Posts Tagged ‘Historic Preservation’

Thursday, September 28, 2023

OSI begins work to restore historic MacNaughton Cottage

artistic rendition of MacNaughton cottage

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the start of investigative and structural work on the historic MacNaughton Cottage, located at the OSI-owned and managed 212-acre Adirondac Upper Works property in the Adirondacks. MacNaughton Cottage is the site from which then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt began his famous “midnight ride to the presidency” in 1901 after receiving news that President William McKinley had been shot in Buffalo.

The first phase of improvements to MacNaughton Cottage will focus on interior demolition and clean-up to ensure stabilization of this important historic structure. All work is designed to inform plans for future rehabilitation and potential adaptive reuse of the cottage.

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Saturday, September 10, 2022

Adirondack Architectural Heritage Preservation Awards, annual meeting set for Sept. 17

The Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) Annual Meeting and Preservation Awards event will be held on Saturday, September 17 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the recently-rehabilitated Sandy Hill Arts Center in Hudson Falls, NY.

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Monday, November 29, 2021

Preservation League of New York State honors Steven Engelhart and  Whitcomb’s Garage 

steven englehartSteven Engelhart, Executive Director Emeritus of Adirondack  Architectural Heritage (AARCH), and Whitcomb’s Garage in Whallonsburg have been recognized  for Excellence in Historic Preservation by the Preservation League of New York State. Since 1984, the Preservation League’s statewide awards program has highlighted projects,  organizations, publications, and individuals that exemplify best practices in historic  preservation and recognize the people using historic preservation to build stronger  neighborhoods, create local jobs, provide affordable housing, open our eyes to overlooked  history, and save the places that are special to all of us.

Steven Engelhart received an Excellence in Historic Preservation award for his creative,  inspirational leadership, which has encouraged the protection of historic resources and strengthened the historic preservation movement in New York State. With over 40 years of experience in the field of historic preservation, Steven has become a leading voice in preservation efforts throughout the Adirondack region and a readily identifiable leader in saving its treasured places.

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Sunday, December 6, 2020

Paying a visit to Debar Pond Lodge

Our Covid-19 socially distanced excursion last week took us to the Debar Tract on NYS Route 30, north of Paul Smith’s College and south of Malone. I wanted to see this area for myself after reading about the controversy over removal of the historic buildings on the shore of Debar Pond. (Click here for the latest article from Adirondack Explorer.)

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Thursday, November 19, 2020

Although it is historic, Debar Lodge can’t stay

The Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed that the ultimate removal of Debar Lodge from the Debar Mountain Wild Forest in Duane will require a full Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. The scope of that EIS has been out for public comment on the Adirondack Park Agency’s website.

DEC considers the following proposed mitigation for the Lodge’s removal: reclassification of 41-acres where the Lodge is located from Wild Forest to an Intensive Use Day Use Area to become a “recreation hub” involving expanded parking; pavilions; picnicking; bathrooms; trail development; and exhibits.  DEC appears to believe that the more intensive the recreational use allowed at the former Lodge location, the faster folks will forget that the Lodge ever existed. I doubt that is the case.

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Thursday, September 10, 2020

State Parks office announces historic restoration projects

State Parks Stabilizes Childhood Home of Suffragist Susan B. Anthony

On the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, State Parks and community leaders joined to celebrate a $695,000 stabilization project at the 19th century brick home in Washington County, where suffragist Susan B. Anthony spent part of her childhood.

Work at the deteriorated 1832 two-story brick home on Route 29 in Battenville where Anthony lived from ages 13 to 19 includes repairs to the roof, masonry and drainage, as well as mold remediation and water damage, is expected to be completed this fall.

State Parks has a purchase agreement on an adjoining four-acre site that contains a former historic tavern dating to the period when the Anthony family lived next door. Supported by the state Environmental Protection Fund, the $130,500 purchase will allow for future creation of adequate parking for the Anthony home and serve as a staging area for continued phased redevelopment of the building for an as-yet undetermined future use.

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Monday, April 20, 2020

Three ADK orgs receive historic preservation grants

Whitcombs Garage in WhallonsburgThe Preservation League of New York State has announced targeted grants to projects in the Adirondack communities of Whallonsburg, Saranac Lake and Blue Mountain Lake. The grants will play a role in the restoration and reuse of historic buildings in areas affected by the downward trend in the forest products industry.

