Fort Plain Group Receives Inaugural Grant from Preservation League Fund

Friends of Fort Plain Secures Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Grant of $7,500

ALBANY, NY (05/06/2011)(readMedia)-- The Preservation League will present a $7,500 grant to the Friends of Fort Plain on Monday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. prior to a presentation by Village Historian Eileen Chambers at the Fort Plain Free Library at 19 Willett Street in Fort Plain.

The grant will be the first made from the Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund of the Preservation League of New York State, and will support the creation of a conditions assessment and feasibility study for the reuse of 47 Main Street, a mid-nineteenth century building originally known as Diefendorf Hall.

Marilyn Kaplan of Preservation Architecture will complete the study, producing a final report that will guide the restoration of 47 Main Street with the ultimate goal of returning the building to community use.

This three-story, five-bay brick building, located in the heart of Fort Plain's downtown, previously served the community as the Rialto Theatre and an American Legion Post but was recently threatened with demolition. A plan is being developed to restore this building with street-level retail space, public gathering space, conference area and a café.

The Donald Gratz Preservation Services Fund was established in 2010 and is funded through a permanently endowed charitable contribution from Thomas J. Schwarz. The primary goals of the Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund are to fund professional services for important preservation projects that: illustrate the benefits of the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, leverage other public and private investments, and enable the League to react quickly to preservation opportunities with financial resources.

As a metal fabricator in Long Island City, Donald Stephen Gratz worked with modern architects, industrial designers, sculptors and furniture designers from Mies Van der Rohe to I.M.Pei to Barnett Newman and Bill Katavalos. But he always had a soft spot for historic preservation and enthusiastically supported the work of his wife, Roberta Brandes Gratz, a longtime Preservation League Trustee. He loved attending League events.

Thomas J. Schwarz, who endowed the fund, is also a Preservation League Trustee. He serves as President of Purchase College, SUNY, and is a board member and alumni of Hamilton College with great affection for upstate New York.

"It is fitting that we present the inaugural gift from the Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund just before an illustrated lecture on Fort Plain's annual Street Fair which attracted thousands of visitors to this village during the late 19th and early 20th centuries," said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. "We believe that preservation of our historic buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes is integral to economic development in New York State. We are confident that this grant will build on previous survey work supported by the League, and result in a solid foundation for National Register nomination and other Main Street revitalization efforts."

The 7 p.m. lecture at the Library is free and open to the public, but reservations are suggested. For more information, please call the Fort Plain Free Library at 518-993-4646.

For more information on the Preservation League, please call 518-462-5658 or visit the League's website at www.preservenys.org.

CONTACTS:

For Friends of Fort Plain

Immaculata Lieber, Secretary

518-993-3087, immacpugliese@roadrunner.com