History, Natural History & the Arts
The New York State Department of Conservation has announced that the Berry Hill fire tower in the town of McDonough, Chenango County, is open for recreation after the completion of interior and exterior upgrades to enhance safety and accessibility.
Berry Hill is the only fire tower open for recreation on public lands in Central New York and is one of the highest points in Chenango County. [Read more…] about Central NY’s Berry Hill Fire Tower is Now Open to Visitors
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society (HALPS) has announced the award of a $500,000 grant by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). The grant will support work to restore and protect the infrastructure of the 147-year-old Hudson-Athens Lighthouse’s primary building.
Work includes replacing its flat roof, mansard slate side roofs, gutters, and downspouts, all designed to eliminate damaging, ongoing water intrusion. In addition, a new staircase from the dock up to the building’s deck will increase and expand access and safety. Installation of an upgraded marine toilet and cistern repairs are also part of plan. [Read more…] about Hudson-Athens Lighthouse’s Once-in-a Century Renovation
The Preservation League of New York State and their program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts, Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, and Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area have announced the recipients of their 2021 Technical Assistance Grants. During this grant cycle, 17 projects representing 14 counties across the state have been selected by an independent panel of preservation professionals. A total of $62,953 was awarded. [Read more…] about Preservation Grantees Announced; New Funding Available
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) have announced that nine projects and one individual are being recognized with a 2021 New York State Preservation Award for their efforts to preserve the state’s history.
The honors include the restoration of a Mohawk Valley Carnegie Library, the adaptive reuse of a Buffalo grain silo, and the recognition of a historic neighborhood on Fire Island. [Read more…] about NYS Historic Preservation Awards Announced
The primary visitor experience at Saratoga National Historical Park is about to benefit from $6.6 million in funding provided by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).
Extensive work on the park’s self-guided battlefield Tour Road will begin in 2022 and is expected to result in increased accessibility and visible improvements to the parking areas, trailheads, walkways, seating, exhibits and viewing areas along the ten-mile-long route. [Read more…] about Saratoga National Historical Park Getting $6.6M For Infrastructure
Christmas is a time for great celebration, but 1849 was a year of a very special celebration for the new members of the congregation of Calvary Episcopal Church in Burnt Hills, Saratoga County, NY.
December 25, 1849 was the first time they were all able to meet together in their own church building, a carpenter gothic style edifice which had just been constructed at a cost of $2,500 The building was located right in the heart of Burnt Hills and situated on Lakehill Road, a street that in later years was renowned for its overarching trees that formed a canopy above the street. [Read more…] about 1849 Christmas In Burnt Hills’ New Gothic Church
The latest episode of Empire State Engagements features a conversation with Marisa Scheinfeld on her book The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016).
She discussed her work as a historian and photographer to document and convey the history, ruins, nature, pathos, and possibility of the shuttered Catskill resorts that transformed Jewish American history and helped form twentieth-century U.S. popular culture. [Read more…] about Back To The Borscht Belt: Jewish Vacationland Ruins in the Catskills
The trustees of the Saratoga County History Center have announced the winners of the inaugural annual Saratoga County Public History Award.
The Saratoga County Public History Award seeks to raise awareness of individuals and associations in the greater Capital District who devote endless hours and dollars to the preservation or dissemination of local, regional, and national histories, and provide much-needed positive reinforcement to their work. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Public History Award Winners Announced
Whitcomb’s Garage in the Adirondacks has won a 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of NYS.
The renovation and repurposing of this disused service station and garage has created space for new businesses in an economically challenged rural region. [Read more…] about Whitcomb’s Garage in the Adirondacks Wins Historic Preservation Award
SUNY Broome’s Culinary & Event Center has won a 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of NYS.
The Beaux Arts-style Carnegie Library opened in downtown Binghamton in 1904 and was home to the city’s library for 96 years. The building remained vacant from 2000-2016, falling into a state of disrepair. [Read more…] about SUNY Broome Culinary Center Wins Historic Preservation Award