Governor Hochul Announces 27 Nominations for State and National Registers of Historic Places

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 27 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including an Adirondack cure cottage that served tuberculosis patients, a sheltered workshop in Binghamton that promoted the general welfare of people with differing abilities, a newly established historic district in West Harlem with strong ties to prominent Black leaders in New York City, and a farmhouse near Lake Ontario that was later used by leaders in the region's prolific fruit industry.

"New York is defined by its diverse culture and history, and we will continue efforts to keep our state's inspiring story alive," Governor Hochul said. "Adding these 27 sites to the State and National Registers will provide support and resources to preserve their rich heritage and help ensure future generations of New Yorkers can continue to be inspired."

State and National Registers listing can assist owners in revitalizing properties, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

Erik Kulleseid, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said, "Part of our mission here at State Parks is to help preserve and promote the incredible range of history present in our state. Securing State and National Registers recognition for such places provides resources with potential incentives, such as state and federal tax credits, that will help keep this history alive and vibrant."

Daniel Mackay, Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation at State Parks said, "This is the largest group of nominations presented to the board this year and it demonstrates an increase in the interest of community members in participating in these efforts. The Division for Historic Preservation is committed to designating and supporting historic resources that represent New Yorkers' rich and varied histories, and it is an honor to be involved in such work."

Over the last decade, the State has approved use of rehabilitation commercial tax credits for more than 1,000 historic properties, driving more than $12 billion in private investment.

A study by the National Park Service on the impact of the tax credit on jobs and tax revenue in New York State found that between 2016 and 2020, the credits generated 74,220 jobs nationally and more than $1.3 billion in local, state, and federal taxes.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects, and sites significant in the history, architecture, archaeology, and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 120,000 historic properties throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities, and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Once recommendations are approved by the Commissioner, who serves as the State Historic Preservation Officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.

More information, with photos of the nominations, is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.

Capital District

• Beattie Machine Works, Albany County - Built and operated in Cohoes, New York by a manufacturing company whose patents and products were instrumental in the local, national, and international textile industry, this 1896 building is also an example of the late nineteenth century industrial architecture type known as "slow-burn" mill construction. During its history as an industrial site, Beattie Machine Works contributed to the transformation of the Mohawk-Hudson region into a major manufacturing center, was involved in significant patent infringement cases, and routinely adapted production to support United States war efforts in the first half of the twentieth century. In 2019, the building was rehabilitated as a thirteen-unit apartment building using historic preservation tax credits. It retains much of its original appearance.
• Elmer Avenue School, Schenectady County - Built in 1905 and expanded in 1968, the building is a local embodiment of the features of standardized school design prevalent in New York State in the early and mid-twentieth century. Elmer Avenue School was the first in the city school system to introduce the concept of "informal education" and was the first school in New York State to have an in-house library and full-time librarian.
• Muldor-Miller House, Columbia County - This federal and Greek Revival farmhouse, with its unusual stone construction, was built circa 1790 and is a rare surviving example of an early house in Claverack. Long associated with the Muldor-Miller family, the property also has ties to the region's Dutch colonial period and the history of enslaved labor. It also represents the transition from agricultural economy to country living in the twentieth century.
• Red Rock Schoolhouse, Columbia County - Built circa 1830 and serving as an active educational site through 1943, this building is an excellent example of an early nineteenth century vernacular Greek Revival style one-room schoolhouse and represents the history of education in rural Red Rock.
• Residence at 475 Loudon Road, Albany County - The Greek Revival farmhouse, dating to circa 1832, it is a rare surviving example of a Greek Revival style farmhouse in the Town of Colonie. Built on land that was part of a Van Rensselaer tenant farm, it is also significant for its association with eighteenth and nineteenth century land division and settlement patterns in the town.

