Village icon taken down for first time since 1870, expected to be completed and replaced by March
For the first time in more than 140 years, the iconic Lincklaen House hotel sign at the corner of Albany and Lincklaen streets purposefully has been taken down.
First erected in 1835 — when the hotel itself was built — the sign has been in need of renovations for years and, after discussions between the village of Cazenovia and the owner of the hotel, Dan Kuper, along with some fundraising efforts, the work is now underway.
But the sign will not just be renovated and upgraded, it will also be brought back to its original historic look, which will be taller, with an octagonal post versus a cylindrical one, and the sign itself will be colored, rather than the current black and white.
The work, which is being paid for by donations, grants, municipal funds and in-kind labor, is expected to take about two months — done completely by local artisans — with a value of about $9,100.
“This is the first step of a lot of work by many people and organizations to see this happen,” said Ted Bartlett, a local preservation consultant, who is spearheading the project. “We expect to have it back up the first week in March and at that time have some sort of dedication. I’ve been happy to spearhead this and so pleased by the community response.”
Built in 1835, the Lincklaen House was a stylish and luxurious stopover for Colonial travelers on the Albany Turnpike. The street sign for the hotel, placed on the corner of Albany and Lincklaen streets, stood about 15 feet high — a four-foot sign on an 11-foot pole. The circular sign has 8-inch wooden spheres at the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock positions, and a 10-inch wooden sphere at the 6 o’clock position. The outer rim of the circle is edged in wrought iron with 15 curled iron scrolls coming off it, while the three 8-inch spheres all have iron spearheads with short shafts and scrollwork coming out of them. A 12-inch wooden sphere is suspended in the middle of the inner circle of the sign.
The wooden sign says “Lincklaen House” across the top half and “1835” at the bottom.
“When the Lincklaen House was built, it was a professionally designed building; it was the piece de resistance of Albany Road — a high-quality, high-end establishment, so the sign would have been nothing less – and the 1860s photographs we have bear that out,” Bartlett said.
The sign was taken down around 1870 when the hotel closed for a while, but then was replaced when the hotel reopened, Bartlett said. The sign continued to be maintained throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, but the repairs were general rather than substantively restorative, and along the way small changes were made to the post and the sign, he said.
The sign was accidentally knocked down by a town of Cazenovia snow plow in 2010, after which it was reinstalled, but has rapidly deteriorated, Bartlett said.
Starting in 2015, a community-sponsored effort has been underway to restore the sign to its original design and condition. While the sign promotes a private business, the village of Cazenovia took responsibility for the sign in the early 1980s in order to save it from being taken down by the state, which controls Route 20, according to Dan Kuper, owner of the Lincklaen House.
The village and Kuper have joined into a cooperative agreement to restore the sign — as an important community icon — and maintain it in perpetuity.
Bartlett has spearheaded the project since the beginning and has done all of the historical research on the appearance of the sign. He was also part of a four-person committee created by the village — along with Mayor Kurt Wheeler, Deputy Mayor Amy Mann and Public Works Director Bill Carr — that directed the project, decided how best to restore the sign and found funding to bring the project to fruition.
Numerous individuals, organizations and municipal entities have contributed either money or in-kind work to the sign restoration, including the village, the town of Cazenovia, The Lincklaen House, Bartlett, the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation using a Common Grounds Challenge grant, Johnson Lumber, Cazenovia Lumber Company, D.R. Cornue Woodworks, Mike Walker of Expert Building Service and artist Paul Parpard. Many individuals who contributed money to the project also asked to remain anonymous, Bartlett said.
All of the materials and work on the sign renovation will be donated by local business and artisans, with the wood for the sign and pole being provided by Johnson Lumber and Cazenovia Lumber Company; Walker will create the new pole; Cornue will hand-carve the sign and wooden sphere; and Parpard will renovate all the wrought iron pieces of the sign, as well as serve as coordinator for the work.
Village public works crews will do the sign installation and concrete work on the sidewalk. That work will include moving the sign about a foot or so farther off Route 20/Albany Street so there is no overhang beyond the curb onto the state road, Bartlett said.
“Everybody I talked to is more than delighted to do this,” Bartlett said. “And the village has been nothing but cooperative. That’s the only way this could happen, if everybody donates little pieces here and there.”
Bartlett said that he discovered some interesting facts during his project research. One is that the wrought iron on the sign is original to 1835. Perhaps most exciting, he said, is that he and officials with the state historic preservation office, were unable to uncover another sign in the entire state that survives from that period of history.
“That makes this all the more significant and really unique to the village,” Bartlett said.
Mayor Kurt Wheeler said the village was excited about the project and appreciative of all the individuals and groups who collaborated to make it happen.
“The Lincklaen House sign is one of the most recognizable landmarks in our village,” he said. “In addition, research for the project has revealed that it is a virtually unique remnant of the stage coach era in New York. The sign will be better than ever when it goes back up in a few weeks.”
Now that the sign is down, the final assessment of the details of restoration repairs will be figured out, Bartlett said. The sign is expected to be completed and replaced by early March.
When the project is completed it will not cost the village any cash outlay, Bartlett said, as enough money has been donated to date to cover repairs, and any funds remaining will be placed in a separate village fund for perpetual maintenance of the sign.
The village will continue to accept donations for the sign maintenance fund. Anyone interested in donating may write checks directly to the village, indicating that the money is for the Lincklaen House Sign Project. All donations are tax deductible.
