The Preservation League draws statewide attention to New York’s most important and at-risk historic places through its biennial Seven to Save list of endangered places.
 
This fall, the League is presenting an exhibition of photographs of the 2016-2017 Seven to Save designees, taken by Bruce Harvey, a consulting professional historian and documentation photographer based in Syracuse.
 
We hosted a Meet the Artist Reception on October 6 at our National Register-listed headquarters at 44 Central Avenue in Albany. The reception was free and open to the public as part of the League’s participation in 1st Friday, the arts walk that showcases the lively art scene in downtown Albany, and refreshments will be served.
 
The exhibit is presented by M&T Bank and sponsored by Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects, LLP with additional support from PBDW Architects.
 
The 2016-2017 Seven to Save list includes: the Rapp Road Historic District in Albany; Gould Memorial Library in the Bronx; Wildroot in Buffalo; the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which runs through several municipalities in Essex and Franklin Counties; the Dutch Reformed Church in Newburgh; the Stockade Historic District in Schenectady; and the Dennis-Newton House in Ithaca.
 
Through the Seven to Save program, the League has worked with local stakeholders to avert demolition, develop plans for reuse, secure landmark designation, and foster greater public awareness of the value of New York’s unique and irreplaceable historic resources. Press conferences, tours, grants and new legislation are among the strategies the Preservation League uses to secure the future of historic places at risk. The League also collaborates with advocates, elected officials and other stakeholders to craft preservation strategies and put these plans to work.
 
Bruce Harvey holds a Ph.D.in History from Vanderbilt University, and traveled around the state to photograph the League’s most recent Seven to Save designees. He produces all of his photographs in accordance with the standards of the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historian American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER). HABS was a New Deal program from the 1930s that employed out-of-work architects and historians in the documentation of major historical landmarks, while HAER was an addition in the late 1960s that drew from a growing interest in America’s industrial history.
 
“I am an experienced journeyman historian, very familiar with the range of sources that allow me to tell the stories of the variety of places where I have worked,” said Harvey. “From cities and towns in southeastern Alabama to the northernmost reaches of Maine, to military bases for nearly all of the branches, and hydroelectric facilities throughout the nation, I love to tell the stories of places, to recapture and represent the continuities from past to present.”
 
Local and regional preservation organizations, advocacy groups, municipalities and others are encouraged to submit nominations for the 2018-2019 Seven to Save list of New York State’s most endangered places. Guidelines are posted on the League’s website.

It’s been a flurry of activity since our last Rehab Diary post that discussed the creation of a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for architectural services to guide the rehabilitation of our National Register Listed headquarters here in Albany.
 
Our RFP went to ten preservation architecture firms located in and around the Capital District. We held a mandatory walk-through of the building for all interested firms, so that they could better understand the condition of the building and so any questions asked would be answered in front of the entire group. In the end, three firms responded with full proposals. Each firm was interviewed by the League’s Building Committee and references were checked. As a result, the League engaged Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture and Preservation, of Albany, as the architect for the project.
 
Estimates of the size of our project made it clear that a major grant would be needed to complete the project, so the architect and staff worked toward a June deadline for submission of an application to New York’s Environmental Protection Fund. This very detailed application was going to require a strong schematic design for the proposed project as well as detailed cost estimates. Mark Thaler and his team got right to work.
 
Fortunately, the League still had a number of drawings and documents pertaining to the initial rehab of the building that took place in the 1980’s – some of which were found tucked in a basement wall during our walk-through! The architects analyzed these documents, re-measured the entire building and lined up inspections by structural engineers, hazardous materials experts, and professionals who looked at the condition of our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Perhaps most importantly, the architects took time to meet with staff to discuss our use of the building, its conditions, and how future programming might impact the project. And all of this was completed in a few short months!
 
The resulting schematic design for 44 Central Avenue calls for a complete rehabilitation of the building, and includes detailed floor plans and elevations covering current conditions and proposed work, along with extensive photographs and cost estimates keyed to the drawings. The design addresses structural issues, exterior deterioration, building systems, facilities for staff, and a general updating of the interior that has not changed since the rehabilitation of the 1980’s. Important fire protection improvements will also be made and an accessible bathroom will be added to the first floor meeting room allowing for improved public access. Throughout the rehabilitation, the greatest care will be taken to preserve this historic building and its historic features. Now all we need is the funding!

With the League’s Conditions Assessment and the Structural Evaluation completed, (see our last Rehab Diary), it was clear that our old building needed professional help. Fortunately, unlike many not-for-profit organizations housed in older buildings, historic preservation is actually our field of expertise! In fact, helping not-for-profits with their buildings – especially arts and cultural organizations – is an important part of the technical preservation services we provide.
 
The report, however, recommended a comprehensive upgrade that remedies deterioration, corrects structural weaknesses, and updates facilities and finishes. Despite our experience, we knew we would need building professionals to guide us.
 
We first called on our trustees, who have a wealth of experience in working on buildings just like ours every day. Our board includes architects, developers, preservationists, and development professionals, among others, so forming a Building Committee was a logical next step. Our Building Committee will provide professional guidance throughout the rehabilitation process, starting with the selection of a preservation architect.
 
The Building Committee went to work creating a request for proposals for professional architecture services. Developing the RFP made staff and trustees think carefully about the project ahead, and how it could best be structured. We planned to seek complete architectural and engineering services, with specific attention given to the findings in our conditions assessment and structural evaluation.  
 
