Cazenovia Heritage launches self-guided architecture tour

By kAtE Hill Staff Writer

On July 15, Cazenovia Heritage launched a self-guided driving tour as part of “Caz230,” the organization’s yearlong celebration of 230 years of Cazenovia architecture.

The tour features 16 homes, each marked with a sign, along a route that travels through both the village and the town. The trip takes about an hour and can be taken anytime through July 30.

According to Cazenovia Heritage, the tour features nearly all the architectural styles found in Cazenovia over the last 230 years, from federal to contemporary, and it includes examples of how specific styles were expressed formally and then adopted and/or adapted by people of more modest means.

Recognizing that many locals are already familiar with Cazenovia landmarks like “Lorenzo,” “Notleymere,” and the “Hillcrest” Jephson Estate, Cazenovia Heritage set out to design a tour that highlights homes in a variety of neighborhoods and in the surrounding farmland.

“We wanted to showcase homes that are often overlooked when talking about Cazenovia’s rich inventory of historical architecture, as well as its glorious examples,” said Cazenovia Heritage President Anne Ferguson.

The organizers hoped to include New Woodstock homes on the tour but were unable to secure the owners’ permissions in time to add the buildings to the map.

According to Ferguson, Carl Stearns, partner emeritus in Crawford & Stearns Architects and Preservation Planners, presented a series of well-attended Caz230 programs this past spring focused on the features associated with each of Cazenovia’s architectural styles.

“The tour gives participants a chance to apply what they learned, but just in case, we’ve noted the architectural features that describe the style,” she said. “In certain cases, a feature may have been removed as people adopted the ‘latest’ style, but you can see where it was if you know where to look, and [it] often suggests its actual age.”

A kick-off event for the driving tour was held on July 15 at the Cazenovia Public Library.

Attendees received a map that provides a photo, address, suggested route, and style description for each house on the route. The map can be downloaded from Cazenovia Heritage’s website until July 30.

The group was also introduced to Claire Buchinger, a first-year graduate student in Cornell University’s Historic Preservation Planning program, who is interning with Cazenovia Heritage this summer.

Through a grant jointly funded by Cazenovia Heritage and Cornell, Buchinger is conducting a summer-long architectural reconnaissance survey that examines the history of the working-class people living within the boundary lines of Albany Street to Corwin Street and east of Lincklaen Street to Sims Lane.

According to Cazenovia Heritage, the neighborhoods in this area of the village grew up around a wool mill and a paper mill.

“The survey emphasizes the relationship between social identity and its influence on local architecture, or how the socioeconomics of the neighborhood was reflected in the character-defining features of the property, and how those changed over the years,” said Buchinger. “The purpose of this architectural reconnaissance survey is to establish a general foundation for later architectural research regarding the neighborhood’s construction practices and to foster a greater understanding and appreciation for architectural integrity amongst homeowners, residences and visitors.”

During the July 15 event, Cazenovia Heritage recruited volunteers to help the organization describe the socioeconomic development of the neighborhoods in Buchinger’s study area. According to Ferguson, some volunteers will research census records to identify occupations from 1850 to 1880 and to identify settlers from 1800 to 1840. Others will search online archived issues of the Cazenovia Republican for news related to the inhabitants. Follow-up meetings are anticipated to compare volunteers’ results.

A presentation of Buchinger’s findings, as well as those of the volunteers, is targeted for this winter.

Upcoming events

The Gustav Stickley House at 438 Columbus Ave. in Syracuse will host a “Cazenovia Day” on Saturday, July 29.

Located in the city’s Westcott neighborhood, the three-story house was the home of designer and furniture maker Gustav Stickley, who is known as the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement. The interior, which Stickley designed, is regarded as the first comprehensive American Craftsman residential interior in the United States.

The exterior of the house was recently restored, and the interior is undergoing restoration. Although the building is currently closed to the public, it will be open to Cazenovia residents for brief tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

On Saturday, Aug. 5, the Cazenovia Public Library and Cazenovia Heritage will present a hands-on workshop for kids exploring architectural concepts in Cazenovia buildings. The program is for ages

Live Music w Just Joe

will become a part of their ever-growing background knowledge,” CPL explained in its grant application. “Our goal is to provide these families with a selection of vocabulary- and image-rich books that will provide [them] with a glimpse into experiences beyond their front door.”

The books selected for this year’s Snuggle Up & Read program are “The Lost Package” by Richard Ho, “Mousetronaut” by Mark Kelly, and “Shark Nate-O” by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie.

According to Wright, these titles were selected with the intention of inspiring and appealing to all kids in kindergarten through fourth grade, providing the students with narrative nonfiction text, and increasing their knowledge and vocabulary in specific content areas.

“Literacy research indicates that children benefit from reading texts that are rich in vocabulary and content knowledge, both of which support the development of language comprehension,” she said.

Wright also said the program organizers hope the books will serve as motivation for families to carve out time to sit down and read together.

“In some instances, this may look like caregivers reading to their children, or Englishspeaking students reading to their non-English speaking caregivers,” she said.

CPL has been working over the past several months with Burton Street teachers, the school’s mental health team, and the administration to create a program that will complement and enhance the social-emotional learning work that the elementary students are already doing.

According to second-grade teacher Julie Kielbasinski, Burton Street students participate in monthly assemblies focused on character traits such as honesty, respect, caring, responsibility, and kindness. They also engage in daily social-emotional activities in the classroom to reinforce their understanding of concepts like empathy, a growth mindset, goal setting, and dealing with stressors.

“For many of these lessons, a carefully chosen picture book is the catalyst and leads to the development of new vocabulary and productive discussions,” Kielbasinski said. “[Snuggle Up & Read] is another way to put intentionally selected content- and vocabulary-rich books directly into the hands of the families that need them the most — those with English as a new language and families receiving support from our Burton Street social worker.”

According to Wright, the guiding questions in each family’s book kit include not only questions that check for literal comprehension but also questions that facilitate conversation about feelings between caregiver and child or between siblings. Such questions might prompt the students to consider what the problem in the story makes them think about in their own life, how they are like the main character and how they are different, how the setting of the story compares to where they live, what specific things they noticed, and what they wonder about.

CazCares, which is based at 101 Nelson St, is providing the snacks for the take-home kits.

“We hope that some of these families who might not take advantage of the many free services provided at CazCares — groceries, clothing including coats, school supplies, holiday meals, [and] emergency assistance — will learn more about these offerings and will feel more comfortable visiting,” said Wright. “. . . [Additionally,] we will encourage these families to engage with both the library and CazCares through a series of follow-up questions, check-ins, and information that will be available for them to access online or via text message.”

For more information on Snuggle Up & Read, call the library at 315-655-9322. To learn more about CPL and its other programs, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org