The William G. Pomeroy Foundation has announced the newest grant round of its Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grant Program is now open. This program commemorates the historical significance of transportation canals in the United States with roadside markers. [Read more…] about Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grants Available
Historic Preservation
Erin Tobin To Lead Adirondack Architectural Heritage
A well-known expert in the preservation community has been named the new Executive Director of Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the private, nonprofit organization educating and advocating for the built environment and communities for New York State’s Adirondack region. [Read more…] about Erin Tobin To Lead Adirondack Architectural Heritage
Improved Grounds Open at Washington’s Headquarters
State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has announced that pathway, accessibility and parking improvements have been completed at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, Orange County. [Read more…] about Improved Grounds Open at Washington’s Headquarters
Newburgh’s Historic Weigand Tavern Getting A New Life
The Martin Weigand Tavern in the City of Newburgh was a historic property allowed to deteriorate to a point where it was almost beyond repair. It’s now getting a new life.
Located on Liberty Street, it’s a relic of the American Revolution where many Revolutionary notables spent time. The tavern was also the center of political life in early Newburgh. It stands today at the Northwest corner of the Old Town Cemetery as it has for over two centuries. [Read more…] about Newburgh’s Historic Weigand Tavern Getting A New Life
Why Does the Thruway Avoid Rochester?
This week on The Historians Podcast, an update on a previous program on the origins of the New York State Thruway from Tim Tielman of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo-History, Architecture and Culture. Tielman explains why the Thruway was built some miles south of Rochester. He also delves into historic preservation in greater Buffalo. [Read more…] about Why Does the Thruway Avoid Rochester?
NYC Plans to Demolish Historic Hart Island Buildings
The city of New York plans to tear down most of the historic buildings on Hart Island, where more than one million people are buried in unmarked graves. The city declared an emergency, which bypasses cultural resource and environmental reviews.
New York State designated the entire island off the coast of the Bronx eligible for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2016. About 20 institutional and residential structures remain at the mile-long site, including a women’s insane asylum built in 1885 known as “The Pavilion,” a 1912 electrical generating dynamo building, and a 1930s Catholic chapel – 18 are planned to be demolished. [Read more…] about NYC Plans to Demolish Historic Hart Island Buildings
Ballston Spa’s Éclair House: Some History
One Hundred and Fifty Years ago, on July 15th, 1871, a news article appeared in the Saturday edition of the Ballston [Saratoga County] Journal, “Wm Brown and John Parent are preparing the foundations for two fine houses on Bath Street, opposite the Washington Spring.”
Brown’s house would not be the typical gable-roofed residence, But a fashionable French-Gothic Mansard. The post-civil war period was known for unabashed ostentation. Suppliers, manufacturers, and financiers had profited greatly from the government’s need to equip and maintain its armed forces. There was so many nouveau riche showing off their wealth, it was fashionable to do so. [Read more…] about Ballston Spa’s Éclair House: Some History
Saratoga’s Spencer Trask Memorial Being Restored After Vandalism
The Saratoga Springs City Council has accepted a donation by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation to make a repair to the architectural surround of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial in Congress Park, a National Historic Landmark. In 2019 a baluster of the surround was stolen. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Spencer Trask Memorial Being Restored After Vandalism
New Project Highlights Warren County Lodging Histories
A new project put together by Warren County Planning & Community Development chronicles the growth of early Warren County lodges and hotels, detailing their location and development as well as the role they played as Warren County grew and began to prosper. [Read more…] about New Project Highlights Warren County Lodging Histories
Isaac Johnson: A Soldier, Quarryman, Master Mason
The Clinton County Historical Association will host the lecture “Isaac Johnson: Slave, Soldier, Quarryman, Master Mason, Contractor” by Cornel “Corky” Reinhart, on Tuesday, July 13th, in Plattsburgh. [Read more…] about Isaac Johnson: A Soldier, Quarryman, Master Mason