Source: US State of New York
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced recommendations by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to add 20 properties and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The nominations include Marcus Garvey Park in New York City, an octagon house in Columbiaville, a Jewish cemetery in Buffalo and the Colgate-Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester.
“New York’s historic places tell the stories of where people have authored the enduring legacy we cherish,” Governor Hochul said. “With these nominations, we commit ourselves to protecting that legacy and to sharing these wondrous monuments of human achievement with future generations. By recognizing these sites, we honor the diverse communities and rich history that make New York extraordinary.”
State and National Register listing can assist owners in revitalizing properties, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said, “In New York, we’re committed to recognizing our diverse history and expanding the official record of places of significance. With each slate of nominations, we increase our knowledge of our past and help ensure access to resources to preserve these places for the future. When properties are listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places, they become eligible for various public preservation programs and incentives, such as matching state grants and federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. Our future is worth a strong investment in our past and we are proud to advance this work.”
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation Daniel Mackay said, “At the Division for Historic Preservation, we are dedicated to researching and documenting complete histories, to expanding the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and to connecting communities with the resources they need to help preserve and promote these unique assets. Listing in the registers is the first step in connecting property owners with resources that will help them steward this shared history.”
New York State continues to lead the nation in the use of historic tax credits, with $7.17 billion in total rehabilitation costs from 2018-2024. Since 2009, the historic tax credit program has stimulated over $16.4 billion in project expenditures in New York State, creating significant investment and new jobs. According to a report, between 2018-2022, the credits in New York State generated 72,918 jobs and over $1.47 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 128,000 historic properties throughout the state listed in the National Register of Historic Places, either 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 in the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed by the National Park Service and, once approved, entered in the National Register. More information, with photos of the nominations, is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.
New York City
Church of St. Edward the Martyr, New York County – The Church of St. Edward the Martyr is a complex of religious buildings that includes an 1887 church (with additions in 1902 and 1903), a parish house and rectory (housed in a 1902 row building) and a 1961 community center. The church is an example of Late Gothic Revival style religious architecture in East Harlem and New York City and is the earliest representative example in Harlem of the Anglo-Catholic architectural program adopted by some Episcopal congregations. The establishment of the church coincided with the rapid development of Harlem during the 1880s and was funded by prominent Manhattan Episcopalians, including John Jacob Astor and “Commodore” Elbridge T. Gerry. The rapid growth of the congregation and generous funding allowed the church to fully embrace Anglo-Catholic worship with the construction of a grand Gothic-inspired reredos and ornate woodwork designed by J. & R. Lamb, under the supervision of Charles Lamb, whose studio was among the most prominent decorating firms of the period. The church’s simple, steep-gabled façade, its stained-glass windows and its central entrance all typify a modest, yet carefully planned, Late Gothic Revival style religious building.
Corsi Houses, New York County – Corsi Houses, a public housing complex in East Harlem constructed in 1973, is one of a group of mid-20th century government-funded senior housing complexes in Harlem developed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It represents the expansion of federal affordable housing programs to construct apartments specifically designed for seniors under the Housing Act of 1956 and later expanded under housing acts in 1961 and 1965. Corsi Houses is also one of a small set of public housing developments built in collaboration with a local settlement house, the LaGuardia Memorial House, which had served the neighborhood since 1898. LaGuardia Memorial House initiated Corsi Houses, thus ensuring direct community participation, and built on land formerly occupied by the settlement house as part of an attempt to integrate it into the surrounding neighborhood. The project was initiated in 1961, but numerous interruptions (including struggles over financing and design approval) delayed its opening to 1973. Although Corsi Houses continues to fulfill its purpose of combining affordable elderly housing with community support programs in East Harlem, the long struggle to complete construction reveals the tension between well-intentioned programs, community desires, politics and economic realities
Marcus Garvey Park, New York County – For almost 200 years, the 20-acre public green space now called Marcus Garvey Park has been a place of refuge and cultural expression for Harlem residents. It’s among Manhattan’s oldest parks, predating Central Park by over twenty years. The relative scarcity of parks in this part of Manhattan heightened its importance as a community resource worth defending and advocating for, as local groups have done for decades. Marcus Garvey Park largely retains its 1930s landscape built by laborers employed through the Works Progress Administration and designed by Aymar Embury II and Gilmore Clarke, who worked under Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. The most defining feature of their plan, the massive terrace atop the mount, known as the Acropolis, is wholly intact. The park’s redevelopment in this period was more than an aesthetic change. It introduced equipment and facilities that supported child-centered play, reflecting changing trends in public recreation. The park is located on a physical and cultural