Preservation and Restoration | Newburgh Restoration

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08/24/09 7:00am

Preserving Newburgh Hand Guide

This 16 page guide up above is provided by the city on how to preserve your Newburgh house. It is also in Spanish (¡ Así que no hay excusa!)

If you are looking to own a home in Newburgh definitely check out this guide. It will give you an idea of what kind of architecture can be found in Newburgh and the responsibilities of owning a historic home. Here are some of the different styles of homes you can find here:

Federal
Greek Revival
Gothic Revival
Second Empire
Queen Anne
20th Century Revival
and MORE

If you own a home in Newburgh already, this guide is great because it gives many guidelines to restoring a home. Should you use vinyl siding or repaint your home? Is it better to buy new windows or maintain your old ones? What’s wrong with your satellite dish? How important is your porch or your fence? All of these questions are addressed in this handy guide.

(source) page 10 of guide

Remember, maintaining the integrity of your home not only helps your investment, it helps the community as a whole. The more people restore homes, the more the look and feel or your block will change.

For even more information on restoring your home, check out the National Park Service Historic Preservation Internship Training Program. There are about 47 different guides for restoring your home. One that would be useful is How to remove graffiti. We’ll discuss that one latter.

History

08/10/09 8:02am

Newburgh’s Theaters

by Cher

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Ritz Theater -107-109 Broadway, 1303 Seats

When fully restored will have 825 Seats

With the wonderful news of the Ritz Theater being awarded $400,000 to restore it, I thought I would highlight Newburgh’s theatrical past. According to Cinema Treasures, the City of Newburgh had about 5 Theaters, and a few on the outskirts and even a drive-in theater. Although according to Mayor Valentine the city had 7. The main idea is that Newburgh was richly alive in entertainment. It was the city where many debuted their acts before making it big such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who debuted “I Love Lucy” at the Ritz Theater. According to a posting on Cinema Treasures by Warren H, “Because Newburgh was more than 50 miles from NYC, the movies were usually the latest and shown simultaneously with Broadway.” One can only imagine down town city life where each theater had an average about 1,000 seats per theater! It must have been as lively as 42nd Street! (well almost).

According to Cinema Treasures, these were the theaters located in Newburgh. All have been closed, demolished, or burned down:

Academy Theatre
Broadway Theatre
Cameo Theatre
Mid Valley II
Middlehope Drive-In
Park Theatre *exists but is structurally unsound
Ritz Theatre * being restored
Squire Cinema

Park Theater – 315 Broadway, 800 Seats
(source) 1931

The Park Theater structurally exists, but will probably eventually be demolished due to buckling walls and no access to secure the structure due to the attachment of the buildings next to it. However, I was told by Newburgh Art Supply that there are some murals that still exist in the building. I wonder what those look like?

Academy Theater – 82 Broadway, 1217 Seats
(source)

Ray K. had this to say about his memories of the Academy Theater on Cinema Treasures:

“My family and I lived in Newburgh from the 40s until the 90s. In the 50s, my father worked part-time at the Academy as an usher, ticket taker and marquee changer. My brother and I practically grew up at the Academy with the Saturday afternoon matinee being especially memorable–previews, cartoons, a serial and the double feature all for 10 cents.”

Broadway Theater – 131 Broadway, 1240 Seats
(source)

Harold S. shared these memories of the Broadway Theater on Cinema Treasures:

“It has been one of my fondest childhood memories. Kid’s matinee admissions were 35 cents in the early 1960’s. Mr. Boyea let us bring snacks and drinks in with us as he knew most of us couldn’t afford the concession stand. Fishman’s just next door, sold a sleeve of popcorn for 10 cents! Mr. Boyea was great!”

With the money provided for the Ritz Theater, a full-scale Broadway stage will be restored. One can only imagine the possibilities this will provide the revitalization of the city. Safe Harbors of the Hudson, which runs the theater, has already partnered with 2 other theater groups from other towns to cooperate and partner in arts programming and development at The Ritz. There are still some legalities to be processed, but still this brings great hope that Newburgh might be able to connect with some of it’s past roots.

Also, if the Dutch Reformed Church keeps up with it’s progress, it too will eventually become a theater after A LOT of work. But what a great reuse that would be for that building….it was even used as a theater in the past. Keep it going!

