Newsletter Vol.15, No.1-3
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The Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture January – March 2012 Newsletter Vol.15, No.1-3 The Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture is a not-for-profit corporation formed to study and preserve vernacular architecture and material culture. Peter Sinclair Founder, Trustee Emeritus The Van Vechten House, Catskill, New York Walter Wheeler From the President: Frederick Edwin Church, 1847 (detail) President (518) 270-9430 [email protected] HVVA has made much progress as an a resource it becomes! – several important Ken Walton organization during the past year. We’ve structures are known to have been dendro- Vice President come a long way from the days when Peter dated during this past year). I am preparing (845) 883-0132 did almost all of the writing, editing and an expanded version of the bibliography [email protected] publishing and most of the tour organizing. which I posted on the website last year. Robert Sweeney Please email me with any suggestions and Corresponding Secretary & Treasurer Starting with the annual meeting of January additions; I’m hoping to upload the update (845) 336-0232 [email protected] 2011 we began the work of transitioning sometime during March. John Ham into a fully active board. Our bylaws state Secretary our chief goal as to “survey, record, re- And finally, thanks to Rob Sweeney taking (518) 274-0935 [email protected] search and preserve the traditional, rural over the reins as editor of the newsletter Neil Larson and vernacular architecture of the Hudson after Peter Sinclair’s stroke in November Newsletter Editor Valley.” The bylaws say that we will do this 2006 – HVVA could have easily foundered (845) 679-5054 [email protected] by studying these buildings, by establishing at that point and Rob’s sense that it was John Stevens an archive of information and artifacts crucial to keep the newsletter going was Past President / Senior Architectural Historian pertaining to them and by promoting public central to our moving forward in the wake of (845) 383-1416 awareness and preservation of these re- Peter’s illness. With this issue – after more [email protected] sources. The work of our committees is than five years as our second editor – Rob TRUSTEES intended to support the goals of our orga- steps down, handing over the pen and scis- nization. I’m pleased to say that the first sors to Neil Larson. Thanks to Neil for being Tom Colluci fruits of these efforts – including a member willing to take over this responsibility. (845) 532-6838 [email protected] survey and beginning work on the archives been undertaken by the Research and Edu- With an all-volunteer organization such as Jim Decker cation Committee. I encourage and expect ours, content for publications is frequently (845) 527-1710 [email protected] all trustees – and any interested members! short-at-hand. Please consider writing for Conrad Fingado – to become active in the work of one of the the newsletter. Share your observations (845) 635-2714 committees. If you are a trustee and are not from one of our tours, a pet research [email protected] already signed up for a committee, you’ll be project, or something that you’ve taken the John Hanzl getting a call from me soon – many hands time to look at independently. Please send (845) 246-5221 make light work! In response to requests all potential newsletter contributions to Neil Bob Hedges by the membership (in the survey), John at [email protected] in MSWord format. (518) 398-7773 Stevens and I have agreed to conduct Contributions will be due the 15th of a two-day training for those interested January, April, July and October for each Maggie MacDowell (845) 255-2282 in learning how to document buildings. of the quarterly newsletters. [email protected] More on this can be found in another part of this newsletter. The Research & Education Committee has Karen Markisenis (845) 382-1788 put together an interesting lineup of tours [email protected] In the spirit of our group, I’d like to make for the coming year. Please consult the a special appeal to those of you who calendar at the back of this newsletter for William McMillen (518) 462-1264 [email protected] are active in the preservation/restoration information on upcoming events. Updates field, to share the fruits of your work and additional information on these and and research with us. This might include other events are regularly posted to our supplying us with historic structure reports, website at www.hvva.org. Visit us at articles for the newsletter detailing work you’ve done, or dendrochronology reports See you in the field! www.hvva.org (we have a number of these posted on our website; the