of Winchell Falls through its mid-20th century redevelopment as a recreational retreat for faculty and students applying an early, innovative outdoor education program.
Robinwood Historic District, Ossining - The architecturally significant and highly intact suburban housing development consists of a related group of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected in the 1960s.
Rockefeller Pocantico Hills Estate Historic District, Pocantico Hills - The nationally significant historic landscape includes the late 19th century estates developed by William A. Rockefeller and his brother, John D. Rockefeller Sr., and continued largely under the oversight of the latter's son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., which were linked by means of an extensive network of crushed-stone carriage roads. Today, much of the sprawling naturalistic landscape is part of Rockefeller State Park Preserve, reflecting the Rockefeller family's earnest commitment to preserving and protecting inspiring natural places.
Mohawk Valley
Col. Peter B. Vroman House, Schoharie - The house was constructed ca. 1792 for Col. Peter B. Vroman, who served as the secretary of the Schoharie District Committee of Safety, a colonel of the 15th Regiment of the Albany County Militia, representative in several sessions of the State Legislature, and elected delegate to the New York Constitution Ratification Convention.
Schoharie Village Historic District, Schoharie - The village was established by refugee Palatine Germans, who settled in the 1710s along the Schoharie Creek, which provided the first transportation routes into the region. The village developed as transportation via water, road and rail allowed the isolated area to connect with the larger region and the state capital at Albany.
New York City
German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church - The High Victorian Gothic style church was built in 1883 for a congregation of German origin and descent and transformed by the mid-20th century into a predominantly African American and Hispanic congregation active in the civil rights and progressive movements.
Richmond Hill Historic District, Queens - One of the first planned suburbs in Queens, the district consists primarily of large, architecturally distinguished houses built between 1890 and 1915 for railroad commuters working in Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as smaller houses built between the arrival of the subway in 1917 and the Great Depression in 1930.
Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis, Jamaica - The nine-story brick and limestone Art Moderne hospital was completed in 1941 during a campaign of public tuberculosis hospital expansion. It was situated near the top of a breezy hill and oriented to the southwest to maximize sunlight, reflecting contemporary tuberculosis treatment, which called for ample patient access to light and air.
North Country
Hotel Saranac, Saranac Lake - Financed by business people and individuals who purchased bonds in the hotel corporation, the six-story hotel opened in 1927, at a time when Saranac Lake was a destination for treatment of tuberculosis, to accommodate visitors to the region who were not undergoing treatment.
Southern Tier
Hazard Willcox Jr. Farm, Smyrna - The original 80-acre farm parcel was purchased in 1808 as part of a series of purchases made by Hopson Hazard, a transplant from Rhode Island, for various members of his family. The 80-acre parcel passed to his grandson, Hazard Willcox Jr., in 1836 and remained intact and in the Willcox family for the next century. It includes an outstanding Greek Revival farmhouse, a hop house, and a barn.
Western New York
Buildings at Niagara and Seventh Streets, Niagara Falls - Constructed between 1908 and 1911, the three-story mixed-use buildings reflect the city's early 20th century expansion out of the historic downtown as a burgeoning industrial economy spurred development and population growth.
Monarch Knitting Company, Buffalo - Monarch Knitting Company, a Canadian textile firm that specialized in knit sweaters, built the factory as its Buffalo branch in 1912-13 and occupied the building until 1923. The Spencer Lens Company, one of America's first optics firms, purchased the factory in 1926 and occupied it until 1946.
Payne Avenue High School, North Tonawanda - Payne Avenue High School opened in 1926 to keep pace with the city's growth, and served as the sole high school in the North Tonawanda school district for four decades after its construction.