Finger Lakes

• Bristol Center Methodist Episcopal Church, Ontario County - Located in the Town of Bristol, New York, this 1846 Greek Revival structure has served as a community gathering place, first as a rural parish church and now as headquarters for the local historical society. With minimum alterations to the original building, it is one of the few surviving examples of mid-nineteenth century architecture in Bristol Center. The design reflects the Greek Revival style and demonstrates a simple form that was frequently adopted by communities with limited access to skilled craftspeople.
• Crosman Terrace Historic District, Monroe County - Developed on land historically used for Rochester's horticulture industry, the intact residential suburban-style neighborhood was built between 1908 and 1940 and exhibits specific characteristics that were originally marketed to appeal to interests of upper-middle-class residents. These include a focus on residential structures, consistent lot size and building scale, and accommodations for automobiles.
• The Huntington Building, Seneca County - A noteworthy nineteenth-century industrial and commercial building located in Seneca Falls, the Huntington Building's architecture reflects the evolving needs of its owners-- from the manufacturing-minded National Yeast Company to active automobile dealerships-- and echoes the community's economic transition from robust industries in the 1800s to commercial business enterprises in the 1900s.
• Martin & Andrew Sperbeck House, Monroe County - Originally built in 1825, this prominent historic residence in the Village of Fairport has been occupied by generations of families. Architecturally, the building is an example of an early settlement-era home that was expanded and updated to the tastes of the owners, and it mirrors Fairport's growth from an agricultural and canal village in the nineteenth century to a residential community in the twentieth century.
• Naples Viniculture Historic District, Ontario County - Situated in the heart of the Finger Lakes, the district embodies the region's history of grape-growing and winemaking, which is evident in its intact collection of nineteenth and twentieth century commercial, agricultural, religious, and domestic architecture that represents both the grape industry and the cultural influences that the wine industry had on the surrounding area.
• Perry Village Hall, Wyoming County - Built in 1912, this centrally located municipal building was constructed to accommodate the growing needs of the residents of the Village of Perry. The multi-purpose design reflected new ideas about efficient delivery of municipal services and is a familiar building type in rural New York. This building is an early, intact example of the eclectic work of architect F. W. Kirkland.
• Shipley-Teats House, Wayne County - Located just one mile south of Lake Ontario in the Town of Williamson, this 1850 farmhouse is an exceptionally well-preserved example of an Italianate style residence. With strong ties to regional agricultural history, including the prolific fruit industry, the property includes a garage, packing house, and early fire hydrant, as well as evidence of innovative early utility infrastructure that enabled interior gas lighting and running water.

Mohawk Valley

• Buildings at 500 and 506 Erie Boulevard East, Onondaga County - Two adjacent, interconnected brick industrial buildings located near Syracuse's central business district exhibit distinctive traits of late nineteenth century industrial architecture, including the use of fire-resistant features such as noncombustible construction materials. Between 2020 to 2022, the historic buildings were rehabilitated using the federal preservation tax incentives program for adaptive reuse as a residential apartment complex.
• Fort Plain Historic District Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation, Montgomery County - Based on new research and documentation, the original historic district's period of significance has been expanded to 1972. The boundary of the district has also been expanded to encompass the full extent of historic development in the village, from the early eighteenth century through the post-World War II period, and now includes four adjacent neighborhoods with ties to early transportation routes and waterways.
• Syracuse Bread Company, Onondaga County - With a high degree of historic integrity, the building is an excellent example of an early twentieth century steel-framed factory and one of only three non-residential buildings in Syracuse, New York, that was designed by architect Ward Wellington Ward. As headquarters of the Syracuse Bread Company, it was part of a food revolution that transitioned the consumer standard from homemade loaves to factory-produced bread.

New York City

• Lithuanian Alliance of America, New York County - This late nineteenth century Neo-Grec building has served as the headquarters for the Lithuanian Alliance of America for over a century. The alliance is one of the oldest continually operating Lithuanian organizations in the United States, and the building reflects the alliance's role as an administrative and cultural center for immigrants coming to New York City.
• Richmond Town Historic District, Richmond County - This historic district in Staten Island includes properties that reflect a wide variety of architectural styles and functions dating from the late 1600s to the mid-1900s, holistically representing all of the typical components of an American village and neighborhood. Part of the district includes the museum village of Historic Richmond Town, whose collection of early vernacular buildings from the 1700s and 1800s is an unusual and valuable record of Staten Island's architectural history.
• West Harlem Historic District, New York County - Encompassing all or part of 42 blocks on the west side of upper Manhattan, the mostly residential neighborhood has a distinct and cohesive architectural character with many of the apartment and tenement buildings constructed between 1890 and 1915. Structures reflect the evolution of building codes from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, and the district has seen very little renewal or new construction since it was fully built out in the early twentieth century. The district is also significant for its strong connection to a community of prominent figures in Black culture and civil rights in the mid-twentieth century, who worked to address ongoing issues of housing, discrimination, redlines, and civil rights.

