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39 Nominated for NY State-National Historic Register

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The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended the addition of 39 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Well-known landmarks and districts recommended for listing, including:

Garment Center Historic District – which includes 215 structures in a 25-block section of Midtown Manhattan, an area shaped by the city’s economic history, immigrant history, zoning and planning developments, and reforms following the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Woodlawn Cemetery – a vast 400-acre cemetery in the Bronx, where many of New York City’s arts, business and civic leaders are buried, including jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, author Herman Melville, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, women’s rights movement leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and department store magnate Frank Woolworth. The cemetery is composed of an unprecedented collection of artistically important memorials set in the Landscape-Lawn style.

The Niagara Hotel – A product of Niagara Falls’ history of tourism, industry and commerce, the 1925 structure is the last and only surviving major hotel of those that once dominated the city’s downtown.


Washington Square Historic District – Oswego’s historic civic and religious center that developed around a village green established in 1797.

Lustron Houses of Jermain Street Historic District – a remarkably intact Albany district of mid-20th century prefabricated steel homes manufactured by the Lustron Corporation to respond to the post-World War II housing demand.

New York Central Passenger and Freight Station – an outstanding example of an Art Deco train station built in 1936 – a style representative of the last gasp of major railroad station construction in the United States – in Syracuse, a major transportation hub in New York State.

Listing these properties on the state and national registers can assist their owners in revitalizing the structures. Listing will make them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation is an independent panel of experts appointed by the governor. The Board also consists of representatives from the following state organizations: Council of Parks- Council on the Arts- Department of Education- Department of State and Department of Environmental Conservation. The function of the Board is to advise and provide recommendations on state and federal preservation programs, including the State and National Registers of Historic Places, to the State Historic Preservation Officer, who in New York is the State Parks Commissioner.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are nearly 90,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts.

During the nomination process, the State Board submits recommendations to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The properties may be listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register by the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C.

The recommended properties listed by county are as follows:

STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

Albany County

1. Lustron Houses at Jermain Street Historic District – Albany

Allegany County

2. Centerville Town Hall – Centerville

Erie County

3. Lancaster District School No. 6 – Lancaster

4. Annunciation School – Buffalo

5. Buffalo Tennis and Squash Club – Buffalo

6. Harlow C. Curtis Building – Buffalo

7. Sardinia Old Town Hall – Sardinia

8. The Baptist Church of Springville – Springville

9. Richmond Avenue Methodist-Episcopal Church – Buffalo

Franklin County

10. James Wilder Farmstead – Burke

Greene County

11. Methodist-Episcopal Church of Windham Centre – Windham

12. Woodward Road Stone Arch Bridge – East Durham

13. Tannersville Main Street Historic District – Tannersville

Herkimer County

14. Emmanuel Episcopal Church – Little Falls

Jefferson County

15. Hiram Hubbard House – Champion

Lewis County

16. Lowville G.A.R. Soldier’s Monument – Lowville

Livingston County

17. Engleside – Dansville

Montgomery County

18. Kilts Farmstead – Palatine Bridge

New York City

19. Garment Center Historic District – Manhattan

20. General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen – Manhattan

21. New York Congregational Home for the Aged – Brooklyn

22. The Woodlawn Cemetery – Bronx

23. Tremont Baptist Church – Bronx

Niagara County

24. The Niagara – Niagara Falls

Oneida County

25. Sylvan Beach Union Chapel – Sylvan Beach

Onondaga County

26. New York Central Passenger and Freight Station – Syracuse

Orange County

27. St. Andrew’s Cemetery – Walden

28. Milliken-Smith Farm – Montgomery

Orleans County

29. Benjamin Franklin Gates House – Albion

30. John Shelp Cobblestone House – Middleport

Oswego County

31. Historic and architectural resources in Oswego, including the Washington Square Historic District – Oswego

32. Oswego Yacht Club – Oswego

Rockland County

33. Johannes Isaac Blauvelt House – Blauvelt

34. Contempora House – New City

Ulster County

35. Saugerties Public Library – Saugerties

Warren County

36. Forward wreck site – Lake George

Washington County

37. Stoops Hotel – Battenville

Westchester County

38. Presbyterian Rest for Convalescents – White Plains

39. Soundview Manor – White Plains

Rochester, Buffalo Preservationists Join Forces

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The directors of two Buffalo area preservation groups voted to merge their organizations late last week. Both the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier and the Preservation Coalition of Erie County will now be merged into one organization &#8211 Preservation Buffalo Niagara.

