Technical Assistance Grants - 2019
The 2019 Technical Assistance Grant round awarded over $40,000 to 11 projects in 11 counties. The successful applicants each provide a twenty percent cash match toward the total cost of their projects. With this announcement, support provided by the TAG program since its launch in 2012 totals $374,377 to 129 projects in 49 counties across New York State. Read the press release.
Columbia County
VILLAGE OF VALATIE - $4,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
The Valatie Community Theatre building was originally constructed as a “movie house” in 1926 to showcase music, theatrical performances, and films. After serving the local community for almost 50 years, the theatre shut down in 1970 due to changes in the local economy resulting from the closure of nearby textile mills. In the early 2000s, a grassroots group of individuals rallied together to reopen the theatre building with the mission to preserve, rehabilitate, operate, and promote the historic space. The Valatie Community Theatre group, a 501c3 nonprofit formed from the grassroots group, now works in conjunction with the Village of Valatie to bring performances and events to the community as well as care for this important historic resource. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Village to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation LLP of Albany to complete a building condition survey of the theatre building. This condition survey will be the first step in identifying the need for architectural and structural repairs to continuously improve and enhance the theatre as a functioning community space.
Erie County
SPRINGVILLE Center for the Arts - $3,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
Springville Center for the Arts is a multi-arts center that actively engages the surrounding local community through performances, exhibitions, education, and other arts programs. The main facility at the Center is a former 1869 Baptist Church, but the complex also includes the recently acquired 1887 parsonage. The parsonage building suffers from deterioration and deferred maintenance due to years of vacancy. The Center seeks to stabilize the house and convert it into an artist residence space, supporting and enhancing the main facility. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable Springville Center for the Arts to hire Jay Braymiller of Boston, New York to complete a building condition survey of the arts parsonage. Because the structure has many critical needs, the Center sees this professional assistance as an imperative first step in prioritizing aspects of the upcoming rehabilitation plan.
Genesee County
GENESEE-ORLEANS REGIONAL ARTS COUNCIL - $4,000
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY STUDY
The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, also known as GO ART! has occupied the Seymour Place building in Batavia since 2002. Seymour Place was initially constructed in 1831 as the Bank of Genesee and was later occupied by the Batavia Club, a private men’s social club from 1886 to 2000. At present, GO ART! uses the building for exhibits, meetings, workshops, small performances, and lectures. The facility also provides administrative support space for other local arts and cultural groups, such as the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, Batavia Concert Band, the Batavia Society of Artists, and more. A 2018 Technical Assistance Grant enabled GO ART! to complete a building condition survey of Seymour Place with Bero Architecture PLLC of Rochester. This condition survey identified critical repairs, but also the need for increased study on how to make the space accessible for all. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant this year will enable GO ART! to hire smartDESIGN Architecture, PLLC of Batavia to conduct a handicapped accessibility study of Seymour Place. Creating an accessibility plan for this important building will ensure that GO ART! can continue to offer inclusive community programming in the future.
Montgomery County
GREATER MOHAWK VALLEY LAND BANK - $3,600
FEASIBILITY/REUSE STUDY
The Hoke House in Canajoharie was constructed between 1830-40 by the ancestors of Chester Bromley Hoke, a celebrated Civil War soldier who served in 54th Massachusetts Regiment, one of the first African American units. Following the Civil War, Hoke lived in the house with his wife, Elizabeth Philips Hoke. Both were descendants of people who were locally enslaved. The Hoke House is part of the Canajoharie National Register Historic District and represents the economic and social development of the Mohawk Valley as a place where African American families moved from slavery to freedom. As the Hoke House became threatened with neglect and vacancy, the Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank acquired the building and now plans for its future stabilization and usage. A $3,600 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation LLP of Albany to compete a feasibility/reuse study for the Hoke House. This study will assist the land bank in determining viable reuse strategies for this historically significant property.
Niagara County
NIAGARA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY - $4,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
The Niagara County Historical Society owns the property at 143 Ontario Street in Lockport, otherwise known as the Colonel William Bound House. Colonel Bond settled in Lockport in 1824 before the Erie Canal opened in 1825, and built the first red brick house in the late federal style with Greek Revival elements in the village of Lockport. The Building is used by the Historical Society for popular guided tours including the annual “Winterfest Eve” program. Recently, Historical Society staff have noticed water infiltration issues in one bedroom on the third floor and the detachment of the original steps on the house causing the center slab to sink down. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant provided by the Preservation League of NYS will enable the Niagara County Historical Society to hire Bero Architecture PLLC of Rochester to conduct a building condition survey of the Colonel William Bound House. The survey will pinpoint the exact causes of existing condition issues and create a plan for repair so the Colonel Bound House can continue to be enjoyed by future generations.
