
Posts Tagged ‘Architecture – Historic Preservation’
Historic Preservation Lecture Series in Warrensburg

Lucy Carnegie’s Great Camp On Raquette Lake
My family began vacationing at Raquette Lake sometime in the mid-1970s, attracted by what is arguably the most beautiful lake in the Adirondacks. As the family grew, I began to look for a larger home and contacted a realtor who sent me a write up on North Point, considered one of the Great Camps and the former summer home of Lucy Carnegie.
I had seen the home while boating and, my curiosity piqued, looked it up in Harvey Kaiser’s book Great Camps of the Adirondacks (2003). I was interested to see who had designed this Swiss chalet style home, so unusual in design compared to the other camps in the area. Kaiser stated that, “The building plans and execution of interior details suggest influences beyond the techniques of local craftsmen, although no record of the architect exists.” » Continue Reading.
Hearing Set On Hurricane, St. Regis Mtn Fire Towers
The Proposed Final Drafts of the Hurricane Mountain and St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area Unit Management Plans (UMPs) were presented by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff to the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board at their monthly meeting on February 14, 2014. Pursuant to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (SLMP) requirements for Historic Areas, the Agency will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 to solicit public comments related to the proposed UMPs’ conformity with the provisions of the SLMP.
The Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the Summit of Hurricane Mountain in the Town of Keene, Essex County. The St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the summit of St. Regis Mountain in the Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County. » Continue Reading.
Great Camp Sagamore to Hosting Guided Snowshoe Tours
Great Camp Sagamore will host two guided snowshoe hikes of the grounds February 15 and 16 as part of Raquette Lake’s Annual Winter Carnival. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to see the National Historic Landmark in the winter, a season when the former Vanderbilt family owners traditionally visited.
The free, guided hikes depart from the camp’s barn parking lot at 10 a.m. both days and conclude two hours later with hot cider in the Reading Room of the Conference Building. Guides will lead groups through the camp grounds to see building exteriors, then trek to different portions of the newly designated Great Camps Historic District that includes Sagamore. » Continue Reading.
Winter Weekends Planned at Camp Santanoni
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the Town of Newcomb, and the Adirondack Ecological Center have announced that historic Camp Santanoni, located off Route 28N in Newcomb, will be open for three special weekends this winter. » Continue Reading.
Osgood Pond Great Camp Tapped for NY, National Registers
The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended the addition of 33 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Among the properties slated for inclusion are Northbrook Lodge on Osgood Pond near Paul Smiths in Brighton, NY and the John Losee House, in Watertown.
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. Said to be the the first parcel of land sold on Osgood Pond, Northbrook Lodge was built by renowned Great Camp builder Benjamin Muncil in the 1920s for Canadian Senator Wilfred L. McDougald, a medical doctor. » Continue Reading.
Benjamin Haynes, North Country Architect
No matter how long a life lasts, the residue left behind is often fleeting, and within a generation or so, most of us are largely forgotten. But it’s also true that every life has a story, and many of them are worth retelling. I often glean such subject matter from obituaries, or from gravestones as I walk through cemeteries. A tiny snippet of information stirs the need to dig for more, perhaps revealing unusual or remarkable achievements and contributions.
A recent example involves Benjamin Wood Haynes, a native of Westford, Vermont, who lived and worked in northern New York in the latter half of the 1800s. Intriguing to me was a reference to him as a “builder,” and so the digging began, yielding some impressive nuggets. » Continue Reading.
DEC Seeks Comments on Fire Tower Historic Areas
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft unit management plans (UMPs) for the Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area and the Saint Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area. The UMPs contain management proposals for the fire observation towers located on the summit of Hurricane Mountain in the Town of Keene, Essex County, and the summit of Saint Regis Mountain in the Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County.
The Hurricane Mountain fire tower was discontinued for use as a fire observation station in 1979, and the Saint Regis Mountain fire tower was shut down in 1990. Both structures have been closed to the public ever since. The UMPs propose to restore the two fire towers to a condition that will accommodate full public access of the structures and include interpretive materials related to the towers’ history. » Continue Reading.
Lake George Historic Preservation Projects Recognized
A downtown commercial building, a YMCA conference center and a private home, all on or near Lake George, all received awards from Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) when the organization held its annual luncheon in Lake Clear on September 30.
Jim Major’s restored Heustis block in Ticonderoga, the Silver Bay YMCA and the Bixby family’s house in Bolton Landing were among the six properties to receive awards this year, said Susan Arena, AARCH’s program director. » Continue Reading.
Lake George Church Tapped for NYS, National Registers
The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended the addition of 20 properties, resources, and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Just one of the recommendations is located in the Adirondack Park, St. James Episcopal Church in Lake George. Just five are located North of the Mohawk River.
“Survival of these noteworthy places is crucial in preserving the great diversity of New York’s communities,” said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “Placing these landmarks on the State and National Registers of Historic Places will offer well-deserved recognition along with tools to help them last into the future.” » Continue Reading.
Commentary:
Preserving and Promoting Adirondac and the Upper Works
Today I conclude my series on Adirondac the the McIntyre Mines. The deserted village of and the remains of the operation at Upper Works make for an evocative Adirondack destination. Though this abandoned settlement’s historically significant mining heritage is known among locals, history buffs, and High Peaks backpackers who use the Upper Works trailhead, it is by no means widely known, or even somewhat known. There are great benefits to be had if this fact changes.
When the Open Space Institute purchased the Tahawus Tract from NL Industries they put a terrific plan in place to designate the area containing Adirondac and the 1854 blast furnace as a historic district. Work began some years ago to stabilize and preserve the furnace, the one original village building, McMartin House (or MacNaughton Cottage) and the cemetery. However the work has taken years and I hear through the grapevine that funding is an obstacle. As a result the implementation of the historic district has been slow. » Continue Reading.
Public Meetings Planned On Future Of Historic RR Line
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) have announced that they will hold four public meetings in September about the management of the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, a 119-mile nineteenth-century rail line in the western Adirondacks.
A bitter debate has raged in the Adirondacks over the past several years after rail-trail advocates began pushing to have the historic railroad tracks torn-up. In 2011, an organization calling themselves Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates began calling for the outser of the tourist railroad operation and for conversion of the rail bed to a multi-use trail. More than 10,000 people have signed-on to a petition calling for the removal of the tracks. The trail advocates’ call for a reassessment of the corridor’s management plan has resulted in this round of public hearings. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Architectural Heritage Preservation Tours
This year Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) has offered 34 historic and notable destination tours that range from inside a maximum-security prison to horse-drawn wagon rides to an Adirondack Great Camp. Guided by field experts, the AARCH tours offer a diverse array of Adirondack architecture from the distant to recent past.
“Our schedule this year starts in early June and ends in early September,” says Susan Arena, AARCH Program Director. “We offer second tours for places like Camp Santanoni and Dannemora because there is limited space. We balance that out by doing two tours.” » Continue Reading.
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