North Country

• Corey Cottage, Franklin County - The residential structure, with its intact "cure porch" and documented association with tuberculosis patients, is a distinctive example of a late nineteenth century "cure cottage," a specific property type in the village of Saranac Lake, which became renowned as a treatment center for tuberculosis.
• Graves Mansion, Essex County - The 1880 three-story brick mansion is one of the most unusual and impressive representations of the Second Empire style in New York's Adirondack region. The home, located in the hamlet of Au Sable Forks, was designed by Vermont architect F. L. Perkins and embodies an exceptionally high level of craftsmanship, especially on the interior. The mansion was the home of Henry Duncan Graves, a prominent local businessman.
• Martinsburg Common School District #4, Lewis County - The schoolhouse is one of the town's earliest school buildings, dating to at least 1844, and is a representative example of a nineteenth-century rural New York one-room schoolhouse.
• Three Squares Historic District (Boundary Expansion and Boundary Reduction), Warren County - The historic district, which constitutes both the historic and present commercial center of Glens Falls, will now include a previously overlooked circa 1920 industrial building that was associated with Glens Falls' ready-made clothing industry. In addition, the district boundaries have been slightly reduced in response to the demolition of four buildings near the edge of the boundary.

Southern Tier

• Cameo Theatre, Broome County - This small, 1928 neighborhood movie theater in the East Side neighborhood of Binghamton, New York, is a distinctive intact work of local architect Gerald G. Schenck. Once common and valued as walkable venues of entertainment in small-scale neighborhoods, this is the only one of its type to survive in Binghamton, and it is currently in the early stages of rehabilitation into a functional arts space. Gerald G. Schenck was a well-known local architect and a protégé of Binghamton master architect Sanford O. Lacey. The theater embodies a restrained modern aesthetic favored by both Lacy and Schenck
• Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled Building, Broome County - Originally built in 1947, this building is significant in regional history as the headquarters and central operations center for organizations that provided vocational training, employment, and medical care for thousands of residents of Broome County who lived with physical and mental disabilities. Its programs were distinguished as exceptional models at both the state and national level. Constructed in three distinct sections with multi-year expansions that supported the office, clinical, and manufacturing programs of the two primary tenants, the Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled and Rehabilitation Services, Inc. is also significant for incorporating a rare example of Streamlined Moderne factory architecture in the city of Binghamton.

Western New York

• Brisbane Building, Erie County - Celebrated as "an ornament of the city" when it first opened in 1895, this Italian Renaissance Revival-style commercial building situated in the heart of downtown Buffalo, New York, has been a hub of business activity for generations. Tenants have included a combination of large anchor retail stores, such as Kleinhans and F. W. Woolworth's Five and Dime; small family businesses; and professional firms. Boasting a high degree of architectural integrity and original ornamentation, the Brisbane Building marks an important transition in commercial building design from masonry office buildings of the 1880s to towering steel-framed skyscrapers at the end of the 1890s.
• Buffalo Public School #75 (PS 75), Erie County - Originally built in 1925 to serve the predominantly African-American Emslie neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, PS 75 reflects city-wide efforts by the Buffalo School District in the 1920s to expand its building inventory in the city with new construction that embodied modern ideas of school design. Community growth and New York's adoption of expanded curriculum requirements, including courses in manual, domestic, and physical education, required new spaces in public school buildings: laboratories, workshops, kitchens, auditoriums, cafeterias, and gymnasiums. PS 75 is a strong example of Buffalo-based school architect Ernest Crimi's standardized approach to building schools, which incorporated specific health and safety components as well as the new curriculum-based spaces and were known for their repeatable design elements and quick construction timelines.
• J.W. Ruger & Deck Bros. Building, Erie County - Built in 1868, this building is one of the oldest remaining small-scale industrial buildings within a historically significant manufacturing neighborhood on the south side of Buffalo, New York. Home to two nationally and internationally known innovative patent developers and machine producers for the baking, engine, and finishing industries, the site offered an advantageous location near canals and railroad lines, as well as other similar manufacturers.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails, and boat launches, which were visited by a record 78 million people in 2020. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.