Rochester is hosting preservationists from around the state Friday and Saturday. They’re looking at both emotional and practical reasons why historic buildings should stay in New York neighborhoods.
Architects, designers, and preservationists meet in Rochester’s East End for a conference hosted by the Landmark Society of Western New York. They’re looking to define what preservation is.
Larry Francer, Associate Director of Preservation, calls it economic development, conserving the past, renewal--something different for everyone.
“It's all about neighborhood building, and I think that's one of the big things that we're going to get out of this conference,” said Francer.
The conference considers tax credits, sustainability, and emotion.
“There's an emotional attachment and if you were never in that building, when you step into that building you are living the history of that building,” said Francer.
Francer uses the Landmark Society’s work to help repurpose the Eastman Dental Dispensary as an example of ways preservation invests economically and historically in a community.