Ten Projects and Individuals Win 2026 New York State Historic Preservation Awards

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The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today announced that 10 projects and individuals have been recognized with 2026 New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year’s awards recognize preservation advocates for their work in the field and highlight historic rehabilitation projects that have made impacts in New York’s communities, including initiatives that address affordable housing, create sustainable spaces for communities, preserve performing art spaces, and explore a more complete and inclusive story of the Erie Canal. 

Created in 1980, the State Historic Preservation Awards are presented by OPRHP each year to honor excellence in the protection and revitalization of historic and cultural resources. 

“Each of these awardees demonstrates the power of preservation to connect people to place,” said Acting Commissioner Kathy Moser. “Their work not only drives meaningful community revitalization, but also helps tell a fuller, more inclusive story of our shared past. By highlighting these projects, we hope to inspire continued collaboration, and investment in the historic spaces that make New York’s communities vibrant, welcoming and enduring.”

In 2024, the Joan K. Davidson Award category was established. As Commissioner of New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation from 1993 to 1995, Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1977, and President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund from 1977 to 1993, Joan K. Davidson (1927-2023) was a visionary leader who was dedicated to the betterment of natural and built environments from cities to rural towns and villages throughout New York State. She believed that the most successful historic preservation projects begin at the grassroots level when dedicated individuals work together to ensure the future of irreplaceable community assets and tangible links to our shared past.

The 2026 New York State Historic Preservation Award recipients are:

Scenic Hudson’s Northside Hub | Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

• Scenic Hudson’s Northside Hub transformed an abandoned industrial site at 58 Park Avenue in Poughkeepsie’s Northside through a five-year adaptive reuse and brownfield cleanup project– restoring historic buildings, remediating polluted soil and groundwater, and creating a vibrant, sustainable community space. The rehabilitation preserved the National Register-listed Standard Gage Factory while integrating net-zero energy features such as solar power, green roofs, and advanced ventilation. Designed as a community-centered hub, it reconnects residents to the Hudson River and supports recreation, education, and gathering. As New York State’s first historic rehabilitation to pair tax credit restoration with advance energy systems, it reflects Scenic Hudson’s mission to advance conservation, equity, and community revitalization.

Historic Saranac Lake’s Trudeau Building | Saranac Lake, Franklin County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

• Historic Saranac Lake invested over $4.5 million to acquire and rehabilitate the former home and medical office of Dr. E. L. Trudeau for the expansion of the neighboring Saranac Laboratory Museum. The project restored the 1894 building (a contributing property to the National Register-listed Church Street Historic District). Historic Saranac Lake secured multiple funding sources, including state and federal tax credits, a $500,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant, a $325,000 Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, an Adirondack Rural Revitalization Program grant from AARCH, private donations, and community support. The Trudeau Building rehabilitation is an outstanding example of how historic tax credits, leveraged with other funding, can help revitalize small, rural downtowns, and celebrate history through careful planning and community support.

Huntington Apartments | Seneca Falls, Seneca County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

• Developed by Home Leasing in partnership with Eagle Star Housing through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, Huntington Apartments features 53 affordable apartments, including 27 with supportive services for veterans in need of housing. Listed in the National Register, the building had been the site of multiple businesses, including the National Yeast Company, the Iroquois Motor Car Company, a box company, and an auto dealership, before falling vacant and then threatened by demolition. This rehabilitation was supported by $24 million from public and private funding including New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s (HCR) state and federal low-income housing tax credits, Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, NYSERDA energy-efficient support (including NYSERDA’S High-Rise Multi-Family New Construction program), federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits, and additional funding support from the Community Preservation Corporation.

Cherry Lane Theatre | New York City, New York County 

Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation 

• The historic Cherry Lane Theatre is New York City’s longest continuously operating off-Broadway venue that’s been in operation since 1923. Originally used as a brewery and warehouse, by the 1950s the buildings at 38-42 Commerce Street became a busy theater and restaurant. Today, the site is listed on the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project for its long association with LGBT theater artists and as a popular gay venue in the 1950s and 60s. In 2023, the theater was acquired by A24 in partnership with Taurus Investment Holdings and underwent a $30 million investment that utilized the historic rehabilitation tax credit program. The project carefully balanced preservation and modernization, upgrading interior spaces while maintaining the theater’s historic character. The rehabilitation emphasized the theater’s historic integrity, restoring the main façade closer to its original appearance and reintroducing the historic restaurant within the former black box theater using period-appropriate finishes.

Steiner Studios | Brooklyn, Kings County 

Excellence in Historic Preservation Stewardship 

• Steiner Studios exemplifies excellence in historic preservation through the adaptive reuse of multiple historic buildings within the Brookyln Navy Yard, a National Register listed industrial district. Key projects include the rehabilitation of Building B (1872), the former Residence of the Captain of the Yard, which was stabilized, restored, and sensitively adapted into modern office and meeting space; the transformation of Building 2 (1941), a former foundry, into state-of-the-art film and television sound stages within its expansive industrial volume; and the conversion of Building 1 (1942), a former materials testing laboratory, into office and production-support space while preserving defining architectural features. Through these and other efforts, Steiner Studios has demonstrated a strong commitment to preservation, combining high-quality rehabilitation with innovative design to support film and television production. By leveraging historic tax credits and maintaining a philosophy of stewardship, the studio has helped establish the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a major production hub while advancing economic development, sustainability, and the creative industries.

