Phase I of The Rutger Park Restoration Project began in June 2008 with the acquisition of #1, the grounds of #2, and #3 by Landmarks from the Dowling estate. The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, the Preservation League of New York State and the City of Utica contributed a blend of grants and loans for the acquisition and early studies. Special thanks to these funders, whose foresight and vision allowed us to secure these irreplaceable bits of history.
In July 2008, Landmarks retained the Architectural firm of Crawford & Stearns to complete two Technical Assistance Reports for #1 and #3. These reports gave an overall account of the existing conditions of the buildings, as well as some very cursory historical and materials information. The full reports are available free to the public as PDFs. Please send your request to: rutgerpark@gmail.com.
2009
From 2009 through early 2011, Landmarks was engaged primarily in fundraising, site stabilization (including heating and security systems) and generating project awareness and support in the local community through events and lectures, including our very popular Utica Monday Nite Walks & Talks program, now in its 14th season. This important behind-the-scenes work, while not very glamorous or showy, provides the foundation for the rest of the project.
In June of 2009, Landmarks successfully leveraged that initial funding into a $1.2 million dollar matching Environmental Protection Fund grant from NYSHPO for acquisition, preliminary reporting on the condition of the structures, and emergency stabilization. Other grants are being researched and drafted continually to meet the match, with two very good prospects identified and ready to submit in October 2011.
2011
In August of 2011, Landmarks drafted, issued and nationally advertised a Request for Qualifications and Proposals for consultants, which generated 12 very qualified responses from NY, NJ and PA. These firms have been shortlisted to six, and the selection committee will be conducting interviews in September to choose the consultant team that will take us through the more complete Historic Structures Report and Cultural Landscape Report for each address. The HSRs and CLRs pick up where the TA reports leave off, and will function as the complete "road map" for phase II of the project. They will include scholarly research on the social and physical history of the houses and grounds, documenting the physical changes over time in order to determine the period of greatest significance for each home, and identifying a ranked list of emergency construction projects.
Landmarks will then undertake the recommended top priority projects to secure the envelope of both structures to prevent further deterioration and begin, in a limited fashion, the actual restoration process that will be taking place through 2017. The end result will be two fully restored, publicly accessible homes (a la Fountain Elms at Munson-Williams-Proctor). Accordingly, neighbors will see some limited construction happening by 2012. At this point, we anticipate that those projects will probably include the roofs, porches and drainage systems of both structures, but final determination will be made after the HSRs and CLRs are completed.
In September 2011, we hosted almost 200 supporters at the first annual “History Comes Alive at Rutger Park” open house to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This successful event featured living scholars, period furnishings, music, lawn croquet and an afternoon of lectures on topics related to the Civil War era. Landmarks feels very strongly that signature events like this can educate, while fostering community involvement and generating broad-based support. This approach has been, and will continue to be, key to the project's success.
Further, we feel that the houses play such an important part in Utica's collective history that we have undertaken this entire effort to ensure that they are open and available to the public forevermore. In accordance with this philosophy, we are working with MVCC's construction trades program to provide hands-on educational opportunities in historic preservation; partnering with our neighbors in the Rutger-Steuben Historic District on street improvements; and preserving and stewarding the homes so that they function as a new source of heritage tourism for the Mohawk Valley and New York State.
We also feel that outreach, transparency and up-to-date public information are a key part of this approach as well. In order to facilitate this, we have started a Rutger Park Restoration Project blog at: http://rutgerpark.blogspot.com and maintain an active facebook page and website too. Your feedback, stories, pictures, comments, ideas and recollections are always welcome.
LOOKING FORWARD:
Our next steps include the naming of the HSR/CLR consultant team; grant submissions; in-depth site documentation; and the launch of our “Pillars of Preservation” friends society. Stay tuned!