more we have, the better Wally Wheeler 2 January – March 2012 HVVA News & Announcements Books Ham has replaced Karen Markisenis as secre- tary. Rob Sweeney has added Corresponding Secretary to his many titles. Neil Larson has taken over Rob’s duties as editor of this newsletter. We have a full calendar of tours for the upcom- ing year and hope to see more members taking advantage of these interesting and educational excursions. If you have ideas for new places for Trustees Maggie MacDowell and Ken Walton in us to organize field trips around, please let us the basement of the Elting House in New Paltz. know. Contact Ken at [email protected]. Since our last newsletter members have Upcoming Tour visited old houses in New Paltz, Wallkill, Town Town of Rochester, Ulster County of Newburgh and the Flatbush area outside Date: April 21, 2012 of Kingston. Time: 10:00 am At our annual meeting in January, new trustees Meeting Place: Parking lot of Rochester William B. Rhoads, Ulster County, New and officers were elected. They are John Hanzl Reformed Church, 5142 Route 209, Accord York: The Architectural History & Guide of West Camp and John Ham of Troy. Sam Visits to at least three historic farmsteads are (Delmar NY: Black Dome Press, 2011). Scoggins term as a trustee has expired. John planned – with a break for lunch. With informative entries for over 325 sites located in all 20 towns and the city New HVVA Program Offering: of Kingston in New York State's Ulster County, Bill Rhoads has aptly illustrated Field Documentation and Drafting for Beginners – June 2 & 3, 2012 the variety and changing architectural John Stevens and Wally Wheeler will present a like to get more members involved in styles of nearly 300 years of architecture in the Hudson River Valley and Catskill two day course on the basic techniques of field the exciting world of field documentation! Mountains. His entries range from documentation and drawing. Included will be A deposit of $50 is requested at registration, the the Dutch limestone houses of the Colo- what comprises a field pack, types of measur- full amount of which will be returned after com- nial era, through the Federal, Greek ing, what and why things are measured, pleting the course. The workshop will be held Revival and Victorian periods, up to the drawing techniques, and “industry standards” with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 10 reg- Modernist architecture of the 1950s trac- for documentation packages like that used by istrants. The workshop site will be announced at ing the history of one of the first regions the Historic American Building’s Survey. The in- a later time to registrants. Those interested to be settled by Europeans. The author's tent of this workshop is to introduce HVVA must contact Ken Walton by April 15. survey of Ulster County architecture takes members to professional field documentation the reader through the cataclysm of the methods so that we begin to record buildings To register or for more information contact Ken Revolution and the burning of the city of to more consistent standards. Also, we would at [email protected] or 845-883-0132. Kingston, New York State's first capital in 1777, the post-Revolutionary expansion and the burgeoning commerce on Celebrating The Yesteryear Of Saugerties the Hudson River during the 19th century, to the industrial revolution, the Historic Flatbush House Tour – May 12, 2012 building of canals, and the railroad age. Information on most sites includes the On Saturday, May 12th (torrential rain date touches distinctive to Ulster County as well. histories of the owners, the architects, May 13), from 11:00 am to 5 pm, the town of The rest of the sites, some with spectacular and the builders, as well as the social Saugerties Historic Preservation Commission views, will be revealed on the day of the tour. and historical context in which the invites the public to step back into the past and structures were built. This lavishly Advance tickets are available from April 14 to take a self-guided visit to unique sites as part furnished book contains 340 illustrations May 9 at $15 per person. Tickets may be pur- of the annual historic house tour. Celebrating which will clearly jog your memory chased at Smith Hardware and at the Hudson the hamlet, this year’s tour crosses town or inspire a drive. Valley Dessert Company (on Main Street in borders as you travel the length of Flatbush Saugerties) until May 9, or by mail (until May 4) is professor emeritus from Glasco in the Town of Saugerties, south William B. Rhoads with checks made out to Town of Saugerties of art history at SUNY New Paltz, where to East Kingston in the Town of Ulster to HPC, and mailed to: Historic House Tour, he taught from 1970 to 2005.