nexus – at the historic dividing line between African American Central Harlem and Spanish East Harlem. This reality gave events held here deep symbolic meaning, especially the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. This multi-genre, multi-ethnic musical showcase was designed to celebrate Harlem but also directly addressed national issues of civil rights, social justice and Black identity. The 1970 recreation center and amphitheater complex and the 1971 pool represent the community’s crusade to bring more recreational facilities to their neighborhood. In 1973 the park was renamed in honor of the late Black Nationalist leader, Marcus Garvey, recognizing Black heritage and pride in Harlem as well as the importance of the park in the Black community. The Marcus Garvey Park National Register nomination was supported, in part, by an Underrepresented Communities grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Morris Park Senior Citizens Home, New York County – Built in in 1963, the Morris Park Senior Citizens Home is a remarkable example of a church-led senior housing project developed under the direct loan program of the Community Facilities Administration, a part of the US Housing and Home Finance Agency. This program targeted housing specifically for the elderly at below market rate; it also allowed faith-based communities to lead these developments. Churches had long been providers of social services, however, in response to the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, religious organizations, particularly urban Black churches, were inspired to pursue housing, feeling it was their responsibility to impact the socio-political landscape of the city. The Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the largest Black churches in New York City, welcomed the opportunity to develop housing for citizens in its community. Famed pastors Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Oberia D. Dempsey established the Morris Park Senior Citizens Housing Council to lead the development. The partners undertook this project in reaction to the perceived shortfalls of the public housing produced by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which was blamed for driving families out, demolishing tenements and brownstones and constructing high-rise towers and superblocks in their place. The Morris Park Senior Citizens Home provided ninety-seven housing units for senior citizens, most of whom were Black, in Harlem.
Stuyvesant Gardens I, Kings County – Stuyvesant Gardens I is a public housing complex in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was one of New York City’s largest Black communities in the early 1900s. Many residents lived in former row houses and – in spite of racially motivated redlining practices – the neighborhood was characterized by a high rate of homeownership. Decades of disinvestment, however, led to the mounting perception of Bedford-Stuyvesant as an area in need of assistance. In the mid-1960s, the neighborhood’s network of community groups organized a coordinated opposition to the city’s proposals to clear the area via demolition. Stuyvesant Gardens I was the culmination of years of dialogue between the Bedford-Stuyvesant community and local government officials. Designed by E.N. Turano and completed in 1972 for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), it is an example of a public housing complex developed under the Model Cities program—a government initiative to improve the physical condition of urban neighborhoods that maximized community involvement in the planning process and minimized displacement of existing residents. The design of Stuyvesant Gardens I responded to the community’s wishes in a couple of notable ways: it has a “vest pocket” site plan, spread across portions of two city blocks; and it is low-rise, standing only four-stories tall and closely matching the scale of adjacent row houses. Its low-rise design was intended to address the criticisms of the tower-in-the-park model that was ubiquitous for public housing developments in post-war New York City.
Long Island
Lynbrook Public Library, Nassau County – Built in the village of Lynbrook in 1929, Lynbrook Public Library is an example of early twentieth century institutional architecture that reflects the ideals of the Public Library Movement. Designed by architect Hugh Tallant, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and well known for his work in theatre design, the library embodies the Neoclassical Revival style with its symmetrical design, monumental presence and classical details, including carved depictions of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Tallant, who partnered with Henry B. Herts to design major projects like the New Amsterdam Theatre and Lyceum Theatre, brought his experience designing grand, decorative architecture to the library. The building’s design, featuring a formal entrance, large windows and a bright and open reading room underscore its role as an enduring educational and cultural resource for the community.
Mid-Hudson
Charles D. & Elizabeth Lantry House, Ulster County – Located in the city of Kingston, the Charles D. & Elizabeth Lantry House is an excellent example of the Queen Anne-style. The rectangular, two-and-one-half-story wood frame building constructed ca. 1894 has asymmetrical gables, projecting bays, varied wall cladding and decorative woodwork. The historic interior of the Lantry House is defined by its original floor plan, original wood staircase with a carved floral newel post, historic windows and decorative woodwork. Charles D. and Elizabeth Lantry, the original homeowners, reflected the neighborhood’s historic middle-class homeownership and the use of architectural style to demonstrate social standing.
Home for the Aged in Ulster County, Ulster County – The Home for the Aged in Ulster County was constructed in 1929 in response to the growing need for safe, comfortable accommodations for an increasing number of senior residents in the city of Kingston and the county at large. The Home is a strong example of Colonial Revival architecture – designed by local architect George E. Lowe – and is distinguished by its symmetrical design, prominent entrance pediment and use of cast stone ornamentation. Throughout much of its operation, the Home was at capacity – offering much needed housing that was supported through charitable donations, without direct financing from the city or state. It remained in operation in this capacity until 1974 when a new owner purchased the building and began operating it as a non-profit organization.
