Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 12 properties, including one large historic district of over 1,800 buildings, to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The nominations reflect the striking diversity of New York State's history, including the nationally significant Hudson Valley studio of modern artist Al Held and the Buffalo factory that produced the world famous Barca Lounger.

"I applaud the owners and caretakers of these properties for working to preserve New York's heritage," said Erik Kulleseid, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "Securing this distinction for these properties will help us to protect and appreciate New York's fascinating history."

State and National Registers listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Since the Governor signed legislation to bolster the state's use of rehabilitation tax credits in 2013, the state and federal program has spurred investment of billions of dollars in completed rehabilitations of historic commercial properties and tens of millions invested in owner-occupied historic homes.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects, and sites significant in the history, architecture, archaeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 120,000 historic properties throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Once the recommendations are approved by the Commissioner, who serves as the State Historic Preservation Officer, the properties are 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. More information, with photos of the nominations, is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.

Long Island

Cerny's Bakery, Bohemia - The bakery built in 1932 by Czech immigrant Josef Cerny and operated by his descendants through the late 1990s is significant for its role as an important business and social and cultural center in the predominantly Czech community of Bohemia during the 20th century.

Mid-Hudson

Al Held Home and Studio, Boiceville - The studio is nationally significant for its long and central association with modern artist Al Held (1928-2005), who owned and used this property from 1965 until his death. Best known as a pioneer of hard edge abstraction, Held was one of the most ambitious American painters of the mid-20th century. The large studio spaces in Boiceville allowed him to pursue the kind of large-scale work he found so compelling.

De Meyer-Burhans-Felten Farm, Ulster - The intact Hudson Valley farm includes an 1836 stone house with a later frame addition and a New World Dutch barn dating to the late 18th century that are clustered in a natural landscape setting with the Catskill Mountains as a backdrop.

Deyo-DuBois House, Highland - Built about 1778, the home is a distinctive example of a stone dwelling constructed in the 18th-century regional tradition associated with Ulster County's Huguenot-American heritage.

Hardenbergh-Jenkins Farm - The property represents the full evolution of a Hudson Valley farm from its initial settlement in the mid-18th century with the construction a ca. 1750 New World Dutch barn and an 1831 residence designed in the Federal and Greek Revival styles, to its preservation as a historic artifact in the late 20th century.

Hopewell Junction Depot, Hopewell Junction - The Dutchess and Columbia Railroad (D&CRR) constructed the depot in 1873 at a site where three railroad lines came together, a place that soon became the focal point of the small but thriving hamlet of Hopewell Junction.

South Bay Mill, Hudson - Built as a soap and candle factory in approximately 1860 near the city's thriving Hudson River harbor trade, the mill saw a variety of industrial uses in the ensuing decades, lastly as a large-scale electronic goods manufactory.

Mohawk Valley

Uptown Theatre, Utica - Built in 1927, the neighborhood theater continued to show movies until 2012, making it Utica's longest running movie theater. Two commercial storefronts in the building, which continue in operation today, accommodated a variety of small business operations over a long period of time, including a soda shop, bank, bakery, antiques store, and jewelry store.

New York City

Bay Ridge Reformed Church, Brooklyn - Built in 1896 by a congregation made up of the neighborhood's older, Dutch families, the church is an impressive example of ecclesiastical design with elements influenced by the Arts and Crafts, Medieval revival, and Romanesque styles.

Rugby Congregational Church, Brooklyn - In 1907, as urbanization was spreading southward and eastward from downtown Brooklyn, Rugby Congregational Church was formed by a group of Anglo-American, German, and Scandinavian families. In response to its own growth and that of the neighborhood, the congregation purchased a parsonage and constructed the present church building between 1926-28.

Western New York 

University Heights-Summit Park-Berkshire Terrace Historic District, Buffalo - The intact residential suburban-style subdivision in Buffalo was built during a period of intense development between 1893 and 1939. The announcement in 1909 that the University at Buffalo would occupy the former Erie County Almshouse immediately north of the district helped spark a massive wave of development in an area that had been primarily farmland.

Barcalo Manufacturing Company Factory, Buffalo - Internationally recognized for its BarcaLoafer and BarcaLounger furniture, popular reclining chairs that became part of American pop culture, this company used the factory as its main production facility and corporate headquarters for sixty-four years (1899-1963). In addition to furniture, the company also produced hand tools and forged metal goods.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails and boat launches, which are visited by 77 million people annually. A recent university study found that spending by State Parks and its visitors support $5 billion in output and sales, 54,000 private-sector jobs and more than $2.8 billion in additional state GDP. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.