The funds are made possible by an award granted to the Preservation League of New York State, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, Maine Preservation, and the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC). This 4-state coalition has evenly split the $1 million award to fund 15 projects called the Northeast Heritage Economy Program. Here are the projects that have been funded in New York state:

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Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Historic Preservation Myths: It Cost Too Much

Town of Westport Town Hall courtesy Press-RepublicanThis is the last a four part series. You can find the first part here.

Historic preservation has a set of myths. Some originate from a grain of truth, many are outright wrong, and still others require a more nuanced understanding. We run across these myths all the time in our work and constantly push back against them through education, persuasion, and the wisdom of our own experiences. In this series, we take on the four most persistent and sometimes damaging myths in our field.

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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Historic Preservation Energy Efficiency Myths

historic preservation illustration

Myths pervade most aspects of life and they can be very persistent. Whether it’s “we only use 10% of our brain” or “George Washington had wooden teeth” these myths can be relatively harmless  – or they can really get in the way of true understanding and action.

Historic preservation has its own set of myths. Some originate from a grain of truth, many are outright wrong, and still others require a more nuanced understanding. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, March 5, 2020

Historic Preservation Myths: Government Money

Homeowner Hannah Hanford at her home in Saranac Lake provided by AARCH

Myths pervade most aspects of life and they can be very persistent. Whether it’s “we only use 10% of our brain” or “George Washington had wooden teeth” these myths can be relatively harmless  – or they can really get in the way of true understanding and action.

Historic preservation has its own set of myths. Some originate from a grain of truth, many are outright wrong, and still others require a more nuanced understanding. » Continue Reading.


Monday, March 2, 2020

Busting Historic Preservation Myths

former 1927 Willsboro High School into the Champlain Valley Senior CommunityMyths pervade most aspects of life and they can be very persistent. Whether it’s “we only use 10% of our brain” or “George Washington had wooden teeth” these myths can be relatively harmless  – or they can really get in the way of true understanding and action.

Historic preservation has its own set of myths. Some originate from a grain of truth, many are outright wrong, and still others require a more nuanced understanding. » Continue Reading.


Monday, January 20, 2020

Hadley-Lake Luzerne Historical Has New Leader

hadley luzerne historical societyHoward Schaffer of Lake Luzerne has been elected President of the Hadley-Lake Luzerne Historical Society, following outgoing President Joe Kavanagh, who has served for the past four years.

Since the Historical Society was founded in 1973 it has played an important role in preserving the Hadley Parabolic Bow Bridge, the Harmon House, and the Gailey Hill Schoolhouse. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Historic Whitcomb’s Garage Project Moving Forward

Whitcombs Garage in Whallonsburg

Cloudsplitter Foundation has awarded Whallonsburg Grange Hall in Essex a $10,000 grant for the next phase of the project to renovate and re-purpose Whitcomb’s Garage, the historic building and riverfront lot that sits directly across the road.

The Grange bought the property in December 2018 with the goal of developing it as commercial space for small businesses, artisans’ workshops, community space, retail store and parkland on the Boquet River. Cloudsplitter Director Chenelle Palyswiat delivered the check while touring the site. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Lake Champlain ‘Pavilion’ Gets Restoration, Reuse Funds

Pavilion Restoration ProjectThe Pavilion is a National Historic Landmark house located near Lake Champlain on the grounds of Fort Ticonderoga.

It was built in the late 1820s for William Ferris Pell and later used as a hotel, which hosted the likes of Robert Todd Lincoln, William Howard Taft and suffragist Alice Paul.  Fort Ticonderoga Museum founders Sarah and Stephen Pell restored the Pavilion in 1909. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Grant Will Support More Preservation at Eagle Island Camp

Eagle Island, Inc. has received an award of $320,775 through the Save America’s Treasures grant program, funded by the Historic Preservation Fund, and administered by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of Interior.

Eagle Island Camp was designed in 1903 by Adirondack architect William Coulter for Levi P. Morton. Morton had served as both New York Governor and United States Vice President. The camp has been described as a quintessential and highly intact example of an American Adirondack Camp, and as perhaps the finest example of Coulter’s work. » Continue Reading.



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