PACNY is pleased to present a Tender Loving Care Award to the Cortland Free Library in Cortland, New York for maintaining exceptionally high standards of care for a historic property. 

The Cortland Free Library, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 32 Church Street and is a significant landmark in downtown Cortland.  The library was built in 1928 and is a colossal, one-story building in the Georgian-Revival style constructed of tan tapestry bricks laid in Flemish bond above a stone basement.  The main entrance to the library is marked by a projecting portico with four columns paired at each end. Originally, the portico was approached by a wide staircase that was replaced in 1976 with a smaller side staircase and a long handicapped ramp occupying nearly the entire northern half of the front of the building.

In 2011-2012 the library undertook a capital campaign to fund the design and construction of improvements to the entrance of the library.  Significant funding was provided by the Cortland Community Foundation as well as the generous support of numerous private benefactors.

Work conducted at the front entrance included removing the deteriorating front ramp, restoring the original front staircase, and adding a new handicapped entrance around the corner of the building.  The restored front entrance was re-opened in February of 2013.  This project is as an excellent example of restoring the original grandeur of a landmark civic building while maintaining critical accessibility for all users.

PACNY applauds the Cortland Free Library for their stewardship of this impressive landmark building.

PACNY is pleased to present the Pat Earle Award for a singular outstanding historic preservation project that benefits the community to the Carpenter’s Barn in Cazenovia, New York. The “Pat Earle Award for Adaptive Reuse and Restoration” is the highest honor given for outstanding preservation projects in Central New York by the Preservation Association of Central New York (PACNY).

Carpenter’s Barn is a high profile “landmark” that serves as a character-defining gateway to the Village of Cazenovia. Carpenter’s Barn was built in 1889 as the Carriage House facility for the Carpenter family Lakeland estate on Cazenovia Lake.  The Village of Cazenovia acquired the building in the 1930s, after which it was used as a Department of Public Works (DPW) facility and in the 1970s it was converted for the home of the Cazenovia Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CAVAC)

The Village of Cazenovia pursued rehabilitation and restoration of Carpenter’s Barn with generous support from a New York State (NYS) Dormitory Authority grant through Assemblyman Bill Magee’s office, an Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) Grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and a substantial donation from the local preservation not-for-profit Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF). Work conducted with this support included reconstruction of the collapsed limestone creek wall, the entire south wing foundations, stabilization of the structure, rehabilitation of the windows, and significant repair and restoration of the historic fabric of the building.

The building is now stable and being used by groups such as the Cazenovia Rowing Club for programs and park-related activities. The public response to the visual improvement alone has been outstanding. This is truly an excellent example of community will and effort to bring an ailing local landmark back to a vibrant and functional part of the community.

PACNY congratulates the Village of Cazenovia and all team members involved in the project for their vision and effort to preserve this landmark gateway to the village.

About the Pat Earle Award: A 1949 graduate of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, Patricia Day Earle served as President of the predecessor organization to PACNY, “SAVE – Society for the Advancement of the Visual Environment”, founded in 1967. She worked as an architect for many years at Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw and Folley, while raising a family with her husband George Earle, that grew to seven children by the early 1960’s. Pat co-authored the locally ground-breaking book Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County (New York State Council on the Arts, Syracuse, 1964) with Harley J. McKee. Patricia Earle, a beloved member of her community and resident of La Fayette, NY, died at the age of 43 in 1970.

August 1892 image of Carpenter’s Barn: The image is looking from the dyke between Carpenter’s Pond and the creek with the Forman Street bridge in the foreground. Visible is the stone tower, east stonewall, willow trees and front of the barn. Visible above the main section roof is the outline of the octagonal roof of the ventilator with walkway around it. This image was taken when the building was just three years old and shows a rather disheveled and underutilized appearance around the building. Also of interest is the large size of the black willow trees right up against the building. It seems odd that the building would have been constructed so close to the existing large trees. Historic plans and documents for the 1889 design and construction of Carpenter’s Barn have not been located. (Image: Lorenzo Archives)