Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

July 10, 2007

Contact:
Eileen Larrabee
Cathy Jimenez
518.486.1868

State Board Recommends Diverse Properties for Listing on State & National Registers of Historic Places

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash has accepted the recommendation of the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to list 26 new properties on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

"The State Historic Preservation Board, and numerous individuals and organizations across the state, recognize the importance and advantage of preserving New York's unique and diverse cultural resources," said Ash. "Official recognition through register listing has a positive impact on the way we view our heritage and helps communities to identify those properties worthy of preservation and fosters a variety of community enhancement, tourism and local revitalization activities."

Some of the properties recommended for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places include the Crossover Island Lighthouse Station in St. Lawrence County; the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Station in Erie County; the Auburn Button Works and Logan Silk Mills in Cayuga County; the Henry Varnum Poor House in Rockland County; and the Smith-Taylor Cabin in Suffolk County.

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation is an independent panel of experts appointed by the governor. The Board also consists of representatives from the following state organizations: Council of Parks; Council on the Arts; Department of Education; Department of State and Department of Environmental Conservation. The function of the Board is to advise and provide recommendations on state and federal preservation programs, including the State and National Registers of Historic Places, to the State Historic Preservation Officer, which in New York is the State Parks Commissioner.

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. Official recognition helps highlight that state's heritage and can enhance local preservation efforts. The benefits of listing include eligibility for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. There are nearly 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.

During the nomination process, the State Board submits recommendations to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The properties may be 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 by the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, DC. The State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Interior, jointly administer the national register program.

For more information about the New York State Board for Historic Preservation and the State and National Register programs as well as a complete list of the properties recommended in June, contact the Historic Preservation Field Services Bureau at (518) 237-8643, or visit the state parks web site at www.nysparks.com.

The recommended properties listed by region are as follows:

STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

• Albany County
• 1. Delaware & Hudson Railroad Freight House, Slingerlands
• Cayuga County
• 2. Auburn Button Works and Logan Silk Mills, Auburn
• 3. Orrin W. Burritt House, Weedsport
• Dutchess County
• 4. Storm-Adriance-Brinckerhoff House, East Fishkill
• 5. Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie, Poughkeepsie
• Erie County
• 6. Buffalo Harbor South Entrance Light, Lackawanna
• 7. Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Station, Orchard Park
• 8. Edgar W. Howell House, Buffalo
• Essex County
• 9. Lake Champlain Bridge, Crown Point
• Herkimer County
• 10. Yale-Cady Octagon House & Yale Lock Factory Site, Newport
• Kings County
• 11. Christ Evangelical English Lutheran Church, Brooklyn
• Livingston County
• 12. Corby Farm Complex, Honeoye Falls
• Madison County
• 13. Nelson United Methodist Church, Nelson
• Monroe County
• 14. Spencerport Methodist Church, Spencerport
• Nassau County
• 15. Cornell-Van Nostrand House, New Hyde Park
• New York County
• 16. Engineering Societies' Building and Engineers' Club, New York
• Orange County
• 17. Walden United Methodist Church
• 18. "Echo Lawn" Estate, Balmville (Town of Newburgh)
• Rensselaer County
• 19. W.P. Irwin Bank Building, Rensselaer
• Rockland County
• 20. Henry Varnum Poor House, New City
• Saint Lawrence County
• 21. Crossover Island Lighthouse Station, Oak Point
• Saratoga County
• 22. Wiggins-Collamer House, Malta
• Seneca County
• 23. Cobblestone Architecture of New York State
• a. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 1111 Stone Church Road, Junius
• b. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 1027 Stone Church Road, Junius
• c. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 1370 NY 318, Junius
• d. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 1229 Birdsey Road, Junius
• e. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 1145 Old Schoolhouse Road, Tyre
• f. Cobblestone Farmhouse at 5102 Route 89, Varick
• Suffolk County
• 24. Smith-Taylor Cabin, Shelter Island
• 25. Gamecock Cottage, Stony Brook
• Westchester County
• 26. Marmaduke Forster House, Pleasantville