New York City's Historic Districts Council will be holding its 13th Annual Preservation Conference, "Preserving the Past, Planning for the Future" March 9-11, 2007. The conference will begin with an opening cocktail reception Friday evening at the Children's Aid Society, Greenwich Village Center, to honor the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The Children's Aid Society, built in 1891, is a striking Victorian Gothic style brick building and one of about a dozen structures designed for the society by Calvert Vaux.
Saturday's events will be held at the Harold Lewis Auditorium, Hunter College School of Social Work. Noted preservation economist Donovan Rypkema will deliver the keynote address, "Sustainability, Smart Growth and Historic Preservation." Additional panels will include :
- "The Greening of Preservation" - which will focus on projects involving the intersection of green architecture and preservation. Panelists include Carl Elefante of Quinn Evans Architects, Washington, DC; Stephen Tilly of Dobbs Ferry, NY; and Stephen Goldsmith, acting director of the Center for the Living City at Purchase College.
- "Smart(?) Growth: Brooklyn in the 21st Century" - which will Panelists include Carter Craft of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, Lisa Kersavage of the Municipal Art Society, and Ronald Shiffman of Pratt Institute.
- "The Future of New York: With Preservation or Without" - Panelists include Alex Garvin, Julia Vitullo-Martin of the Manhattan Institute, City Council Member Tony Avella, and author and urbanist Roberta Brandes Gratz.
- Walking the Plan: Development in Downtown Brooklyn
- Greening the Crossroads of the World: New Architecture and Green Buildings in Times Square and Midtown Manhattan
- On the Waterfront: A Walking Tour of St. George, Staten Island
- From King Manor to La Casa: the New Jamaica Center
- Village of the Dormed: Going Up in Downtown
- Last Exit to Brooklyn: the New Face of Red Hook
In addition, the Landmark Society of Western New York will be holding its 21st Annual Regional Conference on Saturday, May 5, 2007 in historic LeRoy, New York. The one-day conference includes these five concurrent sessions:
- Track A: Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again brings together a dynamic roster of architects, planners, and developers familiar with the challenge of successfully adapting historic commercial buildings.
- Track B: Revitalizing Main Street discusses recent efforts to promote historic preservation, economic redevelopment, and rural tourism in towns and villages, including the “Walk the Villages” program that highlights cultural resources, local economics, and physical fitness.
- Track C: Historic Houses and Buildings: This ever-popular workshop focuses this year on porch restoration and the repair of historic masonry. Tours of several distinctive LeRoy houses currently undergoing restoration will be part of the program.
- Track D: Historic Cemeteries: Learn about gravestone repair and maintenance, successful volunteer efforts, and finding local history in cemeteries. Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, LeRoy’s park-like Macepelah Cemetery, with its winding roads, designed landscape, and distinctive chapel, will be included in this session.
- Track E: How to Write a National Register Landmark Nomination: Get the nuts and bolts of preparing these technical applications with emphasis on historical and architectural significance, a “must” for anyone interested in potential grants that are available for designated properties.
The Regional Preservation Conference is co-sponsored by the Preservation League of New York State, the LeRoy Historical Society, the town of LeRoy, the LeRoy United Methodist Church and the Landmark Society of Genesee County.
