CAZENOVIA — This May, a group of local heritage organizations is coming together to celebrate National Preservation Month.
Organized by Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP), Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF), Lorenzo State Historic Site, Cazenovia Public Library (CPL), and the newly formed Cazenovia Heritage, the celebration will include a number of community events and activities.
SQHAP
The Dorothy Riester House and Studio, also known as Hilltop House, at SQHAP is presenting two virtual lectures as part of this year’s preservation month programming.
Hilltop House is the former home of ceramicist, sculptor, author, preservation activist, and SQHAP founder Dorothy Riester (1916-2017).
The house was designed and built by Riester and her husband, Robert, with help from local contractors.
In 2014, Hilltop House — along with the original 23-acre property — was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a highly intact example of a mid-twentieth century modern house and artist studio.
The site is also part of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
On May 11 at 2 p.m., Hilltop House will host an “Illustrated Author’s Talk” with Valerie A Balint, senior program director of HAHS, titled “Artful Living: Hilltop House and the Sites of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.”
On May 25 at 2 p.m., Hilltop House will host a lecture by architect Kyle Gregory, titled “Mid-Century Matters: Understanding the Architecture of an Era.”
“Preservation is part of both the legacy and ongoing mission of Stone Quarry Hill Art Park,” said Hilltop House Director Sarah Tietje-Mietz. “The mission of the Art Park encompasses the stewardship of the Hilltop House and the interpretation and promotion of Dorothy’s life and work. The Art Park shares the Riester’s story to nurture and inspire in others an appreciation for mid-century modern design, and a reverence for the ever-changing relationship between art and nature. Dorothy Riester was on the forefront of the preservation movement, and was deeply involved in efforts on a local level in Cazenovia. National Preservation Month provides a wonderful platform to celebrate this ongoing work.”
Both programs are free to the public. Donations are appreciated; all contributions will go directly towards supporting future programs at Hilltop House.
For more information about each lecture and event registration links, visit sqhap.org/happenings.
SQHAP is located at 3883 Stone Quarry Rd., Cazenovia. The park offers a unique environment for artists to create and exhibit their work in natural and gallery settings while also working to provide a space for the community to explore and appreciate the natural world and interact with art and artists.
To learn more about Hilltop House, visit sqhap.org/hilltophouse or follow “Hilltop House and Studio” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Sign up for the SQHAP monthly newsletter at sqhap.org.
CPF
CPF will kick off its line-up of preservation month activities with a virtual talk on May 12 at 7 p.m., titled “Say Cheese! When Cheese was King in Cazenovia,” by historian, author and retired Syracuse University professor Milton Sernett and photography collector and local history enthusiast Dave Porter.
Sernett will provide an overview of his book about the area’s early cheese-making industry, and Porter will discuss how his acquisition of an old stereographic image of a cheese factory by a Cazenovia photographer led him on a historian’s quest.
CPF will also present its Fourth Grade History Tours Program.
Now in its sixth year, the program is a series of three walking field trips that explores the early industry, transportation and architecture of Cazenovia.
On Saturday, May 15, CPF will host a Preservation Property Driving Tour and Picnic Lunch at SQHAP.
A CPF guide will lead a small caravan of tour participants — driving their own vehicles — along a route that showcases several of CPF’s protected properties and scenic view sheds.
Attendees will learn about the history of the properties, the various conservation purposes of the easements, and CPF’s ongoing stewardship role.
The final stop on the tour will be SQHAP, where participants can pick up a gourmet picnic lunch basket to enjoy on the grounds or take home.
The first group leaves at 11:30 a.m., with additional groups departing on the half hour.
Reservations are required.
CPF will close out preservation month with its Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually on Wednesday, May 26 at 7 p.m.
During the meeting, new board members will be elected, and CPF’s annual restoration and service awards will be presented.
Registration is required.
CPF is a private, non-profit organization that works to protect the historical, agricultural and natural resources in and around Cazenovia for the benefit of the community and the enjoyment of future generations.
“CPF’s legacy of preservation in Cazenovia began in 1967, with the work to catalog and protect the historical architectural resources in the heart of the village,” said CPF Executive Director Jen Wong. “Since that time, CPF expanded its mission to include land conservation when it placed its first easement on the Meadows Farm located on Rt. 13 South in 1987. Both the historical and land preservation aspects of CPF’s mission are critically important to ensuring that important elements that define Cazenovia, and that add to the quality of the experience of living in or visiting our community, remain in place for generations to come. We can become complacent in our day-to-day experience of living here in our beautiful little town, but Preservation Month is an opportunity to highlight the importance of the deliberate vision and commitment to preservation that has contributed to the view we see when we walk down the sidewalk.”
To learn more about CPF, visit cazpreservation.org.
Lorenzo
On Thursday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m., Lorenzo will host “Stone Repair Methods,” an in-person lecture and demonstration by Scott Lupini, Jeremy Boyer and Andrew Turner, of Lupini Construction, Inc.
