Helping

The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has received a well-deserved award – a 2024 “Excellence in Historic Preservation Award” – from the Preservation League of NYS: here. It’s an interesting award in that the Foundation, which ordinarily funds projects and provides advocacy and advice, bought the house on Phila Street and organized its restoration with the intent to sell it.

I take a personal interest in the award because I’ve been in the house twice, at the request of the Foundation: in 2017, when it was abandoned, and this past spring as restoration work was wrapping up. My conditions report in 2017 was, I guess, part of the input for the Foundation’s decision-making process; my visit this year was to see that the damage I had previously noted had all been addressed.

Our office has played a lot of different roles on projects. In this case, we had no involvement with the repairs other than cheering them on from the sidelines. I’m glad that we could help in a small role, assisting the main project, and will cheer the Foundation’s future projects regardless of any small role we might or might not have. Finally, my thanks to Samantha Bosshart, the Foundation’s executive director, with whom I’ve had a running conversation on practical issues in preservation for more than fifteen years.