TAUNY - News

ALBANY—The Preservation League of New York State has selected The TAUNY Center in Canton to receive an award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The League’s statewide awards program honors notable achievements in retaining, promoting and reusing New York State’s irreplaceable architectural heritage.

“The expansion of an arts organization in the heart of a community’s downtown is always good news. The Awards Jury was also quite impressed with the wide variety of grants the project has secured, which is a testament to the professionalism of the organization,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. “Finally, the number and variety of letters of support for the project illustrates very clearly that TAUNY is an asset not only to Canton, or even to its 14-county service area, but to the preservation of the culture and heritage of the North Country way of life.”

Contributing to the success of this project were Crawford & Stearns, architects and preservation planners, Syracuse; Continental Construction, Gouverneur; The Exhibition Alliance, Hamilton; and Joseph Swinyer, Archives Planning Consultant, Plattsburgh. TAUNY’s Evergreen Capital Campaign Committee, co-chaired by Joseph and Dine Kennedy, Canton, with honorary co-chairs T. Urling and Mabel Walker, Watertown, was responsible for the successful fundraising efforts for the project.

The TAUNY Center purchased one of downtown Canton’s historic brick buildings, constructed in the 1870s after fires tore through the business district in 1869 and 1870. The building was altered in 1930s to meet the needs of the J. J. Newberry department store. The historic character of the interior and exterior of the building has been maintained while it has been renovated to provide gallery, performance and gathering space for North Country artisans.

TAUNY Executive Director Jill Breit responded: “It's a great honor for TAUNY to be recognized in this way. Our renovated building is a hub of activity in downtown Canton; we are pleased to share accolades with the many in our community who helped make our preservation project possible. Varick Chittenden, who was TAUNY’s Heritage Center Project Director for the renovations and capital campaign, and architect Randy Crawford deserve special credit for having created a vision we could all get behind. We hope our success in preserving a wonderful building will be an inspiration for others to do the same throughout the North Country.”

The awards will be presented at the Preservation League’s Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony in New York City at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, at the historic New York Yacht Club, 37 West 44th Street.

The complete list of award winners is: the New York State Capitol, Restoration of Skylights and Laylights, Albany County; East 180th Street Station, Bronx; Keramos Hall, Brooklyn; Hotel @ The Lafayette, Buffalo; The TAUNY Center, Canton; The Central Trust Building, Rochester. Albany Housing Authority will be honored for organizational excellence. The Buffalo News: Dawn Bracely, Editorial Writer and Stanford Lipsey, Publisher Emeritus, will be honored as an outstanding publication.

“As we launch our 40th anniversary celebration in 2013, the Preservation League is looking forward to exploring not just the past, but the future of historic preservation. Many of the 2013 award winners provide valuable examples for other practitioners by incorporating energy efficiency techniques, adaptive reuse strategies and Federal and State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits,” said DiLorenzo. “Each year, we are impressed by the number and variety of laudable nominations, and this year was no exception. We are delighted to celebrate the renovation of 53 Main Street in Canton and to commend The TAUNY Center for their stewardship.”

The Preservation League’s Excellence in Historic Preservation awards program is funded by a generous grant from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation.

The Preservation League of New York State invests in people and projects that champion the essential role of preservation in community revitalization, sustainable economic growth, and the protection of our historic buildings and landscapes. We lead advocacy, economic development, and education programs all across the state.

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