Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Awards recognize excellence in historic preservation of New York's historic and cultural treasures

Images of award winners available here

The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation today announced that 13 projects and individuals have been recognized with 2025 New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year's awards recognize several preservation advocates for their work in the field and highlight historic rehabilitation projects that have made impacts in New York's communities, including initiatives that address food insecurity, generate incubator spaces for businesses, and create affordable housing units. 

OPRHP Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said, "We believe historic preservation is a collaborative effort and we are honored to celebrate projects and individuals that showcase its power and potential. As an active partner in preservation initiatives across New York State, we extend our congratulations to the dedicated individuals and groups who make this work possible. Their creativity, passion, and commitment inspire us all, leaving a lasting, positive impact on our communities."

Created in 1980, the State Historic Preservation Awards are presented by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation each year to honor excellence in the protection and revitalization of historic and cultural resources.  

In 2024, the Joan K. Davidson Award category was established. As Commissioner of New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation from 1993 to 1995, Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1977, and President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund from 1977 to 1993, Joan K. Davidson (1927-2023) was a visionary leader who was dedicated to the betterment of nature and built environments from cities to rural towns and villages throughout New York State. She believed that the most successful historic preservation projects begin at the grassroots level when dedicated individuals work together to ensure the future of irreplaceable community assets and tangible links to our shared past. 

This year's 2025 New York State Historic Preservation Award recipients are: 

Olbiston Flats | Utica, Oneida County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

Olbiston Flats is recognized for Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation. The $67 million transformation of Olbiston Flats from a condemned structure to a rehabilitated icon took two years and public and private partnerships to complete. Today, the Olbiston offers 150 affordable housing units in a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building that showcases eye-catching historic architectural details.  

Bateman Hotel | Lowville, Lewis County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

The Bateman Hotel is recognized for Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation. Built in 1869, the massive four-story brick building is a striking architectural asset in downtown Lowville's revitalization corridor. A recent $2.7 million rehabilitation project utilized state and federal historic tax credits and the Bateman – which includes affordable housing units and street-level storefronts – now has a new roof, windows based on historic documentation, and interior repairs.  

Bargain Grocery/Miller, Hall & Hartwell Box Factory | Troy, Rensselaer County 

Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement 

The Bargain Grocery/Miller, Hall & Hartwell Box Factory is recognized for Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement. Compassion Coalition's $5.2 million rehabilitation of the c. 1915 Box Factory building into a non-profit grocery store showcases how historic resources can be reimagined as assets for neighborhoods today. Once tied to Troy's prolific collar industry, the building's location and flexible design has given it a second life as a community space and local amenity in what had been a food desert. It is part of a larger $75 million downtown revitalization project. 

Historic Pittsford | Village and Town of Pittsford, Monroe County 

Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement 

Historic Pittsford is recognized for Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement. For 60 years, Historic Pittsford has made significant contributions to historic preservation and the quality of life in the Village and Town of Pittsford. This non-profit organization provides a strong voice for preservation and open space conservation issues while also offering public programs, support, resources, historic documentation, recognition events, and more. 

West Side Bazaar /Illinois Alcohol Company Building | Buffalo, Erie County 

Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement 

West Side Bazaar/Illinois Alcohol Company Building is recognized for Excellence in Non-Profit Achievement. Buffalo's former Illinois Alcohol Company building – a notorious bootlegging site during Prohibition – has been transformed into the new location for West Side Bazaar, a small business incubator frequented by foodies craving international flavors and cuisines. Operated by Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI), the $10 million transformation on Buffalo's Niagara Street corridor is a fusion of old and new that is a recipe for success for Western New York's small businesses. The project utilized historic rehabilitation tax credits. 

Steamboat Square | Albany, Albany County 

Excellence in Government Achievement 

Steamboat Square is recognized for Excellence in Government Achievement. Constructed between 1959 and 1983, Steamboat Square is listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places for its history as the first public housing project in the city of Albany, its connection with the city's history of civil rights, and as an example of changes in the design and role of public housing. The Albany Housing Authority's $42 million rehabilitation of Steamboat 20 was the first part of its multi-phase project at the complex; it updated 51 existing apartments and created 37 new apartments from previously decommissioned spaces, including 14 with supportive services for individuals in need of housing with mental health needs. This historic rehabilitation tax credit project catalyzed support from several government agencies including New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Office of Temporary Disability Assistance, Energy Research and Development Authority, the Attorney General's office, and Empire State Development.

