Neglected Landmarks Need Protection

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published July 16, 2014 and can be found here.

     The following is a guest post submitted by       Joel Helfrich      .
      Submit your story today      .

Within the last year     I have written    a great deal about cities and the historic buildings they should be obligated to see maintained. Many cities cannot, will not, or do not want to penalize or fine the industrial and commercial property owners who fail to maintain the buildings within their care. Often what happens is that these neglected buildings are then demolished because they are supposedly beyond repair or structurally unsound.

It should be noted that buildings are rarely too far gone, even when roofs are missing and the "elements" have begun to reek havoc, and that often these very buildings are "structurally sound."

   Architect and longtime preservationist     Howard Decker

recently stated, "Just for the record, as an architect with a lifetime of reusing historic structures... buildings [are rarely] too far gone to be recycled. I believe that this very website (www.rochestersubway.com) has run a series of images showing buildings in worse condition that have been repurposed... Be careful not to administer the last rites until the patient has actually expired."

Eventually, however, property owners use the perceived "dilapidated" state of their properties as a means to secure demolition from the municipality.

   Some notable property struggles in which building owners argued with a great amount of obfuscation and subterfuge that the buildings were "too far gone" include:     Cataract Brewery

(demolished) in Rochester, which is well-documented;     Otisca Brewery

buildings in Syracuse (demolished); and the recently demolished     Bethlehem Steel North Office Building

in Lackawanna.

Demolition of a set of long-neglected buildings includes the     Iola Tuberculosis Sanitarium    campus in Rochester. Read more     here    and     here    .

   The latest addition to the list of neglected buildings that will likely be demolished is the Erie Canal-era Brennan Motor Complex in Syracuse. See the fascinating     story and video here

and     comments here

and     architectural history here

(includes photographs). The Brennan Motor Complex is eligible for designation as a Protected Site in Syracuse, as well as listing on the State and National Registers. Certainly all buildings are ready for conversion.

Perhaps it is time that someone develop an app for the preservation community to use in the fight against property owners who neglect historic buildings.

* * *

   The historic Westminster Presbyterian Church, on West Main Street in Rochester     may join the list    of demolished neglected landmarks this week. The Rochester Zoning Board will decide the fate of 660 West Main Street after a public hearing this Thursday (tomorrow), 12:00pm/noon at City Hall external link room 302A.

If you would like to speak at this hearing please call (585) 428-6526 ahead of the meeting ensure your spot.

If you can't make the meeting, written comments may be submitted by July 16th, 2014 via email to      [email protected]    .

* * *

About Joel Helfrich:

Joel Helfrich is a father, educator, historian, and activist who works on animal rights, environmental, historic and sacred sites preservation, and social justice issues.