Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) has announced the recipient of services for their pilot program, Preserving Sacred Heritage: Expanding Opportunities for Sacred Sites as Community Pillars. AARCH will complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the mid-century modern Plattsburgh United Methodist Church. [Read more…] about Mid-Century Modern Plattsburgh Church Recognized by Preservationists
Mid-Century Modern
Long Island Architect Robert Beattie’s Legacy
Robert Beattie was many things: an architect, a designer of iconic public buildings on Long Island, and a decorated World War II veteran. As an architect, Beattie’s specialty was mid-century modern architecture.
Working with clean lines, natural light, and an appreciation of the surrounding landscape, he designed many iconic buildings on Long Island including MacArthur Airport terminal in Islip, the core buildings of Suffolk County Community College’s Ammerman Campus, and St. Lawrence Church in Sayville, NY. [Read more…] about Long Island Architect Robert Beattie’s Legacy
Historic Lithuanian Church of the Transfiguration Faces Closure and Demolition
The Church of the Transfiguration by Lithuanian architect Jonas Mulokas, at 64-25 Perry Avenue, in Maspeth, Queens, is unlike any other building in the New York City area. It combines modern design and construction with Lithuanian folk elements along the lines of a country church.
The church was so unusual and bold when it opened in 1962, that it was featured on the front page of The New York Times, alongside the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport, as one of the five best new buildings in New York City. The Queens Chamber of Commerce Building Awards program also recognized it with honorable mention. [Read more…] about Historic Lithuanian Church of the Transfiguration Faces Closure and Demolition
Western NY’s Mid-Century Modern Round Banks
Rochester, NY was home to approximately 14 mid-century modern round banks built between 1968 and 1974. Characterized by traditional mid-century modern features, including large windows, flat roofs, and clean lines, the banks are credited to architecture firm Pioch & Mellen and were originally built for Columbia Bank.
Approximately half of these buildings have been demolished, with one location in Brockport currently set to be torn down to make way for a Chick-Fil-A. [Read more…] about Western NY’s Mid-Century Modern Round Banks
14 Properties Nominated to State and National Registers
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced recommendations by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to add 14 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places and expand one existing listing. The nominations include a new historic district in Wellsville, a synagogue on Staten Island, an enslaved people’s burial ground in the Bronx, and an LGBTQ Commune in Newfield. [Read more…] about 14 Properties Nominated to State and National Registers
2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Recipients
The New York Division of Historic Preservation recently recognized eleven outstanding projects with the New York State Historic Preservation Awards. Projects highlighted at this year’s awards include an ambitious neighborhood rehabilitation effort in Newburgh, the restoration of an iconic candy shop in Buffalo, and the scholarship and preservation of Puerto Rican casitas (cottages) in New York City. [Read more…] about 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Recipients
Rochester Architecture Book Wins Modernism Award
The Architecture of James H. Johnson (Primedia eLaunch, 2020), a historic resource survey and book about the life and work of Rochester architect James H. Johnson (1932-2016), was recognized with a Docomomo US 2021 Modernism in America Award last month in New York City.
Spurred by the loss of one of his key buildings, Our Lady of Mercy Rectory (Greece) in 2013, The Architecture of James H. Johnson is the first in-depth study and documentation of Johnson, whose well-known projects include Rochester’s Liberty Pole, the Mushroom House (Perinton), St. John the Evangelist Church (Greece), and Temple Sinai (Brighton). [Read more…] about Rochester Architecture Book Wins Modernism Award
Upstate Historians Shine Light On A Noted Black Architect
The Greece Historical Society (GHS) is the recipient of two grants totaling $30,000 to fund a Cultural Resource Survey of the architecture of noted Rochester African American architect Thomas W. Boyde, Jr.
The grants were awarded by the Preservation League of New York State and their program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the Rochester Area Community Foundation. [Read more…] about Upstate Historians Shine Light On A Noted Black Architect
Survey Underway of Rochester African-American Architect’s Buildings
Thomas W. Boyde, Jr. is Rochester’s foremost African American architect. He was a master of Mid-Century Modern home design and did significant work designing buildings for communities of color and the low-income communities.
Many of Boyde’s projects no longer exist or have been severely altered. [Read more…] about Survey Underway of Rochester African-American Architect’s Buildings
State Recommends 16 for State, National Registers
New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 16 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The nominations reflect the striking diversity of New York State’s history and range from a rural one-room school house to the country estate of the Rockefeller family. [Read more…] about State Recommends 16 for State, National Registers