Page 4 - demo

Projects & Places
PRESERVATION

SCORECARD Keeping score? We are—here’s the

latest on several preservation issues
around the region.

by Cynthia Howk

SAFE Battle Street Brewery | 4 Battle Street
Village of Dansville, Livingston Co.
The former depot was originally built in the 1880s for the Dansville and Mt
Morris Railroad, an operation that began in 1870 as a 15-mile, standard-gauge,
short-line that ran independently. In 1985, Robert Hart, the final owner, sold
the railroad, but continued to use part of the depot for his personal office. In
2015 Dansville brothers Tom and Doug Acomb purchased the vacant building.
Partnering with their architect brother, Dave, and local brewer Dennis Book,
they undertook the challenging project to turn it into Livingston County’s
second microbrewery. The walls of the refurbished building are decorated with
pictures from the Hart family scrapbooks and the two ticket windows are still in
place. In May of 2018, the rehabilitated 1880s depot opened as the Battle Street
Brewery (www.battlestreetbrewery.com).

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Former Driving Park Hotel | 298 Selye Terrace
City of Rochester
Built in 1874, the former Driving Park Hotel is the last remaining structure from
the Driving Park Racetrack, which operated from 1874 to 1902. The racetrack
was a sprawling campus of some 84 acres with a mile-long oval track, 10,000 seat
grandstands, horse stables, offices, and the hotel. Once known as the fastest mile in
America, Rochester’s Driving Park hosted nationally famous performers including
Buffalo Bill Cody, many of whom stayed at the hotel. What structures were not lost
to fire in 1899, were demolished in 1902 to make way for the homes seen today– all
except the former hotel. Currently, the former hotel is vacant and the property is for
sale. The Landmark Society is working with community stakeholders to find a new
owner and use for this historic building.

Former Aman Farm residence | 2619 E. Ridge Rd.
Town of Irondequoit
Built in 1890 by the Aman family, this highly visible residence appears to be
the oldest surviving building in the E. Ridge/Newport Rd. area. It is a unique
example of Queen Anne style architecture in that neighborhood. For decades, it
was the centerpiece of a large farm, whose extensive rhubarb fields were visible
from the I-590 expressway. As post-WW II suburban housing was developed in
that neighborhood, the house, with its distinctive tower, survived as a reminder
of East Irondequoit’s agricultural history. With the construction of the Town’s
new Department of Public Works facility to the south of the house, the future of
this building is uncertain, as the access driveway from East Ridge Road would
include the demolition of the residence.

4 4 The Landmark Society of Western New York | landmarksociety.org