Established in 1980 in Utica, NY, Lupini Construction is a family owned company that specializes in masonry restoration.
The company’s past projects include Hotel Syracuse, West Point Military Academy, Tabernacle Church of Utica, and the monument at Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site.
The free presentation will be held under a tent near Lorenzo’s parking lot. Masks, social distancing and reservations are required.
Call 315-655-3200, ext. 102 or email [email protected] for more information and reservations.
“We celebrate National Preservation Month at Lorenzo in order to acknowledge the great efforts that the Cazenovia community has made in protecting our historic resources, and to encourage a continuation of such efforts,” said Lorenzo State Historic Site Manager Michael Roets. “We offer programs during preservation month to express our gratitude for the community support that we receive in keeping Lorenzo as well preserved and historically authentic as possible. We appreciate that the historic preservation efforts of the Cazenovia people extends well beyond Lorenzo, creating a beautiful historic district of walkable streets, lined with historic residences, interspersed with parks, and a historic business district that makes it not only a nice place to live but also a nice one to visit.”
Located at 17 Rippleton Road in Cazenovia, Lorenzo State Historic Site is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Overlooking Cazenovia Lake, Lorenzo is the Federal-style home of Cazenovia founder and Holland Land Company agent John Lincklaen. The mansion was established in 1807 and was continually occupied by the family until the property was conveyed to New York State in 1968.
For more information on Lorenzo, call 315-655-3200 or visit parks.ny.gov or friendsoflorenzo.org.
Cazenovia Heritage
Cazenovia Heritage is a new nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of historical architecture, sites and objects within the Town and Village of Cazenovia.
The organization will begin operating with two architectural tours during preservation month.
“As a new organization created this past January, we thought National Preservation Month would be a particularly appropriate time for a public launch, since it is so aligned with our mission,” said Anne Ferguson, president of Cazenovia Heritage.
On Saturday, May 15, Cazenovia Heritage will present a tour of the village business district at 10 a.m. A second walking tour, focused on the evolving architecture of a village neighborhood, is scheduled for Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m.
Both events are free and open to all ages, but attendance is limited. To register, call 315-655-2092.
All participants are asked to wear masks and comfortable walking shoes, and to assemble in front of the library 10 minutes before the departure time.
According to Ferguson, these initial programs will be followed by monthly events scheduled for the upcoming year.
For additional information on Cazenovia Heritage, the newsletter, and memberships, visit cazheritage.org.
#HashtagThroughHistory
In addition to their independent programs, SQHAP, CPF and Lorenzo are teaming up with CPL to coordinate a repeat of last year’s “#HashtagThroughHistory:Cazenovia” project.
Each of the organizations has prepared one or more signs depicting a historic image of their site, which will be juxtaposed with the present-day view that visitors will see in real life.
A link to the map of the signs can be found in the @HTHCaz Instagram bio. Visitors are encouraged to take selfies and photos of the signs and to tag both the site and @HTHCaz when posting to Instagram.
“It is a wonderful way to share these experiences, to be a part of history, and to build awareness of these sites and stories through social media,” said Tietje-Mietz. “The organizations involved wanted to continue this project in 2021 because visitors were excited by the signs and curious to learn more . . . The first round of signs in 2020 created new ways for visitors to engage with histories and stories specific to each organization. During the pandemic, the signs also became a way for visitors to engage with local sites safely.”
This year, SQHAP will position its two signs by the stone wall on the Hilltop House patio and on the south-west hill.
CPF will install its sign at the former location of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Depot, which now serves as the studio of photographer Gene Gissin.
The Lorenzo staff has decided to install a series of four signs: one at the east gate where visitors can walk in from Route 20, a second on the lawn in front of the gift shop, the third just west of the mansion front porch, and the fourth in the open area behind the icehouse and gift shop.
“We are excited to be participating in the project again in 2021,” said Jackie Roshia, Lorenzo’s interpretive programs assistant. “This fun way to engage with visitors was very well received last year.”
According to CPL Archivist Elisha Davies, the library will place its sign inside its original 1830 Greek revival building at 100 Albany St.
Built by merchant John Williams, the house was purchased by Cazenovia benefactor Robert J. Hubbard in 1890. After converting the building into a library, Hubbard opened it to the public in Nov. 1890.
The circulation room, stacks and reading rooms were set up on the building’s ground floor, while an upstairs room was reserved for natural history specimens, objects of local interest, and a collection of Egyptian artifacts.
“People will be able to get an idea of how the stacks were displayed in the original library space,” said Davies. “Interestingly, the image includes the bookcases that are now being used in [Carriage Barn Books], so people might recognize them.”
CPL will highlight #HashtagThroughHistory through its Throwback Thursday (#tbt) posts on Facebook.
For more information on CPL, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.