Roosa House, Ulster County – The Roosa House in the hamlet of High Falls in the town of Marbletown dates to ca. 1790. It was first owned by Andries Roosa, a descendant of one of the region’s founding Dutch settlers, Aldert Heymans Roosa. The home is a notable example of late 1700s Dutch Colonial stone residence and exhibits the building materials and methods from the early development period of the Hudson River Valley. The house has additions from ca. 1810 and later, but its center block is a rare and well-preserved example of regional stone architecture in Marbletown during the late 1700s.
Capital Region
Hillsdale Hamlet Historic District Boundary Expansion, Columbia County – Originally listed in 2010, the Hillsdale Hamlet Historic District includes historic commercial and residential buildings in the town of Hillsdale dating from ca. 1790 to 1945. This boundary expansion adds the Hillsdale High House to the historic district, which was mistakenly left out of the original nomination. The Craftsman Bungalow style house was built in 1933 by local architect Roy Van Deusen and was made from materials salvaged from the nearby Hillsdale High School after it closed.
Smith Octagon House, Columbia County – Constructed ca. 1860 and located in the hamlet of Columbiaville, the Smith Octagon House is a rare and early example of the octagon house-style promoted by phrenologist and reformer Orson S. Fowler. The home reflects the construction methods and styles described in Fowler’s 1849 book, A Home for All: or, A New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building. Some of the designs espoused in Fowler’s book that were incorporated into the Smith Octagon House include ample natural light and ventilation from symmetrical fenestration and a cupola. The overall plan for the house aimed to reduce room corners, enhance circulation patterns and limit interior or exterior embellishments. The original Smith family who built and occupied the home until 1920 were millenarians and enthusiastic participants in the Spiritualist movement.
St. George’s Lodge No 6, Masonic Temple and Club, Schenectady County –The oldest continuously operating masonic organization in Schenectady, St. George’s Lodge No. 6, Masonic Temple and Club traces its origins to the 1700s and was the largest and most prominent masonic order in the city during the 1900s. The Masonic Lodge and Club was located at 302 State Street from 1919 until the Masonic Association sold the building in 1992, spanning a time of significant change for masonic orders and traditions. The temple and “Masonic Club” hosted regular meetings of more than a dozen other masonic organizations, making the building a regional hub for the full range of masonic orders and traditions. The building is an excellent example of a sophisticated, high-style, designed masonic temple and lodge building type. After its extensive renovation in 1919, 302 State Street was transformed into a purpose-built masonic lodge of dramatic proportions and detail. The building retains excellent integrity and numerous features that link this resource strongly to the tradition and history of Freemasonry. Additionally, the design of the lodge room at the top level typifies the imagery and iconography of the masonic lodge tradition.
Western New York
Ahavas Achim Cemetery, Erie County – Ahavas Achim is a small congregational cemetery first established in 1917, which evolved over time to suit the needs of its multi-national membership. Its earliest graves commemorate Eastern and Central European Jews who immigrated to Buffalo from the 1890s through the 1920s who chose large, richly ornamented monuments to honor their ancestors and European heritage. These monuments also reflect the community’s economic success in the United States, in contrast to the political and social oppression they faced in Europe. This economic success is underscored by the cemetery’s impressive gateway and chapel, both designed in the Egyptian Revival style. Through the synthesis of national origin and customs, the movement of synagogues to progressively more affluent areas and the continual accretion of congregations, the Ahavas Achim Cemetery represents the oldest, extant, continuously used built resource associated with that congregation. As previous synagogue buildings were demolished or converted into churches, only the cemetery remains intact, representing the final resting place of Buffalo Jews for over a century. Its continual use creates a tangible connection to the congregation’s ancestors and represents the dynamics of immigration in the United States.
Cattaraugus County Memorial and Historical Building, Cattaraugus County – In 1908, Cattaraugus County and a Citizens Committee commissioned the Memorial and Historical Building in Little Valley to commemorate the county’s centennial. It opened in 1914 to house “memorial relics and as a memorial to our soldiers and sailors who enlisted in the Civil War from this County.” The Historical Society operated the facility until the 1920s; then the building became the home to the Little Valley Library. In 1953, it opened to the public as the County Museum. Today the red brick building is the home of the Citizens Advocating Memorial Preservation.
