Preserving our history is no small task. Whether someone is restoring a historic home, breathing new life into a warehouse through adaptive reuse, documenting and researching a building for a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, or restoring cemetery stones, a lot of time, money and creativity goes into preservation and documentation projects.

The Division of Historic Preservation recently recognized eleven outstanding projects with the New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year saw the addition of the Joan K. Davidson Award. Joan was Parks Commissioner from 1993-1995; Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1977, and President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund from 1977 to 1993. She was a strong believer in historic preservation and an advocate for grassroots, collaborative efforts to preserve our shared history.

Without further ado, we proudly present this year’s 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards recipients!

6967 Fillmore Avenue, Hamlet of Silver Lake, Wyoming County 
Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship 
The 1878 cottage, originally designed as seasonal lodging for a Methodist campground in the hamlet of Silver Lake, has been carefully rehabilitated by owner Bradley Huber utilizing the federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credit program. The project is a point of pride for the neighborhood and has been featured for its preservation work in national media outlets. 

Bent’s Opera House, Village of Medina, Orleans County 
Joan K. Davidson Award 
Bent’s Opera House is the inaugural recipient of the Joan K. Davidson Award. The Civil War era opera house is one of the oldest surviving opera houses in the country. Listed as one of the Preservation League of New York State’s “Seven to Save” in 2012, the previously vacant building has been restored utilizing the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program and now features a restaurant, boutique hotel, and special event space.     

East End II, City of Newburgh, Orange County 
Excellence in Nonprofit Achievement 
East End II was a $30+ million scattered-site, multi-year initiative by the nonprofit organization RUPCO, which utilized state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, affordable housing credits, and LEED certification to rehabilitate and construct more than 60 mixed-income homes in Newburgh. In addition to development of housing, a former Methodist church was adaptively reused to create commercial, social, and educational space within the neighborhood. 

Grave Stone Matters, Village of Hoosick Falls, Rensselaer County 
Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation 
Owner and stone conservator Joseph Ferrannini has spent more than sixteen years preserving thousands of gravestones and monuments in New York State and throughout the country through his hands-on repair work and training workshops. He is motivated by the most challenging projects. His passion for this work is building a new generation of hands-on preservationists. 

Hotel Chelsea, New York City, New York 
Excellence in Historic Building Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration 
Brimming with New York City history and connected to generations of prominent artists, novelists, and musicians, the 1884 Victorian Gothic building housing the Hotel Chelsea has been rehabilitated through significant investment, which included use of federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Original features have been carefully restored and the hotel now includes boutique suites, a re-opened restaurant, special event spaces, and rent-controlled apartments for long-time residents.   

James H. Case III and Laura Rockefeller Case House, Hamlet of Van Hornesville, Herkimer County 
Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship 
Constructed between 1962 and 1964, the house received acclaim for its Mid-Century Modern architectural design by both House Beautiful magazine and Architectural Record. It is notable for its prominent rooflines, geometric shapes, vertical redwood siding, and open floor plan. Current owners Max Bleiler and Doreen DeNicola utilized the state historic homeownership tax credit program to stabilize the structure, which suffered from decades of neglect, and preserved its prominent and character-defining architectural features.    

Lustron House Westchester Deluxe Model M02 #01310, Town of Eden, Erie County 
Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship 
Originally built in 1949 on a lot in Westfield in Chautauqua County, this home was threatened by demolition or drastic alterations by 2015 when Joyce Scheetz purchased the house. Over the next several years, with a copy of an original Lustron Erection Manual as her guide, she carefully dismantled the house to move it and rebuild it on a new foundation in Eden. She shared her process through her blog “Lustron or Bust,” and in 2023 the house was added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.   

New York City School Construction Authority, All New York City Boroughs 
Excellence in Government Achievement 
The School Construction Authority oversees the building stock of the largest school district in the nation, with more than 1,500 buildings serving 1.1 million students throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The Authority has shown energy, optimism, and commitment to their historic resources through proactive planning, sensitive rehabilitation projects, and creative solutions to modernize facilities to meet the growing needs of students and educators. 

Parkside Candy, City of Buffalo, Erie County 
Excellence in Historic Building Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration 
Originally built in 1927, this National Register-listed historic candy shop has been a neighborhood staple for generations. The Parkside Candy project utilized state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits to restore many of its 1920s decorative features, as well as its still-active factory, garage, and residential spaces.     

Puerto Rican Casitas of New York City Multiple Property Nomination and Casita Rincón Criollo National Register Nomination, New York City, New York County and Bronx County 
Excellence in Historic Preservation Documentation 
This multiple property nomination shows exemplary depth and scholarship for a rare and fragile property type associated with Puerto Rican immigrant culture in New York City between the 1970s and late 1990s. The project was supported by an Underrepresented Communities Grant from the National Park Service and prepared by City Lore, a nonprofit cultural heritage organization serving New York City. 

Victory Lofts / Endicott Johnson Victory Shoe Factory, Johnson City, Broome County 
Excellence in Historic Building Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration 
Built between 1918 and 1921, the factory was one of the world’s largest manufactures of shoes and, at its height, employed 2,000 workers who produced 22,000 shoes a day. It was vacant for more than forty years. Paulus Development, utilizing the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program, transformed the iconic factory building to house 150 market-rate apartments and commercial space. 

On behalf of everyone at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, we thank the award recipients for their commitment to the history of New York State. Visit our Flickr page for more photos of the awards ceremony.

— Written by Historic Preservation Communications Specialist Aine Leader-Nagy and Public Affairs Digital Specialist Kate Jenkins

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