Wednesday, September 29, 2023 Looking to the Adirondacks from Albany, we can learn much about members of the Pruyn family and many other notable figures who influenced the Adirondack region as well. In the mid-19th-century, garden cemeteries like the Albany Rural Cemetery borrowed designs that took a picturesque form, with tree-lined, meandering paths, stonework, and…
Thursday, October 5, 2023 To level a blow against racism in 1846, wealthy New York landowner and avowed abolitionist Gerrit Smith gave away 120,000 acres of Adirondack land to nearly 3,000 African American men and their families so that they could have the right to vote in New York State. Tracing this land back to…
March 3-13, 2023 10-Day Guided Adventure to Guatemala — in the heart of Central American architecture and culture Guatemala is one of the most diverse and beautiful countries in Central America with an extraordinary landscapes and civilization-spanning culture that reaches back centuries. On this outing, we will explore the best that Guatemala has to offer,…
Join AARCH for this special, rare opportunity to see and explore the spectacular summer home, studio, and gardens of famed American sculptor Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, as well as having a guided tour of the sensational work of our very own regional sculptor, John Van Alstine. Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) is best known…
Isaac Johnson’s arrival in the North Country during the late 19th century came after an eventful and tumultuous life. Born enslaved to his father, a Kentucky farmer, Johnson lived a relatively free life until his father sold him, his mother, and his three siblings into slavery for $1,100. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, Johnson eventually…
Sackets Harbor, a picturesque village on the coast of Lake Ontario, was a naval center for the American military during the War of 1812. A battle here in 1813 for control over the shipyard was narrowly won by the Americans. The town is known for its National Register-listed historic district, with its collection of nineteenth-century…
Lake Champlain has been called the “superhighway of the 19th century” because of its importance in connecting New York, New England, and Canada. Ten lighthouses (all still standing) were built by the federal government between 1825 and 1874 in New York and Vermont to guide ships along this 120 mile watercourse. Each lighthouse is unique…
In the lead up to Halloween, we will be exploring another dimension of the built environment — cemeteries. We’ll trek beyond the Blue Line to experience two beautiful, historic garden cemeteries in Albany and Troy. In the mid-nineteenth century, cemetery design took a picturesque form, with tree-lined, meandering paths, stonework, and curated plantings—these cemeteries were…
September 26 – October 6, 2019 11-Day Guided Adventure to Slovakia — a Hidden Gem of Europe In 2009, Adirondack Architectural Heritage took part in a 10-day hands-on preservation exchange in Slovakia. Alongside a group of Slovak preservation colleagues, we explored Slovakia’s architecture, landscapes, and unique preservation work. We were blown away by all we learned,…
Modern landscape architecture is not commonly associated with the Adirondacks yet notable examples exist here designed by famous American landscape architect, Dan Kiley. A peer of Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei, Daniel Urban Kiley (1912-2004) was acclaimed for more than 1,000 designs worldwide, including the grounds at the Milwaukee Art Museum, New York’s Lincoln Center,…