Services requested in the RFP include:
 

• Schematic Design – This is the initial design phase for the project where an architect assesses the structure and existing documentation, and interprets the wishes of their client. Through rough sketches and preliminary discussions the architect and the client agree to the scope of the project and how the building will be treated. In our case this phase will include completion of a hazardous materials survey, a property survey, building code review, and an assessment of all building systems to understand their true conditions.

 

• Design Development – During this phase a clear description of all the work to be done will be developed. This includes determining areas to be restored, installation of new services, creation of new spaces to accommodate programming, energy conservation solutions, and other elements. Drafted to-scale drawings will inform the work going forward.

 

• Construction Documents – At this point in the project working drawings and written specifications are developed that detail specifically how the work is to be done. These documents are very important in preservation projects in that they detail how historic fabric in the building is to be treated and restored. For instance, in our case, what specific mortar is to be used in repointing the brick masonry? What technique is to be used? The construction documents are also used to obtain bids from contractors.

 

• Construction Administration – Since the work of the Preservation League must continue uninterrupted, we’ll need a professional construction manager to oversee the rehabilitation on our behalf. Our goal is to hire an architectural firm with experience in construction management to be sure that all the work done conforms to the Construction Documents and follows accepted guidelines for historic preservation.

 
You can see how important it is to work with an experienced preservation architect in a project such as ours. Historic buildings are different from other types of construction, from the structural design, or lack of it, to the materials used. It is also important to understand how these materials and systems degrade over their long life, and how they can be sensitively restored to last another 200 years. Next time we’ll cover the selection of our architect. Stay tuned!

Back in August we told you about the League’s two-centuries-old headquarters in Albany and our effort to create a plan of action for its restoration and maintenance. While we have made improvements to the building over the years, including a new HVAC system, new roof covering, and a complete rehab of the first floor, our c.1817 building has for some time suffered from water infiltration, deteriorated masonry, rotting exterior wood trim, and other issues.
 
Of course, none of this is unique to our building, and just like any property owner we need a plan for fixing what needs to be repaired and maintaining it over time. Our first step was a conditions assessment of the building that pointed out signs of deterioration both inside and outside the building, as well as issues needing further analysis. Next was a structural evaluation of those issues by the engineering firm Ryan Biggs Clark Davis - whose process we described in a previous blog post. Some of the findings of their survey read like a crime novel.

• Bursting Brick
  The exterior of our building’s west side shows significant mortar and brick deterioration. Some of this is due to the use of improper repointing mortar that is not compatible with the old, soft brick. The result? The harder mortar is less permeable to water and more rigid under stress, forcing the softer brick to expel moisture and provide flexibility. Eventually the brick will spall.
• Perilous Parapet
  Also on the west wall, the short roof parapet tilts in at the top, causing a distinct bulge in the wall. This is accompanied by extensive deterioration. It is behind this wall that the engineers found a gap between the parallel timber support that is embedded in the wall and the wall itself. Something is definitely moving in that wall.
• Sloping Sidewalk
  Historic photos of our building show that it had access to the cellar in the front and rear through open wells outside of the building. Closed up window and door openings in the basement reinforce this. Could improper fill or water infiltration have led to the sidewalk cracking and pitching toward the building? This has led to runoff being directed toward our foundation, causing puddling in the basement.
• License to Kill
  Even licensed plumbers and electricians need the occasional oversight by a property owner. Here is something we have seen many times in older buildings, inappropriate drilling and removal for the installation of plumbing, ventilation, electrical, communication, and other services. Here a plumber removed brick in a bearing wall in the basement that has dangerously undercut the door lintel. Below is one of a series of three inch holes drilled in the floor joists of our first floor for electrical and communication service installation. I am told there is a better way to do this, and I believe them.

This is just some of what we found, but the question now is what to do with this information. How do we take these findings and organize them in to a coherent repair and maintenance plan. Look out for our next installment of Rehab Diary when we ask: “Do we need professional help?”
 
All images in this post courtesy of Chad Reinemann, Ryan Biggs Clark Davis.

Not many people can say they go to work every day in a 200 year old building, but we can at the Preservation League!
 
The League’s headquarters at 44 Central Avenue in Albany is located at a prominent intersection once known as Robison’s Point. When it was built, it was on the western fringe of the city, but is now situated in a very active, urban environment on Central Avenue. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2014, the building is a rare example of early commercial architecture in Albany, and retains a fairly high degree of integrity inside and out.
 
Constructed ca. 1817 as a commercial and retail site for processing grains into flour and feed, it continued in that capacity until 1941. For most of that time it was operated by John H. Peters and his sons and it continues to contain many pieces of equipment from its role as a granary including grain scoops, grinders, buckets, tools and a giant hoist wheel in the attic measuring eleven and a half feet in diameter.
 
Despite any number of improvements and repairs however, the building is beginning to show some wear and tear from almost 200 years of continuous occupation.
 
Earlier this year, experienced volunteers conducted a general assessment of the building to determine structural and other issues needing to be addressed. This has led to a contract with the engineering firm Ryan Biggs Clark Davis  for a structural study that should be completed by August.

Earlier this month Chad Reinemann, Senior Engineer for the firm, spent the day in the building inspecting the structure, including the use of a resistance drill. This tool measures the resistance offered by a wood framing member as a thin needle drill is passed through it. The output appears as a graph of resistance versus drill depth. This test lets you “see” weaknesses inside the wood or, in our case, a void behind a framing member and the brick masonry of the wall.
 
Of course, this is just the investigation stage of our work, and data we gather will be used to inform the creation of a repair and restoration plan for the building. Then we have to figure out how to get it done!  We'll keep you informed as we move forward with the stewardship of our two-centuries-old headquarters!