Press Release
September 06, 2019
New York State Announces State Historic Preservation Board Recommends 14 Nominations for State & National Registers of Historic Places
"These storied sites represent exceptional and fascinating pieces of New York's rich and diverse history," Governor Cuomo said. "Adding these properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places would ensure they have the funding they need so we can protect, preserve and promote them in all of their full glory for present and future generations of New Yorkers."
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 billions of dollars in completed investments of historic commercial properties and tens of millions 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.
Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Erik Kulleseid said, "Protecting and revitalizing our historic places encourages smart economic growth, tourism, and community pride. Our office looks forward to working with the caretakers of these places to revitalize and connect new generations of New York to them."
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
Glenco Mills Methodist Chapel, Livingston - Erected in 1869, the chapel's construction was funded by Isaac Shaurman, a Livingston native who returned home following a successful career in New York City; he endowed the church to ensure the community's members had a place of worship.
Washington Avenue Corridor Historic District, Albany - As one of Albany's most prominent thoroughfares, the district boasts numerous important public institutions and an encyclopedic collection of buildings encompassing most major national architectural styles and trends from the early 19th century into the third quarter of the 20th century, which resulted in a diverse and dramatic urban streetscape not found anywhere else in the city.
Finger Lakes
Clyde Downtown Historic District, Clyde -- The district is a mixed commercial and small residential neighborhood immediately surrounding the historic Washington Square Park. Established in 1820, the park became the center of the village, with commercial growth between the park and the Erie Canal to the west and residential streets to the east.
Polvino Building, Rochester - The building was built in 1925 as numerous Italian-owned businesses opened in small shops in mixed-use buildings along Central Park. It was home to Italian-immigrant Anthony Polvino's Central Park Furniture Company, as well as to his nephew's undertaking business.
The Park Avenue Historic District, Rochester - The abundance of historically significant properties from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries represents a major point of transition for Rochester, as the city grew and upper-middle class residents began to move out of the urban center and establish new neighborhoods on its outskirts.
Mohawk Valley
Danascara Place, Tribes Hill - The earliest portion of the house was erected ca. 1795 for Revolutionary War veteran Col. Frederick Visscher. Around 1870 Visscher's great-great grandson, Alfred DeGraff, transformed it from a simpler brick farmhouse into a spacious dwelling with Italianate and other stylistic features.
Amsterdam Free Library, Amsterdam - The Neoclassical Beaux-Arts-style library opened in 1903 during a period of prosperity that triggered the need for a larger library that could serve the growing population of Amsterdam. It was designed by prominent Albany architect Albert W. Fuller.
Rutherford House, Edmeston - The large wood-frame residence was built ca. 1868 for Dr. William M. Spencer, a medical doctor and town supervisor, and later had commercial success as a popular local hotel for the community, especially those utilizing the railroads through the area from 1889-1910. It is an intact example of the Italianate style.
Mid-Hudson
Richard Pousette-Dart House & Studio, Suffern -The building served as the house and studio of Pousette-Dart, one of the pioneering figures of mid-century Abstract Expressionist painting, between 1959 and 1992. It was originally erected ca. 1916 as the carriage house for Valley Head Farm, a large country estate.
Southern Tier
First Presbyterian Church of Deposit - Built in 1880, the church was designed by architect
Lawrence B. Valk (1838-1924) of New York City, an important designer of Protestant churches who specialized in the auditorium plan church - which featured open plans, curving pews, radiating aisles, and sloping floors to minimize the distance between the congregation and the preacher.
First Presbyterian Church of Watkins Glen - The Romanesque Revival style church was completed in 1868, when Watkins Glen prospered as the county seat, a hub of transportation, and a tourist destination boasting one of the most dramatic gorges and falls in the region.
Western New York
Schaefer & Brother Malt House, Buffalo -The malt house and its small grain elevator were built in 1880 and operated as a brewery until 1919. The building was subsequently sold to the Reed Chocolate Company, which was acquired by the Merckens Chocolate Company in 1921 and remained in operation until 1951.
St. Matthias Episcopal Church Complex, East Aurora - The 1928 English Gothic Revival Episcopal church is an intact example of Gothic Revival architecture based on the rural English parish church. It reflects the history and growth of the parish in the community throughout the 20th century.
Boarding House at 72-74 Sycamore Street, Buffalo - One of the city's few remaining pre-Civil War buildings was apparently built as two identical attached dwellings for well-known local courtesan Eliza Quirk, also known as 'Irish Lize,' in 1848. It is believed to have originally served as a brothel on one side and a rental property on the other. It continued to serve as a boarding house through the mid-20th century.