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Beacon Targets 18 Buildings To Be Designated Historic - Which Adds Zoning Controls - 9 Properties Object - Vote Is Tonight

Beacon’s City Council meets tonight (Tuesday, June 7, 2021) to vote on 15 of 18 buildings targeted by Mayor Lee Kyriacou back when he was a City Council member in then-Mayor Randy Casale’s administration. During public City Council meetings, they would talk about how they walked around the city, pointing at homes and buildings they thought should be designated historic. Some building owners seek out historic buildings for the tax benefits and access to grants they bring. Others avoid them for the visual restrictions and additional bureaucratic steps needed in seeking approvals for many changes. In Beacon, buildings with historic designations have additional business allowances regarding what kind of business can operate at that location.

That was during the height of the “anti-development” movement in Beacon, spurred in part by the completed 344 Main Street and other large development projects around Beacon. At that time, a regular caller into City Council meetings, Stosh Yankowski, would chant “No More Four” in reference to no more four-story buildings.

While Mayor Kyriacou is an advocate of preserving history, the protections and restrictions that a historic building receive can also impact neighboring buildings that are not historic, as explained here in the Highlands Current. Mayor Kyriacou feels so strongly about the historic designation, in fact, that during one public City Council meeting, he offered to make it easier for buildings with historic designation to build a fourth floor.

To show an example of when a non-historic building is impacted by its historic neighbor, take a look back to when the large and very old building at 475 Main Street wanted to build apartments onto the back of it. The Howland Cultural Center objected with support of the community, as they said that the new apartment build-out would block the light that the Howland’s architecture relies on for illuminating the inside of their building, which their building is famous for. The Howland Cultural Center is a historic building on the National Register.

“About 280 homes and structures are already in the district, which prevents them and neighboring buildings from being altered in a way that the city believes will harm their historic value,” according to the Highlands Current.

However, when building owners purchased these buildings, some did so with the intent that they were not of historic designation. As stated in an objection letter, building owner Vincent Satriano of 25 East Main Street expressed: “These owners rightfully enjoyed the freedom from restriction to develop their properties as we hoped and expected someday to have same, and feel otherwise would be greatly unjust.”

While Mayor Lee Kyriacou has stated during public meetings that conforming to historic restrictions isnot difficult, often citing his own restorations of his Victorian home on Wolcott and of the building at 554 Main Street, the building that currently houses Melzingah Tap House, he has offered to make it easier to follow the requirements by removing certain “triggers” that would require a change, as he stated during the 2/18/2020 Public Hearing. Mayor Kyriacou’s goal was to limit it to a major alteration of the exterior that is viewable by the public, for instance.

The interior of proposed historic buildings was also debated. One main objection from the attorney representing the Beacon Hebrew Alliance at 331 Verplanck Avenue was that the interior not be required to meet standards, despite being accessible by the public. Mayor Kyriacou said he would consider that. The Hebrew Alliance’s building at 331 Verplanck Avenue is not on this first round of voting.

What follows below are pictures of the proposed buildings, and descriptions of what the City says qualifies them as being historic, as prepared by Beacon’s City Planner, John Clark.

City Council meetings where these historic designations have been debated include: 11/25/19, 2/3/2020, 2/18/20, 4/12/2021, 4/26/2021, 6/7/2021, 6/14/2021, 6/21/2021 and 7/7/2021. Read the letters from 8 of the 9 objections here.

Photo Credit: City of Beacon’s City Planner, John Clark’s, presentation.

Historic District And Landmark Overlay Zone

  • 18 buildings nominated;

  • Includes properties in the Central Main Street District;

  • Proposed nominations are subject to the criteria in the Historic Preservation Chapter, Section 134-4 B Designation of landmarks or historic districts:

    • Distinguishing architectural characteristics of period or style;

    • Special value as part of the cultural or social history of the community;

    • Eligible for State or National Register of Historic Places

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

403 Main Street

  • 2 1/2-story brick building

  • Mansard roof with dormers

  • Arched facade lintels

  • Cornices with dentils

  • Some replacement windows

  • Recent addition west side

  • First shown on 1886 birds-eye view of Matteawan and 1889 Sanborn Map, listed as a saloon.

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

378-382 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 3-story brick building

  • Broad bracketed cornice

  • Arched brick lintels

  • Newer but compatible storefronts

  • 1884 Sanborn Map first shows this building, listed as W.H. Jackson Carriage and Sleigh Manufactory. By 1927, it was the H.D. Jackson Carriage and Auto Works.

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

372 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • Brick church with tower

  • 1st Baptist Church of Matteawan

  • Replacement windows

  • Rear section added 1961

  • Constructed in 1954 with wood front belfry. Rebuilt 1911 with brick bell tower and 1-story contributing rear selection.

City Planner John Clark stated that the Springfield Baptist Church on Mattie Cooper was on the National Historic Registry, and questioned why this church was not. He alluded to it being Baptist. According to Wikipedia, the Springfield Baptist Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, and was originally an Associate Presbyterian church. The church was built in 1849 and was expanded and improved upon over the decades.

