PRESERVATION
For more information on our Preservation Services, visit www.preserve.historicithaca.org

For detailed information and instruction on specific conservation issues, please check out the National Park Service’s Preservation Briefs, an invaluable resource to stewards of historic buildings.

ADVOCACY
Since its inception in 1966, Historic Ithaca has been the voice for preservation advocacy in Ithaca and Tompkins County. This advocacy work is accomplished through the combined efforts of staff, board members and our community supporters. Historic Ithaca is often represented at municipal and community meetings to support preservation initiatives and oppose threats to important structures and neighborhoods. In some cases, Historic Ithaca has assumed ownership of threatened buildings in order to ensure their safety and restoration. The two most prominent examples of this are the Clinton House and the State Theatre.

One highly successful project was the 1817 Cradit-Moore House, which was threatened by Cornell University’s North Campus expansion plans. Historic Ithaca took temporary ownership of the building and worked with Cornell University to move it to a safe location, three-quarters of a mile down Pleasant Grove Road. Through a series of open-houses, Historic Ithaca was able to find a buyer for the house. Historic Ithaca also owned the 1832 Methodist-Episcopal West Dryden Church for several years, maintained the structure, and eventually found a suitable buyer.

Historic Ithaca offers preservation consultation for current supporters, and provides technical consultation at an hourly rate for local developers, municipalities and the general public. Topics often include barn appraisals, bridge stabilization, residential repairs and renovations, local and national designation consulting, and neighborhood preservation consulting. The Forest Home Traffic Study is an example of a recently completed project in which Historic Ithaca played an advisory role. In collaboration with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the Town of Ithaca, we were able to help the Forest Home Neighborhood Association design a program, write an FRP, and interview and hire a consultant for a neighborhood traffic-calming study.

The Preservation Director has worked with the Town of Newfield to secure a Department of Transportation grant to restore Newfield’s 1870s King Bowstring Truss Bridge, which was recently rewarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Intervention Fund. Historic Ithaca has participated in Tompkins County Public Works negotiations concerning the rehabilitation or replacement of the Red Mill Bridge in Dryden. Historic Ithaca also advocated for the recently designated University Hill Historic District and is working with various municipal agencies and citizens’ groups to seek designation for a Cleveland Avenue neighborhood district and an Ithaca Commercial Historic District.

Click here to learn more about our Preservation projects.