First Presbyterian Church, Chautauqua County – Designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, the First Presbyterian Church in Jamestown is one of only three of this master architect’s churches completed in the Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque style. Erected in 1926 this church is an outstanding example of traditional building techniques and craftsmanship. The three-aisle, brick and stone edifice features a five-story bell tower, polychromed roof trusses and stained-glass windows produced in the studios of Harry Wright Goodhue, Gabriel Loire and the firm of Otto Heinigke and Thorton Smith. The building is highly embellished with limestone details, including Classical moldings, dentils, cornices, scrolls and column capitals. Brick and limestone are used in combination to create decorative stripes and counterchange patterns on the surface of the walls. Blocks of limestone laid in an asymmetrical pattern and bas-reliefs of Christians symbols decorate the street-facing elevations.
Central New York
Syracuse Boys Club, Onondaga County – Born out of Progressive Era ideals about youth development and the rise of afterschool programs, the Boys Club of America established health services, technical skills and safe recreational space for the nation’s youth. In Syracuse, the need for community-based education and care was compounded by waves of immigration from Eastern Europe. After school programs often served the additional function of “Americanizing” new populations by offering a space to learn language and cultural values outside of the home. The Syracuse Boys Club is an excellent example of a Collegiate Gothic style building from the early 1900s. Designed by local architect Melvin King and built between 1922 and 1923, the architecture communicates the club’s dedication to its mission of education and social betterment and the high-style treatment and use of brick, stone and terra cotta on the façade conveys the building’s prominence within the community.
Utica Mutual Insurance Company Office Building, Onondaga County –Designed by King & King, prominent local architects and the oldest architectural firm in New York State, the Utica Mutual Insurance Company Building in Syracuse is an exceptionally intact example of an International Style office building of the 1950s. Built as part of an expansion effort for the Utica Mutual Insurance Company in 1956, the building was modeled after the company’s modernist headquarters that was constructed outside of Utica only two years prior. King & King – who were also tenants of the building – demonstrated their fluency with the International Style and this was one of their earliest commissions in this style, which came to define their architectural practice in the midcentury. The building at 420 E. Genesee Street stands as a prototypical example of the firm’s early work in the style, as well as an example of the firm’s proficiency with the Corporate International Style. The firm constructed several prominent buildings in this style in Syracuse and was especially well-known for its dramatic curtain walls and impressive structural work.
Finger Lakes
Colgate-Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Monroe County – At the core of this hilltop campus in the city of Rochester sits an assembly of Collegiate Gothic buildings, complete with spires, oriel windows, leaded panes and ornate carvings. Nationally renowned architect James Gamble Rogers – best known for his designs for Yale University’s original residential colleges – conceived the campus’s original 1932 components and its pastoral setting was designed by local landscape architect, Alling DeForest. Another local architect Charles Carpenter added two Tudor Revival dormitories in 1936; final additions to the campus were two mid-century Modern dormitories. In 1928, the Colgate and Rochester seminaries merged and this campus became the center of local and national discourses around theology, social inclusion and civil rights for several decades. In response to increasing secularism after World War II, faculty and administration pioneered Christian ecumenism, as well as controversial new theologies, like the “death of God” ideas associated with Professor William Hamilton. They responded to 1960s social movements and sought to elevate the voices of groups traditionally marginalized by mainstream religious institutions by merging with the historically female Baptist Missionary Training Center in 1962; creating the Black Church Studies program in 1969; and merging with Crozer Theological Seminary – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s alma mater – in 1970.
Mohawk Valley
Jefferson Historic District, Schoharie County – Located in the northern Catskills region in the town of Jefferson, the historic district consists of over one hundred resources at the intersection of historic travel routes. The district embodies a community settled mainly by people from New England, who brought with them a village plan set around a centralized green space with commercial, civic and religious buildings surrounding a square. The creamery trade – especially large-scale butter manufacturing around 1900 – led to a burst of economic prosperity for the area. The architectural styles and built environment in Jefferson represent its development from ca. 1805 through 1936, the year when the consolidated Jefferson Central School was built.
Southern Tier
Walter Coulter Homestead Farm, Delaware County – Located in the town of Bovina, the Walter Coulter Homestead Farm represents the development of a family farm over generations of descendants – starting with Water Coulter, the son of Lowland Scots who were forced to abandon their leased land in the Scottish Borders during the late 1700s. Four generations of the Coulter family operated and developed the farm until it was sold out of the family in 1948. The residence building is a highly intact wood frame house characteristic of the regional style in the early 1800s. A three-level barn and other outbuildings are representative of the move from several commodities produced on the farm to a focus on dairy by the early 1900s.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 88 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518-474-0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, the OPRHP Blog or via the OPRHP Newsroom.
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