According to Buffalo Business First, the decision comes after nine months of negotiations. Preservation Buffalo Niagara will be governed by a 21-member board- 10 of the seats will be filled from existing directors and the remaining spots will be filled anew.

Buffalo Rising has more of the story:

According to Harvey [McCartney, retired Director of the Landmark Society] and Cynthia [Van Ness, President of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County], the new organization will have its work cut out. In addition to playing a key role in preparing for the 2011 conference, several longstanding preservation issues need to be addressed, including conducting more historic resource surveys (Rochester was fully surveyed in the 1980’s, Buffalo has not been), and bringing more preservation attention to Buffalo’s east side. A common thread through the discussions was the need for the new organization to get out in front of preservation issues and be proactive, rather than reactive—which all too often results in bruising preservation battles with preservationists being labeled “obstructionists.”

There will be a national search for an executive director in the months to come.

Stolen 1612 Map of Canada to be Auctioned?

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Thanks to The Map Room we learn that a rare copy of Samuel de Champlain’s 1612 map of Canada set to be auctioned at Sotheby’s next month, may be the same map discovered missing from Harvard University in 2005.

The Calgary Herald has the whole story:

The Harvard map was found missing in 2005 during an FBI investigation into a string of thefts from major libraries in the U.S. and Britain that saw about 100 cartographic treasures &#8211 worth an estimated $3 million US in total &#8211 sliced from centuries-old atlases and exploration journals.

Massachusetts antiquarian E. Forbes Smiley, a well-known collector and dealer of rare maps, eventually admitted to the thefts and is serving three years in a U.S. prison for the crime.

He helped authorities recover many of the stolen maps as part of a plea bargain, but the 1612 Champlain map removed from Harvard’s Houghton Library was not among those he admitted taking.

The Champlain map is one of top-priced items at Sotheby’s Nov. 13 Natural History, Travel, Atlases and Maps sale. According to the Calgary Herald the map was the first to be published to show Montreal, Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes as a chain of connected waterways.

Presidential Historian Wins Archives and History Award

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Best selling author and historian Michael Beschloss, a scholar named by Newsweek magazine as “the nation’s leading Presidential historian,” will be in Albany, Wednesday, Oct. 22 to receive the New York State Archives Partnership Trust’s 2008 Empire State Archives and History Award. The hour-long conversation on the upcoming Presidential election and awards ceremony will be held at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts at the Empire State Plaza at 7:30 p.m.

According to New York State Archivist and Trust CEO Christine W. Ward, Mr. Beschlosswas selected to receive the award based upon his rich and distinguished career as one of this nation’s leading interpreters of the American Presidency. “We are honored to, once again, have Mr. Beschloss return to Albany as we honor him for his decades of extraordinary scholarship on many of the nation’s most recent presidents, as well as the components of Presidential character,” she said.

A native of Chicago, Mr. Beschloss has an extraordinary academic pedigree, having attended Andover, Williams (where he studied under the legendary Williams’ College professorJames McGregor Burns) and Harvard. In recognition of his accomplishments to the world of academe, he has received three honorary doctorates.

A prolific contributor to the national dialogue on the American Presidency, Mr. Beschloss has written nine books on American Presidents. His most recent two books, Presidential Courage (2007) and The Conquerors (2002), were each on the New York Times bestseller list for months. Presidential Courage was #1 on the Washington Post bestseller list. The Conquerors was Amazon.com’s top bestselling history book of the year.

Mr. Beschloss’s previous books include two volumes on Lyndon Johnson’s secret tapes, which a New York Times editorial called “an important event,” and The Crisis Years, which the New Yorker called the “definitive” history of John Kennedy and the Cold War.

