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Elmira's Maxwell Place Fire Station gets a new lease on life

6/27/2017

Here's a guest post from our Southern Tier Field Consultant, Katie Smith. She visited Elmira to check in on the Maxwell Place Fire Station.

The Preservation League has been working with local advocates to develop strategies to breathe new life into the Maxwell Place Fire Station since 2014, when the building was placed on the Seven to Save list of endangered places.

The Maxwell Place Fire Station served Elmira’s South Side neighborhood from 1897 to 1986. Designed in the Flemish Renaissance Revival style by the prominent regional firm Pierce and Bickford Architects, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. However, after decades of vacancy, the building has suffered serious structural damage. The community stepped forward to support emergency repairs and halt further deterioration.

They launched a fundraising campaign to cover emergency roof repairs, but more funds are needed to fully stabilize the building. Maxwell Place Fire Station supporters also began to look for an organization to develop a use for the building, seek grants, and fundraise for repairs.

On Tuesday, June 13, the Elmira Fire Fighters Local 709 Union approved a motion to seek grants to make The Maxwell Place Fire Station No. 4 their Union Hall. 
 
With the union now on board, the City of Elmira can apply for an Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant from New York State, which funds capital projects that protect the environment and enhance communities. If approved, the EPF grant will require a 25% match. The union has plans for more community-driven campaigns and fundraisers to help cover the match.
 
Since the campaign started, many community members have come forward to share the significance of this building in their lives. “I grew up in this station, living across the street. Many fond memories of all the firemen and how great they were to all of us kids,” wrote Susan Lynch after donating online. 
 
The best news of all that in addition to stabilizing the building, the Firefighters union has plans to open the Maxwell Place Fire Station as a space for community gatherings. We’re looking forward to seeing this neighborhood anchor return to serving the needs of the 4th District and the entire city.

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A New Look for Albany's Oldest House

6/16/2017

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The Preservation League was pleased to attend a special announcement in Albany last week, outlined in a news release from Historic Albany Foundation, below. We've had our eyes on 48 Hudson for a long time, and will be playing a role in the planned restoration project. Watch this space for an announcement later in the summer!

On Thursday, June 15, 2017, Historic Albany Foundation unveiled two large environmental graphics at the Van Ostrande-Radliff House, otherwise known as 48 Hudson Avenue, the oldest extant building in the city of Albany. The “This Place Matters” project was introduced at a press conference with Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan; Susan Holland, Executive Director of Historic Albany Foundation; and Tessa Dikker, a representative from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

“This Place Matters” is intended to expand awareness about 48 Hudson and its significance as Albany’s oldest building and the oldest remaining urban Dutch building in the Hudson Valley. The project was funded by a 2016 grant awarded to Historic Albany Foundation by the Dutch Consulate through DutchCulture USA, a division of the government that promotes arts and culture from the Netherlands in the United States.

Installed on the north side of the building is a large, durable fabric scrim depicting in real size what 48 Hudson Avenue might have looked like at the time of its construction ca. 1728, showing features typical of an urban Dutch dwelling. The rendering is based on research from the historical record conducted by Dr. Charles Gehring and Dr. Janny Venema of the New Netherland Research Center about contemporary houses in Dutch Albany, the Netherlands, and New Netherland, of which Albany was a part from 1614 to 1664, when control of the region was transferred to the English. The building is an example of the persistence of Dutch culture in the Hudson Valley long after the close of the Dutch period, and is a rare link to this foundational period in American history. Also part of the north scrim is an informational panel about the building’s history. The panel is part of the “Signs of Greatness” project launched by the Downtown Business Improvement District in September 2016.

The scrim on the east façade draws attention to the building from points east, signifying that it is Albany’s oldest building.

The “This Place Matters” project is the result of a volunteer collaboration between Historic Albany Foundation and several Downtown Albany institutional neighbors and members of the city’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism (CHAT) Partnership, including Mark Schaming, Deputy Commissioner of the NYS Office of Cultural Education and Director of the NYS Museum; Jessica Fisher Neidl, University Editor and Director of Local Government Relations at SUNY System Administration; Lee Gordon Dixon, graphic designer; and Bill Brandow and other preservation architects from John G Waite Associates, Architects. The project team collaborated with Historic Albany to secure the grant that made this creative public art project possible.

The scrim was fabricated and installed by AM&J Digital, based in Albany.

In December 2016, Historic Albany was also the recipient of an Environmental Protection Fund matching grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation of $268,032 for Phase 1 restoration; via the Regional Economic Development Council’s Consolidated Funding Application.

Today, Historic Albany kicked off their fundraising campaign for the matching funds of $89,344; there is also a pledge by a generous donor to match $.50 to every dollar raised by Historic Albany Foundation up to $15,000.  The six phase restoration project is slated to cost $2 million over the next five years.

