Henry Varnum Poor's "Crow House"
Named to Seven to Save List
Preservation League continues listing most endangered places

CONTACTS

Preservation League of New York State Colleen M. Ryan 518-462-5658 x17 cryan@preservenys.org

West Branch Conservation Assoc. & Friends of Crow House Ben Gerson 646-840-0786 benjhg@gmail.com

ALBANY, February 20, 2007 – The Preservation League of New York State has named Henry Varnum Poor’s “Crow House” in New City, Rockland County, to the nonprofit group’s annual list of the Empire State’s most threatened historic resources, Seven to Save.

Henry Varnum Poor was a painter and ceramist who built the house and annexes starting in the 1920s, incorporating a variety of finishes and styles: medieval, arts and crafts, and early modernist. The house – named for the flocks of birds that flew overhead as Poor built his house with stone he quarried and lumber he cut – remains as it was at his death in 1970. The property includes the house and two studios on 6.5 acres.

The West Branch Conservation Association and Friends of Crow House have been working with elected officials to arrange for the public acquisition of the site as open space property that would also serve as a museum and host an artists-in-residence program. In January of this year, Poor’s son and heir sold the property to a local businessman, who has promised not to demolish or alter Poor’s home or require the removal of his ceramics, handmade furniture, and paintings, but only for the remainder of 2007. After that the property’s future is uncertain.

For the past two years the Preservation League has promoted statewide legislation that would allow communities in New York State to create community preservation funds that could be used to preserve important landscapes and the historic buildings they contain.

The property is the focal point of an area that represents the cultural depth of Rockland County and its history, and was the center of an artistic enclave of homes designed and built by Poor along nearby South Mountain Road. “Rockland has seen unprecedented development in the last four decades, and, like many other communities, is struggling to maintain the cultural and aesthetic aspects that make it distinctive,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. “Community preservation funds can do much to protect important historic resources such as these.”

Local advocates would like to see the property preserved and used once again as an artist’s residence and studio – such a use was approved last year by the Clarkstown building inspector. “Neighbors of Crow House included Broadway composer Kurt Weill and his wife Lotte Lenya, actors John Houseman and Burgess Meredith, and cartoonist Bill Mauldin,” said Ben Gerson, a member of Friends of Crow House. “The preservation of Crow House would rescue not only a moment when the arts in America were newly ascendant, but also the milieu that fostered their development.”

According to Tania Werbizky, Director of Technical and Grant Programs at the Preservation League, the listing of Crow House on the Seven to Save Endangered Properties list provides the opportunity for the League to work with local advocates to protect the building. “We plan to partner with Friends of Crow House and the West Branch Conservation Association during this next year, and to reach out to the owner and elected officials to try to reach a solution. A property of this caliber should be protected in perpetuity, and the League stands ready to help make that possible.”

 “In addition to the pleasure of owning such a distinctive property, we are aware of the challenges associated with the preservation of historic structures,” said DiLorenzo. “With that in mind, the League will offer technical assistance to help current and future owners explore all available options for protecting and maintaining this unique property. Working with local advocates, we pledge our support so that this National Register-eligible property can again become useful, beautiful and a point of pride in Rockland County and in New York State.”

Since 1999, publicity surrounding the Seven to Save designation has led to the stabilization of St. Joseph’s Church in Albany, the rehabilitation of the Oswego City Public Library, and prevented the demolition of the Conger Goodyear House on Long Island, along with successes at several other locations.

The Dana L. Lyon School in the Village of Bath, Steuben County; the Stockade Historic District in Kingston, Ulster County; and The Lamotte Cohu House, known as “Gissa Bu” in Southampton, Suffolk County were previously named to this year’s Seven to Save list. Additional announcements will be made around the state in coming weeks.

The Preservation League of New York State, founded in 1974, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of New York’s diverse and rich heritage of historic buildings, districts and landscapes. From its headquarters in Albany, it provides a unified voice for historic preservation. By leading a statewide movement and sharing information and expertise, the Preservation League of New York State promotes historic preservation as a tool to revitalize the Empire State’s neighborhoods and communities.

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