HOWLAND CULTURAL CENTER, BUILDING CONDITION REPORT
It was on Aug. 5, 1872, that the newly built library at 477 Main St. was dedicated. Sponsor Joseph Howland gave it as a gift to the community to operate as the Howland Circulating Library. The architect was Howland's brother-in-law, Richard Morris Hunt, who was then in the middle of his career as a leading light in American architecture. Hunt designed Biltmore in Asheville, NC; Marble House, The Breakers and others in Newport, RI; and the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, among others. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, Howland is an eclectic, polychromatic gem that has seen an extensive list of restoration and adaptive reuse improvements over the years at the hands of its intrepid stewards at the Howland Cultural Center. However, as the organization prepares for another round of renovations, a $10,000 Preserve New York grant will allow architect Jeff Wilkinson to prepare a Building Condition Report to include a prioritized list of work items needed for its long-term preservation and the necessary cost estimates to guide fundraising efforts.
Preserve New York: A Catalyst for Community Preservation - Launched in 1993, Preserve New York makes grants for historic structure reports, building condition reports, cultural landscape reports, and cultural resource surveys.
The portico and front facade of the Howland Cultural Center.