A regular commentator of national prestige, Mr. Beschloss serves as the NBC NewsPresidential Historian, the first time a major television network created such a position. He appears on all NBC News programs, hosting a regular segment on NBC’s Today show called “American Minute with Michael Beschloss.” He is also a commentator on PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and writes a regular column for Newsweek called “Traveling through History with Michael Beschloss.”

The Empire State Archives and History Award was inaugurated in 2005 to honor national figures who, through their achievements, have advanced the understanding and uses of history within our society. Previous winners have included: C-SPAN founder and CEO Brian Lamb, actor Sam Waterston for his efforts to bring Abraham Lincoln and other characters from U.S. history to life on stage and screen, and Pulitzer Prize winning writer and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Title sponsors for the New York State Archives Partnership Trust’s signature event are Time Warner Cable and History. Premier sponsors include: Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture and Engineering P.C., Greenberg Traurig, Key Private Bank, New York State United Teachers, Times Union, and New York Council for the Humanities. Supporting sponsors include: 2K Design- 74 State- Berkshire Bank- Chateau LaFayette Reneau- Edward Ryan- Janney Montgomery Scott LLC- McCadam Cheese- WAMC Northeast Public Radio- Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, Attorneys at Law- and Wojeski & Co., CPAs, P.C.

Tickets for the Empire State Archives and History Award are $10 and are available at The Egg Box Office. Invitations to a private fund-raising reception with Mr. Beschloss may be obtained by calling (518) 474-1228.

Essex Co. Historical Society Wins Archives Award

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The Board of Regents and the New York State Archives have selected the Essex County Historical Society | Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown to receive the 2008 Annual Archives Award for Program Excellence in a Historical Records Repository. The award will be presented to Essex County Historical Society Director Margaret Gibbs, Assistant Director Jenifer Kuba, and Museum Educator Lindsay Pontius at a luncheon ceremony at the State Education Building in Albany on October 20, 2008.

The award commends Essex County Historical Society for its outstanding archival program that contributes significantly to understanding the region’s history. The award recognizes the historical society for its well organized and managed archives and for its efforts to provide access to the county’s documentary heritage through interesting exhibitions and excellent educational programs for school children.

Previous award winners include Schenectady County Historical Society (2007), Huguenot Historical Society in New Paltz (2006), M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives at the University at Albany (2005), Onondaga Historical Association (2004), Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery (2003), and Hofstra University (2002)

SAGE Publications Offers Free Access to Journals

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SAGE Publications is offering free trial access to their online journals through October 31 by going to this page and registering. The free trail include, among a lot of others, the following titles which historians in and of New York might find interesting:

Accounting History
Crime, Media, Culture
Critique of Anthropology
Cultural Geographies
Feminist Criminology
Feminist Theory
Games and Culture
History of Psychiatry
History of the Human Sciences
Journal of Consumer Culture
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
Journal of Contemporary History
Journal of Family History
Journal of Material Culture
Journal of Peace Research
Journal of Planning History
Journal of Social Archaeology
Journal of Urban History
Labor Studies Journal
Law, Culture and the Humanities
Media, Culture & Society
Media, War & Conflict
New Media & Society
Race & Class
Studies in History
Television & New Media
Theory, Culture & Society
War in History

Ellis Island to Include Native Americans, African Slaves

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The Associated Press is reporting that the Ellis Island Immigration Museum is creating The Peopling of America Center to tell the history of those who arrived in America outside the traditional peak immigration dates of 1892 to 1954:

Exhibits will focus on the arrival of Native Americans, who are believed to have migrated to North America more than 10,000 years ago across the Bering Sea from Asia- Europeans who landed on the Eastern seaboard from the 1600s through 1892- Africans brought here forcibly by slave traders- and today’s immigrants from all over the globe&#8230-

The $20 million, 20,000-square-foot space, designed by Edwin Schlossberg of ESI Design, will be located in an existing gallery that will be redesigned and in an adjoining building that now houses the curatorial staff&#8230-

Work on the new center began in September. Funding has been underwritten in part by Bank of America and the Annenberg Foundation. Briganti said the foundation has attained more than 75 percent of its fundraising goal.

Upon its completion in 2011, the museum will be renamed Ellis Island: The National Museum of Immigration.