More Than a Brook: Brooklyn Abolitionist Heritage Walk | Brooklyn, Kings County 

Excellence in Historic Preservation Documentation 

More Than a Brook: Brooklyn Abolitionist Heritage Walk is recognized for Excellence in Historic Preservation Documentation. More Than a Brook is a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant-funded audio tour and website that explores Brooklyn's role in the Underground Railroad and Abolitionist Movement. This three-mile tour guides users through the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, highlighting locations tied to abolitionist history. In exploring the neighborhood, participants learn about formerly enslaved individuals and freedom-seekers and the abolitionists who aided them. Created by Black Gotham Experience in partnership with NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the project brings Brooklyn's rich abolitionist history to life, using storytelling to provide historic context, encouraging place-based discoveries, and articulating the role the built environment can play in remembering and retelling stories from the past. 

Crystal Spring Farm | Essex, Essex County 

Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship  

Crystal Spring Farm is recognized for Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship. Owner Mark (Willie) Wilcox has utilized historic tax incentive programs to help stabilize and repair the farm's deteriorated 1700s horse barn, granary, and a circa 1900 milk house with great care and attention to detail. He salvaged period timber framing; used traditional construction techniques; removed inappropriate modern alterations; and added new wooden storm windows. He documented his experience with the rehabilitation process and has shared it with online audiences via his popular YouTube channel.  

Joel Barrett | Rochester, Monroe County 

Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship 

Joel Barrett is recognized for Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship. With more than two decades of preservation experience, Joel Barrett is a mentor, advocate, and collaborator who shares his expertise and encourages others to seek and utilize rehabilitation resources. His recent project – the $12 million rehabilitation of Rochester's Old City Hall, which included his team restoring dozens of historic windows – is an example of his attention to detail and his commitment to preservation work.  

Earl Walker | Binghamton, Broome County 

Community Ambassador Award

Earl Walker is recognized as a Community Ambassador. Earl Walker is a homeowner and letter carrier in the Abel Bennett Tract Historic District in Binghamton. His dedication to the preservation of Binghamton's historic homes and his commitment to sharing information with others has increased awareness of the New York State Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit program in Binghamton. He is a remarkable example of how individuals can be ambassadors for preservation in their own communities. 

Ann-Isabel Friedman | Retired, Director of Sacred Sites Program at the New York Landmarks Conservancy 

Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation 

Ann-Isabel Friedman is recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation. For more than 20 years, Ann-Isabel Friedman directed the Sacred Sites Program at The New York Landmarks Conservancy in New York City. Throughout her distinguished career, she provided an indispensable source of financial support, technical assistance, and educational programming for hundreds of religious spaces – including a city-wide survey of historic religious properties in 2004 – to advance the historic preservation of religious structures across New York.  

National Women's Hall of Fame/Seneca Knitting Mill | Seneca Falls, Seneca County 

The Joan K. Davidson Award 

The National Women's Hall of Fame/Seneca Knitting Mill is recognized with The Joan K. Davidson Award. The National Women's Hall of Fame dedicated almost ten years to rehabilitating the run-down Seneca Knitting Mill into a welcoming and accessible museum space. Commissioner Davidson believed in the power of grassroots historic preservation efforts. This transformational project exemplifies these beliefs and has succeeded in preserving and reactivating a building that is deeply woven with the history of Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the Women's Rights Movement in the United States.  

Charles E. Vandrei, Jr. | Archaeologist, Agency Preservation Officer at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 

Posthumous Special Recognition Award  

Charles "Chuck" Vandrei, Jr. was an outstanding historic preservation colleague and a lifelong advocate of shared cultural history. He spent most of his career as an archaeologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), served as DEC's Agency Preservation Officer, and was a representative on the State Board for Historic Preservation. Through his leadership and mentorship, Chuck's career exemplified his passion for collaboration, his respect for people, his fascination with history, his thirst for knowledge, and his commitment to doing good work.  

The mission of the New York State Division for Historic Preservation is to create meaningful connections to the dynamic history of the state for all residents and visitors and the Division is committed to protecting historic and cultural resources. Part of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the DHP strives to raise awareness of the value of historic places for future generations and to expand the complex narratives in order to tell a more complete story that represents the diversity of the state's people, both past and present. Learn more about the full scope of the Division's work online. 

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 88 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518.474.0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, the OPRHP Blog or via the OPRHP Newsroom.