The Landmark Society’s 2013 Preservation Awards will be presented this year at a special event on Sunday, November 10 at 3:00 p.m. in Rochester’s historic City Hall, the spectacular Richardsonian Romanesque landmark located downtown at 30 Church Street. The Awards are given each year to individuals and organizations in our nine-county area who have made outstanding efforts in the preservation of their homes, historic properties, and landscapes. In anticipation of the upcoming Awards Ceremony we will be featuring some of this year’s award winners.

The Stewardship Award recognizes an organization or municipality that has provided continued care of and commitment to the preservation of an architecturally and/or historically significant property in our 9-county region over a period of years.

Clarkson Academy
8339 Ridge Road West, Town of Clarkson, Monroe County

Listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places, this picturesque, two-story, Greek Revival schoolhouse was built in 1853, to replace the Academy, which burned the previous year.  For over 100 years, this landmark building was used for educational purposes, hosting Academy, high school, and elementary students in its two classrooms.  Located on the campus of the Clarkson Congregational Church, the building was vacant for over 20 years and suffered from deferred maintenance.  In 2003, the Clarkson Historical Society was established, with a goal to restore the Academy building, which is unique in Monroe County.  They negotiated a long-term lease for the Academy and began consultations with preservation architect John Bero.

For the next decade, Society members, led by president Don Lage, worked on this challenging rehabilitation, with hundreds of volunteers, in-kind services from local craftsmen, and on-going support from the Town of Clarkson.  Grants from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and New York State help fund this remarkable project, which included extensive repairs to the interior and exterior, restoration of the wood windows, new electrical, heating, and plumbing systems, as well as structural repairs to the bell tower. The restored building now hosts meetings of the Society, other local groups, and special community programs throughout the year.

Visit our Success Stories page to see more previews of this year’s winners and check out winners from 2012!