Before and After

08/03/09 8:00am

Newburgh Train Station: Fixing the roof

by Cher

3 Comments

Look below and you will realize that compared to what it used to look like, the Newburgh (West Shore) Train Station is a dream. The entire structure was in danger of being completely destroyed. But, now the station’s roof is being restored and the structure being made secure. All of this thanks to Newburgh Preservation Association (NPA) who have been instrumental in changing the owners of the building after long negotiations. Click on the link above to read more information on NPA’s website.

Although it remains unclear what the outcome of the building will be, it is wonderful to see that the right actions have been taken to move this project in a positive direction.

If you are really curious to see how badly neglected the building was, check out Hudson Valley Ruins that has great pictures of the interior and exterior of the train station.

Good News

07/28/09 8:00am

$400,000 Approved to Restore the Ritz Theater

by Cher

5 Comments

Yesterday, the Ritz Theater made a wonderful announcement. They have been awarded $400,000 to assist in the restoration of the theater. This secured approval by the House was announced by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY). According to Hinchey:

“The renovation of this historic theater, including the restoration of the original full-scale Broadway stage, will be the capstone on the visionary and ambitious redevelopment of the former Hotel Newburgh property by Safe Harbors of the Hudson. Once returned to its former grandeur, this theater will become an important regional venue for the performing arts and serve as a home for local arts organizations.”

The Ritz Theater is where Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz performed their first live show “I Love Lucy” on December 17, 1941. When completed, the Theater will have 825 seats, theater storage, and dressing rooms in the basement. According to Safe Harbors of the Hudson, the theater is sealed off from the rest of the of the building and is well preserved. I hope “well preserved” means that there is original wood work and details from when the theater was originally open. But then again maybe not, as I check out the current condition of the building on SHOH’s flickr photos of the theater. SHOH has a picture of some of the original seating in the theater.

(source)

Found via Cinema Treasures
(source)

There is no word yet on when renovations will begin, as this news was just announced yesterday. But, I would imagine developments to begin 2010-2011 as these funds were included in the 2010 HUD bill. Hopefully this restoration will make Newburgh a cultural destination as it was in it’s heyday and bring people into the city. Imagine the impact 825 sold out seats will have on the city. People will need places to dine before or after the show, a place to grab a cup of coffee, or maybe just a place to discuss their reviews. Only time will tell what is in store. For more positive Newburgh news check out this link.

Before and After

07/20/09 8:00am

Liberty School-Fixing up the façade

by Cher

1 Comment

A while ago I blogged about what was happening with the Liberty Street School. Well, since then some bricks have been going up . The above image might not look like much of an improvement, but look below and you’ll see that it’s a huge step forward. Switch your eye between the two pictures and you’ll see not only has the brickwork been restored, but also the huge slabs of stone that run above and below the windows (even though some is still missing). Hopefully the developers can speedy it up with the rest of the work. Nearby store owner, Nancy, said that within a few days they were able to fix the bricks very quickly and professionally. We can only imagine the improvement if they continue their work. There’s a little hope left that something good will come out of this building yet-regardless of it’s intended purpose. There is also work being done on the train station as well…..blog entry to follow. For more positive Newburgh news check out this link.

History

07/13/09 8:00am

Bannerman Castle Island

by Cher

6 Comments

(Source)

What a romantic thought….a mysterious abandoned castle on an island that in it’s heyday was a sight to behold. Well, it is no story, Bannerman Castle is a reality. Bannerman Castle is on Pollepel Island in the Hudson Valley in NY, and the reason why this historic castle is of interest to this blog is because this island lies very close to Newburgh, NY. In the summer boats take off from the docks of Newburgh to give island tours and excursions of the island and castle.

This castle was built to house the surplus military storage of Francis Bannerman. He also had a residence on the island. But after a fire in 1969 the castle was damaged, and is now in the state that it is in today. However, the craftsmanship of the structure is still amazing and an important part of history.

(source)

Today the castle is property of the New York State Office of Parks Historic Preservation. The Bannerman Castle Trust Organization is trying to raise money to preserve the structure. Click here for other pictures.

(source)

The book series, “Images of America” also has a lovely book detailing the history of the island for those that are interested in the history of the area. A preview of the book is available on Google Books. Like all historic relics, it is important that we take an interest in preserving them before they no longer exist.

To get a closer look at Bannerman Castle here is the tour information:

Pride of the Hudson – offers guided tours on the island. $30 per person, 845-220-2120
Hudson Valley Outfitters – a kayak tour of the island. $120 per person, 845-265-0221
Mountain Top Outfitters – a kayak tour of the island. 845-831-1997

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