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

374 Main Street

  • 3-story brick building

  • Broad bracketed cornice

  • Original storefront cornice

  • Stone lintels and sills

  • Storefront modified, but compatible

  • Replacement windows

  • East side modern mural and fire escape

  • 1889 construction date on facade

  • 1896 Sanborn Map labels building as a saloon and “The Plaza”

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

315 Main Steet

  • 3- to 4-story painted brick building

  • Elaborated cornice

  • Arched lintels

  • Side bay windows

  • Storefront modified, but compatible

  • Replacement windows sashes

  • Three west side fire escapes

  • Front section on 1884 Sanborn Map, listed as a gunsmith

  • Rear section on 1912 map with 4-story middle section added by 1919

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

288 Main Street

  • Former Roosevelt Theater

  • 1 1/2-story brick building

  • Shaped parapet roof line

  • 1930s Art Deco elements

  • Non-historic front windows

  • Building on 1919 Sanborn Map, listed as a garage

  • Converted to movie house in 1934 with taller rear addition

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

284 Main Street

  • 3-story painted brick building

  • Broad cornice with dentils

  • Stone lintels and sills on front side

  • Recessed window well on east side

  • Non-historic storefront level

  • Replacement window sashes

  • Front and rear fire escapes

  • Building first shown on 1919 Sanborn Map, listed as dwellings

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

274 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 3-story brick building

  • Bracketed and arching cornice

  • Stone lintels and sills

  • Non-historic storefront and overhang

  • Replacement window sashes

  • Original side bay windows resurfaced with modern materials

  • East side fire escape

  • Modern 1-story, block addition

  • First shown on 1896 Sanborn Map, listed as liquor store

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

291 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • Hudson River Telephone Co. Building

  • 2-story brick building with stone base

  • Broad cornice with modillions and dentils

  • Facade pilasters with capitals on front side

  • Brick lintels with large stone central keys

  • Unusual multi-color brick pattern

  • One matching window added on east side

  • Telephone Building opened October 1907

Pro-Tip: This building was voluntarily restored to historic detail by the former building owner, Deborah Bigelow, who is a restoration artist.

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

269 Main Street

  • 1-story brick building

  • 5 bays divided by brick pilasters with metal medallions above

  • Original windows with industrial-type windows on rear section

  • Newer front metal door

  • Added window awnings

  • Building opened on January 21, 1929 for The Beacon News with printing presses located in the rear section

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

257 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 2-story painted brick building with 3 sections divided by pilasters

  • Projecting corbeled brick cornice

  • Arching brick lintels with stone sills

  • Central storefront modernized, but others retain original character

  • Modern garage in far side of rear parking lot

  • Building first shown on 1896 Sanborn Map with multiple businesses, including a barber, grocery, and candy store

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

250 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 3-story brick building

  • Bracketed cornice with modillions

  • Arched brick lintels and stone sills

  • Storefront surrounds look original, but window and door are modern

  • Replacement window sashes

  • Bricked-up side windows and modern garage to rear

  • Building first shown on 1912 Sanborn Map with 3-level rear porch, labeled haberdasher

  • Rear 1-story addition after 1927

Photo Credit: City of Beacon’s City Planner, John Clark’s, presentation.

246 Main Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 3-story brick building

  • Elaborate cornice

  • Arched brick lintels and stone sills

  • Historically compatible storefronts

  • Possible replacement window sashes

  • Modern rounded awnings and rear fire escape

  • Building first shown on 1889 Sanborn Map with candy manufacturer on west side and saloon on east side; 1919 listed as Bennett Hotel

  • 1-story rear section added by 1919

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

232 Main Street

  • 3-story brick building

  • Wide cornice with regular brackets

  • Stone lintels and sills

  • Patterned brickwork around windows

  • 2 over 2 window sashes

  • Historic-quality storefront

  • Building first appears on the 1896 Sanborn Map, listed as grocery store

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

172 Main Street (facing Cross Street) aka 4 Cross Street
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 2 1/2-story brick building

  • Arched brick lintels and stone sills

  • Stone course along lower front and stone steps

  • Recessed front doorway with wood panels

  • Two bricked-in windows on side

  • Replacement windows

  • Modern hand railing at front steps

  • Current building shows up between 1912 and 1919 Sanborn Maps

Photo Credit: City of Beacon’s City Planner, John Clark’s, presentation.

152 Main Street (middle of block)

  • 2-story painted brick buildings

  • L-shaped, utilitarian former factory

  • Some bricked-up openings

  • Newer windows, trim, and doors

  • Modern 1-story garage on east side

  • Eastern wing dates back to 1884, listed on Sanborn Map as a flour and feed warehouse

  • Western wing build by 1912 as a livery and by 1927 was a warehouse

  • In 1947 building a leather coat factory

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

1154 North Avenue
BUILDING OWNER OBJECTS - CITY WANTS TO OVERRIDE BY SUPERMAJORITY - READ OWNER’S OBJECTION HERE

  • 2-story brick commercial garage

  • Wide cornice with brackets

  • Arched brick lintels and stone sills

  • Faded painted signs on side walls

  • New garage door

  • Closed southwest storefront

  • Replacement windows

  • Listed on 1884 Sanborn Map as part of corner hotel building

  • North Avenue Garage by 1912 and later Hoffman Motors

Photo Credit: From the presentation by John Clark, City of Beacon’s City Planner.

1158 North Avenue

  • 2-story brick commercial building

  • Parapet wall with central pediment

  • 4 first-level brick pilasters

  • Brick window lintels and stone sills

  • Some replacement window sashes

  • Built before 1919 as showroom for North Avenue Garage