“I am very pleased the Dutch government could help raise awareness for the common heritage of New York and the Netherlands and to help make ‘This Place Matters’ happen,” said Jan Kennis, Deputy U.S. Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. “A country that doesn’t know its past is not ready for the here and now and not prepared for the future. That is why it is so important that the Van Ostrande-Radliff House will be saved for the people of Albany and the Netherlands and for future generations. It is a privilege to team up with the mayor of Albany; the State of New York, and in particular Mark Schaming, who made the beautiful drawing; the team of Charles Gehring at the New Netherland Research Center; NYS Parks; Bill Brandow and Jessica Neidl who first showed me the house; and of course Historic Albany Foundation who is working hard to make the project happen.”

“48 Hudson Avenue is important evidence of our region’s long history of shared cultural heritage with the Netherlands, reaching back to Albany’s settlement by the Dutch more than 400 years ago,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “I'm grateful to Historic Albany Foundation for being stewards of and advocates for this valuable resource, and to the group of volunteers from the CHAT Partnership and other stakeholders who are working together on projects like this and others to lift up what’s special about Albany for the world to see." 

“With the support from the Consulate General of the Netherlands and DutchCulture USA, the City of Albany and Mayor Sheehan, plus New York State, the ‘This Place Matters’ campaign is a great priority for so many and for Historic Albany. We are excited to share with the public and our supporters this and the next phases of the project. Please stay tuned as lots of good things are happening around Albany’s oldest building,” stated Susan Holland, Historic Albany Executive Director.

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On the Road - with Rehab Tax Credits

6/6/2017

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Leaky roof? Inefficient furnace? Commercial and Homeowner Rehabilitation Tax Credits are helping New Yorkers provide safer and healthier homes for their families, and protecting their investments for generations to come.

What’s more, the tax credit is an effective economic development tool – providing an incentive to invest in older structures, stabilizing neighborhoods and creating local jobs for skilled workers. The League spent a few days in May traveling the state promoting their use.

On May 17th, we joined Preservation Buffalo Niagara, the Olean Business Development Corporation, and the NYS Historic Preservation Office for workshops on the NYS and Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits and NYS Historic Homeowner Tax Credit. The Olean Business Development Corporation hosted the workshops. Speakers for both programs included Erin Tobin from the Preservation League, Sloane Bullough and Jennifer Walkowski from State Historic Preservation Office, Christiana Limniatis from Preservation Buffalo Niagara, Jason Yots of Preservation Studios, and Elise Johnson-Schmidt of Johnson–Schmidt Associates Architects.

The Municipal Art Society hosted a series of tax credit workshops on May 23rd, in partnership with the Preservation League, NYS Historic Preservation Office, New York Landmarks Conservancy, and Historic Districts Council. Over 100 property owners attended the programs on the NYS/Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit and NYS Historic Homeowner Tax Credit. In addition to speakers from the Preservation League and State Historic Preservation Office, Ward Dennis of Higgins Quasebarth & Partners LLC reviewed putting together a Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit project. Crown Heights homeowners Callie Janoff & Randall Stoltzfus reviewed their Historic Homeowner Tax Credit project.They had also partnered with the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Historic Properties Fund revolving loan program, described by Conservancy staff Blaire Walsh during the workshop.

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Rye Tour: Seaside Village to Suburban Playground

6/2/2017

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Westchester’s oldest permanent settlement of Rye mirrors America’s own swift trajectory from agrarian villages to affluent commuter suburbs.

From the grand early 19th century “American Empire” Greek Revival mansions of Peter Augustus Jay and Edward Lamb Parsons on the Boston Post Road to Charles A. Platt’s 1903 Garden Court built for the heir to the Rand McNally fortune to Mott B. Schmidt’s 1920 Ormsby Mitchel residence overlooking Long Island Sound in the exclusive enclave of Greenhaven to Rye Playland, the 1928 amusement park extravaganza by Walker & Gillette. All this and more – including lunch at Sunnyledge, a c. 1915 Colonial Revival home overlooking the 1899 Apawamis Club golf course, one of several historic courses that have made Rye a famous golf destination for over a century.

Join us for this insiders' view of unusual locations chosen by our host Suzanne Clary for this League-sponsored day trip as we continue our series of extraordinary tours exploring the fascinating history of private residences and public spaces in New York State.

Friday, June 16
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tickets Start at $150

More Info / RSVP

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So our past has a future.

Elmira's Maxwell Place Fire Station gets a new lease on life

A New Look for Albany's Oldest House

On the Road - with Rehab Tax Credits

Rye Tour: Seaside Village to Suburban Playground

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