At a City Council public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 2nd at 6:40 p.m. at City Hall the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation will testify in favor of temporarily suspending permits and approvals for demolition of individual or contributing buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Foundation is urging the City Council to consider a nine month moratorium while the City reviews and updates its historic preservation ordinance in conjunction with a grant received from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. This review will include updating demolition provisions of the ordinance; inclusion of language to address the issue of “demolition by neglect,” whereby an owner allows a historic property to deteriorate to the point where demolition is the only option; and possible expansion of the local historic district.
On May 7th, the Foundation was alarmed to see that portions of the roof and windows were being removed from 23 Greenfield Avenue under the guise of asbestos and lead abatement, often a precursor of demolition. It is anticipated that the owners, 23 Greenfield Avenue LLC, will apply for a demolition permit soon. The building is a contributing building to the Broadway Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but is not included in the City’s local historic district and has no protection under City law.
Built in 1858, the Mary Burr Wayland House is a two-story red brick front-gable Italianate with a later two-story side wing. The house has had a number of distinguished residents closely tied with Saratoga Springs’ history.
• Mary S. Burr Wayland was the daughter of Col. Samuel Young, a prominent attorney and Secretary of State of New York. She resided at 23 Greenfield Avenue and 607 Broadway between 1858 and 1887.
• Katherine Ehninger, Mary’s daughter lived with her beginning in 1879, and was married to John W. Ehninger, a prominent Paris-trained artist who designed the Seal of the City of Saratoga Springs, and has works in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
• Julia Clement, wife of Henry S. Clement, the proprietor of the Congress Hall Hotel owned the property between 1904 and 1907.
• Mrs. Lillian J.E.W. Bockes owned the property between 1909 and 1935. Lillian Bockes was one of the original incorporators and trustees of the Skidmore School of Arts, now Skidmore College, and an officer of the Saratoga Historical Society for 56 years.
• Dr. Fred Phillips, a much beloved Saratoga physician, lived with his wife Norma, at the house between 1967 and 1985.
“The built environment serves as an important link to our past that Saratoga Springs cannot afford to slowly erode with demolitions. The historic preservation of this building and others that are contributing buildings to a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places benefit our community and deserve protection even if not located in the local historic district. It is buildings like 23 Greenfield Avenue that make the City of Saratoga Springs the wonderful place it is to reside, work, and visit,” said Samantha Bosshart, Foundation’s Executive Director. The Foundation urges members of the public who value the rich architectural heritage of Saratoga Springs to come out and voice their support at tonight’s meeting. For more information about the proposed moratorium please visit www.saratogapreservation.org.
(518) 587-5030
info@saratogapreservation.org
