Inside Downtown Tour extended!

Last week Eventbrite had a nation-wide outage which affected some ticket orders for the Inside Downtown Tour. To ensure that all of our ticket holders have enough time to enjoy the Tour we are extending its availability another week!  The video will remain accessible to ticket holders until Sunday night, April 4th at 9:45 PM.

2021 Virtual Inside Downtown Tour Honorary Chair

YUPs present: The Rocks That Built Rochester

It’s not an accident that 90% of the country’s cobblestone structures are located within 75 miles of Rochester: from cobblestones to picturesque cemeteries, and stately red sandstone civic buildings to old mills, our area’s unique architectural heritage is, in part, a reflection of its singular geological history. In this class, students will link some of our region’s most treasured landmarks with the ancient geologic processes that made them possible, and that influence their preservation today.

The Young Urban Preservationists also have another brand new class in May and their always-popular Architecture in the Wild walking tour classes in June are live. Don’t wait to get your tickets–these always sell out quickly. All classes are live on the Brainery’s website–follow the link below!

• In April, The Rocks that Built Rochester, an exploration of the intersection between architecture and geology
• In May, Beginner’s Guide to Old House Interior Design
• In June, Architecture in the Wild in Maplewood, the South Wedge, and Downtown!

Interested in learning more about or getting involved with the YUPs? Check out their website or e-mail them to sign up for the next monthly Steering Committee meeting. Meetings are open to all!

Old House Help

Construction season is upon us and that means it’s time to start thinking about repairs, improvements, and maintenance to your older homes. But wait! If you live in a National Register historic district, you could be saving money on those repairs. Properties that are located in National Register historic districts and qualifying census tracts and that are owner-occupied, are eligible for the NYS Historic Homeowners Tax Credit program.

Neighborhoods in the city of Rochester that have eligible historic districts include: Maplewood, 19th Ward, South Wedge, Highland Park, Susan B. Anthony, Browncroft, Park Ave., Corn Hill, and Grove Place.

Whether you’re in a National Register historic district and want to apply for tax credits or you’re in a City of Rochester Preservation District and need to apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness to do exterior work on your home, we are here to help. Through our Old House Help program, you can hire our expert staff to prepare these applications. Visit our website below for details!

Upcoming grant deadlines

It’s grants season! Below are just a sampling of some upcoming deadlines for preservation-related grant applications. Please note that these programs are not administered by The Landmark Society. Visit the websites for each program and contact their grants staff for more information.

Preserve New York – A signature grant program of the Preservation League of NYS and the New York State Council on the Arts, Preserve NY makes grants for historic structure reports, building condition reports, cultural landscape reports, and cultural resource surveys. Due April 12th.

Humanities New York – Humanities NY offers Action Grants, Vision Grants, and Quick Grants to plan and implement humanities projects. You can make an appointment with HNY staff to discuss your project idea. Visit their website for details!

Vitality Grants: Preserving Historical Assets – The Rochester Area Community Foundation offers grants that  strengthen regional vitality by preserving our region’s historical assets and promoting educational efforts that build on these assets. A 2021 application deadline has not been announced but you can sign up for funding updates on The Community Foundation’s website.

5 Castle Park, Rochester, NY 14620
PHONE: (585) 546-7029 x10 · FAX: (585) 546-4788