2025 Highlights From the League Team
It was another whirlwind year for our small but mighty crew here at the Preservation League. We did more than 60 site visits, attended 5 conferences, presented at 10 in-person workshops, and hosted 15 webinars. We’re wrapping up 2025 with a lot to be proud of and even more to look forward to. But before we get to 2026, we wanted to share a few of our team’s favorite moments from 2025:
Caitlin Meives, Director of Preservation: a day in naples
Presenting at the workshop; intact wall stenciling at the 1794 Cleveland House; lunch on the porch of Roots Cafe.
One of my 2025 highlights was a daytrip to the Finger Lakes village of Naples with our colleagues at The Landmark Society of Western New York. Our Preserve NY grant program helped fund a cultural resources survey of the village in 2018 as well as a subsequent project in 2020 that led to the creation of three historic districts. In April, Janna and I organized an in-person workshop with the Village, Naples Historical Society, and Landmark to help spread the word about the NYS Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, which is available to homeowners in the three districts. It was an unseasonably warm April afternoon so we enjoyed al fresco dinner on the front porch of the historic Roots Cafe (highly recommend for dinner or brunch!). We also paid a visit to the 1794 Cleveland House, which the Historical Society is gradually restoring and repairing (the house has amazingly preserved historic wall stenciling). We had a great turnout at the workshop, with lots of questions from Naples homeowners — I love seeing so many folks eager to use this fantastic program!
Katy Peace, Director of Communications: Launching Trade Stories
One of my favorite projects of the year was our Trade Stories initiative (funded thanks to grants from the Historic Preservation Education Foundation and the Peggy N. & Roger G. Gerry Charitable Trust). This project is one part of the League’s broader efforts to promote and support the preservation trades — something my colleague Caitlin is tirelessly spearheading! What I love about Trade Stories is how accessible they are. These are bite-size videos specifically designed for social media that in three minutes or less still manage to paint a compelling picture of what a career in the trades (and a person doing that work) could look like. If you haven’t seen the videos yet, give them a watch — Neela, Brenna, Aurelius, Leon, Kayden, and Zachary are the real stars of the show!
Kaitlyn Robitaille, Director of Development: Exploring Buffalo’s Central Terminal
Exploring Buffalo’s Central Terminal as part of the 2025 Excelsior Society Tour was a compelling and thought-provoking experience. Standing within a structure that once functioned as a highly active transportation hub felt distinctly surreal, particularly in contrast to its present state — vast, still, and quiet, almost tomb-like in its silence. The scale of the space and the absence of movement emphasized the passage of time and the ways in which historic places transform alongside social and economic change. The visit served as a powerful illustration of how the built environment holds layered histories, reminding us that even dormant spaces continue to communicate stories of past vitality, transition, and future possibility. (editor’s note: Central Terminal won’t be silent for long! Learn about their Master Plan here.)
Janna Rudler, Grants & Technical Services Manager: seeing a pof grant project wrap up
The Friends of Harmony Hall, the all-volunteer group that stewards the Jacob Sloat House, has completed the restoration of the iconic 1848 veranda with support from the League's Preservation Opportunity Fund. This is part of an overall restoration effort started in 2007. The veranda opened to the public during their annual Victorian Holiday celebration on December 7. Our Involvement in this project started as it often does, with a phone call inquiring about possible grants, and subsequent emails over the course of two or three years. Peter Bush of the Friends of Harmony Hall regularly shared enthusiastic news of their success in restoring the interior staircase, hosting festivals on the lawn, and his hopes of for future restoration work. The front porch/veranda was seen as instrumental to returning the Jacob Sloat House to its original 1848 appearance, but also as a symbolic gesture of welcome to the community. As always, my goal was to provide technical assistance and, hopefully, grant funding to help the Friends with their efforts. The Preservation Opportunity Fund ended up being a good fit for the project, and it's gratifying to see the difference it has made for the Friends of Harmony Hall and the preservation of the Jacob Sloat House.