Before and After

Circa 1920’s, Zachary D. Patsalos

We first brought you a “Before and After” of the interior apartments of 19 Liberty. Now, this is going to be a “Before, In Between, and After” post of the exterior of 19 Liberty Street- Patsalos’ Ice Cream Parlor, aka Liberty Candy Kitchen. I am really excited to present this post because I wasn’t going to present the exterior in a post all by itself. Nancy, the owner had before and after pictures from when she restored the building, but I really wanted to find a picture of the shop when the original owners, the Patsalos’ were there. Nancy didn’t own one, so my next stop was Chuck Thomas over at the Newburgh Free Library.

Amazingly Chuck was able to get in contact with the retired Judge Pano Patsalos via the deputy mayor, Regina Angelo. Ms. Angelo has memories of visiting the ice cream parlor with her grandmother after the movies and having to choose between 3 scoops with a cherry or a sundae. Pano passed along these photos of his father, Zachery D. Patsalos in front of his store circa 1920’s. This is really exciting since none of the historical societies had a photo on file and, Pano was gracious enough to share a little bit of his family’s history. Also, with a little bit of detective work, Chuck made this happen. Thanks! Click on any photo twice to see it in high resolution.

Circa 1920’s, Zachary D. Patsalos, proprietor  — the other two people are not known
Both photos are courtesy of Judge Pano Zachery Patsalos

I love Mr. Patsalos’ stance in the photos. I also love that it was a “candy kitchen” yet sold bananas and all sorts of fruits, something you’d never see today. Check out the soda bottles in the window and the advertisements for coffee. In the other photo you can see a 4th man pointing out at you. Love it! So fast forward to 2005 when Nancy and her husband Kermit picked up the building. The state of the building was truly sad and an eyesore to the block…

Slowly they began restoring the building and peeling away layers. Behind the ugly, gray, faux brick siding, they found original wood work.

Today, Simple Gifts and Goodies is an anchor to the Liberty Street area revitalization. They really help set a precedent for other future Liberty Street businesses. And, the good thing is that there are PLENTY of other buildings like these in the Liberty Street area that have store fronts just waiting to be turned into something beautiful like this.  Pretty much any of the buildings on Liberty Street could be negotiated for a sale. If a few more property owners could fall into Nancy and Kermit’s footsteps, the Liberty Street area could change dramatically. I love the original Benkard Ave. street sign that is on the building. There is also a Liberty Street plaque on the Liberty Street side of the building.

And, one of my favorite pictures of all, Nancy with one of the Patsalos’ daughters. She came by to take a visit to see what the shop looked like today. She recalled the shop being so big when she was a little girl, and now as an adult it seemed so little! This was a really fun “before and after” to show you. Last stop on the 19 Liberty Street restoration will be before and after photos of the interior!

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This before and after project comes from Thruway Builders. They were hired to complete the task of turning this shell of a building into a totally renovated space. There was absolutely nothing that could be saved of this home. The roof and all of the interior walls and features were gone. As president, Elbert Shamsid-Deen mentioned, sometimes working with shells are easier. I don’t know about you, but the fact that I can see through the building would scare me a whole lot! This home is about a block and half away from the college. (map)

The after photos show that the cornice was restored as was the slate roof and dormer windows. It was a gut renovation that turned out beautifully. This is a great example of how deciding where you choose to renovate your home can change the entire feel of a block. You get to decide what areas of Newburgh become revitalized. Imagine what it was like to live next to this empty building before it was restored. It must have been very scary and probably attracted unwanted attention. Today, this building is a beauty and increases a sense of pride to the area. As someone from the community mentioned, “The building will be looked at as a fine example of what the rest of that block of Liberty street can become.” This home is available for rent.

Thanks Dan for sending in your  “Before and After” over on Gidney. This Italianate home was built in 1860. Dan and his partner Tito have put an enormous amount of work into this 150 year old home that includes a new roof, removing the old crumbling porch,  building a new one (balustrades to come), paving the driveway, and renovating the bathrooms and kitchen in the interior.

They have a lot more work to do so they are definitely not done. Future plans include finishing up the front porch, adding iron decorative fencing, a large terra cotta fountain in the front yard, finish painting the back of the house, adding shutters, and adding an awning. Phew! Sounds like a lot of work. When people take pride in their home it shows! If you have a before and after project on your home you’d like to share, contact me NewburghRestoration{at}gmail.com