Seneca Chief Bicentennial Voyage Across New York State | Buffalo, Erie County 

Excellence in Community Achievement 

• The Seneca Chief Bicentennial Voyage across New York State began its 33-day journey in September 2025, traveling 500 miles along the Erie Canal and Hudson River, and stopped in 28 communities. This historic commemorative journey retraced the original 1825 voyage of the Erie Canal boat Seneca Chief– the first vessel to travel the completed Erie Canal from Buffalo to NYC. The voyage was centered on a full-scale replica constructed by the Buffalo Maritime Center and built in public view at Canalside in Buffalo between October 2020 and June 2024. The project engaged more than 200 volunteers, students, and partner organizations in one of the largest community boatbuilding efforts in the world. Led by two professional shipwrights, the volunteer-driven project used traditional boatbuilding skills while fostering public education and civic pride. The Buffalo Maritime Center was awarded a New York State National Maritime Heritage Subgrant to develop an accompanying exhibition that explored the boatbuilding process, the history of the original vessel, and the diverse people who traveled aboard it to tell a more complete and inclusive story of the Erie Canal.

Harambee Kingston NY, Inc. | Kingston, Ulster County 

Excellence in Nonprofit Achievement 

• Harambee Kingston NY has led the preservation and revitalization of the Pine Street African Burial Ground since acquiring the site in 2019. Established in 1750 for the burial of Kingston’s enslaved people and their descendants, the long-forgotten site was protected, interpreted, and revitalized through Harambee Kingston’s community-centered vision. Harambee Kingston created a cultural center and museum, partnered with SUNY New Paltz Archaeological Field School to document and protect the burial ground leading to the site’s listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Through community engagement, youth education, public events such as Juneteenth, and performing sacred ceremonial services to honor those interred at the site, Harambee has uplifted marginalized histories, advanced interdisciplinary preservation practice, and created a model for nonprofit stewardship. 

Deborah Harris, Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater | Gowanda, Cattaraugus County 

Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation 

• For over two decades, Deborah Harris has played a pivotal role in the rehabilitation of Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater. Originally built as an opera house, the theater opened in 1884 and was eventually destroyed by fire in 1924. Just 18 months afterwards, the Hollywood Theater reopened to the public in 1926 and remained an important part of life in Gowanda until the 1980s. The theater closed in 1992 and fell into disrepair, with large roof leaks damaging the plaster walls and ceiling. In the early 2000s, locals quickly mobilized to create a sustainable preservation plan for the future of the theater– creating the nonprofit Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater, Inc.– and securing significant local, state, and federal funding to restore and revitalize the National Register-listed building. Since 2007, Deborah has expertly guided the project as grant administrator and project manager, navigating grant writing, budgeting, project coordination, and construction oversight. Her tireless efforts were instrumental in securing thousands of dollars in state funding and ensuring the theater’s successful restoration, which has earned awards from the Preservation League of NYS and Preservation Buffalo Niagara. Deborah’s dedication has not only brought this historic landmark back to life but also sustained the momentum for ongoing preservation work, setting a model for long-term stewardship in the field.

Historical Society of the Town of Chester | Chestertown, Warren County 

Excellence in Historic Preservation Documentation 

• The Historical Society of the Town of Chester has preserved the work of photographer Itsuzo Sumy through extensive digitization, exhibitions, and public programming. Originally from Japan, Itsuzo Sumy came to the United States in 1922 and traveled as a Master of Jujitsu before settling in Chestertown in 1932. For nearly four decades, Sumy captured parades, weddings, family portraits, buildings, fires, traffic collisions, and everyday village life becoming Chestertown’s unofficial documentarian. When Sumy died in 1970, he left more than 38,000 negatives and 5,000 prints. Since 2017, the Historical Society has digitized, indexed, and exhibited this vast archive, making 900 images available online through the New York Heritage website. Sumy’s photographs are invaluable historic preservation research materials – helping inform the expansion of the Chestertown Historic District in 2025. The Historical Society has not only preserved the town’s visual history but also highlighted immigrant experiences, enhanced public understanding of Chestertown’s built environment, and brought Sumy’s legacy to life in a way that will help guide preservation work in Chestertown into the future.

The MARK Project, Inc. | Arkville, Delaware County 

Joan K. Davidson Award 

• The MARK Project has spent over 40 years advancing community revitalization in the central Catskills through collaborative, locally driven initiatives and becoming a model for community-based revitalization. The MARK Project has united local leaders, residents, and funding partners, strengthening both the social and economic fabric of small towns throughout central Catskills through initiatives in affordable housing, economic development, local food systems, tourism, farming, civic planning, and downtown revitalization. Signature efforts include housing support programs and Kirkside, a fully operational inn and restaurant that will serve as a workforce and entrepreneurship incubator. The MARK Project also supports emerging nonprofits with administrative and technical assistance, which strengthens long-term organizational resilience across rural communities.

The mission of the New York State Division for Historic Preservation (DHP) is to create meaningful connections to the dynamic history of the state for all residents and visitors, and the Division is committed to protecting historic and cultural resources. Part of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the DHP strives to raise awareness of the value of historic places for future generations and to expand the complex narratives in order to tell a more complete story that represents the diversity of the state's people, both past and present. Learn more about the full scope of the Division's work online. 

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 86 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518.474.0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), the OPRHP Blog or via the OPRHP Newsroom.