Oneida County
UPTOWN THEATRE FOR CREATIVE ARTS, INC. - $3,312
CODE ANALYSIS REVIEW
The Uptown Theatre in Utica opened in 1927 as one of Utica’s 19 original movie theatres. Today, the Uptown is one of only two of those theatres that remain standing. Local architecture firm Rushmer, Jennison and Pennock designed the building. After many years of vacancy, a grassroots organization, Uptown Theatre for Creative Arts (UTCA), formed to save the theatre and opened a small classroom/studio space in the building in July 2018. Since that time, the public continues to support the project as the building progresses through rehabilitation. A 2018-19 Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund grant award enabled UTCA to hire Marilyn Kaplan to conduct a feasibility study of the theatre building. That initial study recommended a specific code analysis review project in order to help sustain momentum in restoring the theatre space. A $3,312 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Uptown Theatre for Creative Arts to hire Marilyn Kaplan to continue this work and conduct a code analysis review. The study will identify a clear path to interpreting and implementing building code for occupancy requirements as well as protecting the historic integrity of the structure.
Onondaga County
SYRACUSE AREA LANDMARK THEATRE - $4,000
ENGINEERING/STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Built in 1928, the Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre is the last remaining historic theatre in downtown Syracuse. The building is used for a wide variety of arts and cultural programming, including performances and festivals widely enjoyed by the public. Exterior masonry suffers from deterioration and needs repair. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre to hire Holmes, King, Kallquist & Associates, Architects LLP of Syracuse to conduct an analysis of the roof, masonry, and other exterior features. This report will provide advice on how to repair these issues so the theatre building can continue to be utilized and enjoyed well into the future.
Putnam County
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST CULTURAL ARTS COALITION - $4,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
The Southeast Old Town Hall in the Village of Brewster was designed by Child and DeGoll Architects in 1896. The building served the community as a government center and courthouse, community gathering place, theatre and movie house, ballroom, canteen, museum, and cultural arts center. Centrally located in the village, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition (TOSCAC) now uses the structure while spearheading a large restoration and rehabilitation program for it in coordination with the Town of Southeast, the Southeast Museum, and other stakeholders. TOSCAC uses the lower level space in the Old Town Hall as their “Studio Around the Corner,” a home to host exhibits, concerts, lectures, events, and other programs. The group has made impressive rehabilitation progress in recent years but still has more work to do. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable TOSCAC to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation LLP of Albany to complete an exterior building condition survey of the Old Town Hall. This report will lead to an understanding of current condition issues and outline a plan for repair of the brickwork, stonework, cast stone ornamentation, front entry stairs, trim, windows, doors, roofing, and gutter system.
Rensselaer County
TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL CORPORATION - $4,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall was built in 1875 and has continuously served the public as an operating 19th century concert hall since then. Their mission is to enrich the Capital Region community and inspire passion for the creative arts by fostering diverse, engaging, and transformative cultural experiences through performances, collaboration, community events, and education. Now that the banking institutions who previously shared the hall’s lower floors have departed, the arts group has unused space that could greatly enhance the Music Hall’s capacity and programs. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation LLP to conduct a building condition survey of the annex building, one of these now under-utilized spaces. This report will be the first step in the process of informing a full-scale renovation of the entire building.
Suffolk County
FRIENDS OF SCIENCE EAST, INC., d/b/a TESLA SCIENCE CENTER AT WARDENCLYFFE - $4,000
BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY
The Wardenclyffe Laboratory in Shoreham on Long Island is nationally significant in the areas of science and engineering for its association with Nikola Tesla. Tesla, an important scientist and inventor most known for his contributions to designing the contemporary alternating current electricity supply system. Tesla worked at this lab between 1902 and 1906. Wardenclyffe was the site of his most advanced experiments in wireless power transmission and the long-vacant laboratory was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White to Tesla’s specifications. The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe will use the historic laboratory as part of an upcoming science and education center inspired by Tesla’s inventions and ideas. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Tesla Science Center to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation LLP of Albany to complete a building condition survey of the deteriorating laboratory building. This report will serve as the first step in rehabilitating this important historic structure as the site and center continues to grow and expand.
Westchester County
COMMITTEE TO SAVE THE BIRD HOMESTEAD - $4,000
SPECIALIZED CONSERVATION STUDY
The Rye Meeting House has an interesting and varied history. The building’s core was constructed in the 1830s as a one-room schoolhouse at another location and moved to its current site in 1867. Over the next ten years, the community made additions to the structure including the bell tower in 1877, as it became used as an Episcopal chapel. Eventually, the building was purchased by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for use as a meeting house. Now, the City of Rye owns the building, which is operated by the Committee to Save the Bird Homestead under a long-term lease. The Committee to Save the Bird Homestead has completed several studies aimed at understanding the building’s history and construction. Part of the committee’s building restoration plans include understanding the meeting house’s interior stenciling. A $4,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Committee to Save the Bird Homestead to hire EverGreene Architectural Arts, Inc. of New York City to complete a specialized conservation study that examines these stencils. Understanding their placement, creation and condition will allow the group to care for and preserve this important character-defining feature of the building.
The Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program is a partnership between the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the Preservation League.
These programs are made possible with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Generous additional support for this program in 2019 has been provided by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area for projects occurring in the National Heritage Area.