Landmark Designation For 2 Buildings In Rockland

POMONA, NY — The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 17 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Among them are two historic buildings in Rockland County.

A State and National Registers listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings and make them eligible for various public preservation programs and services such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, officials said in a press release.

"These nominations pay tribute to some of the most exceptional and fascinating sites in New York State history," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "By placing these landmarks on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, we can ensure these locations have the funding they need to preserve and promote the very best of New York's past, present and future."

Since the governor signed legislation to bolster the state's use of rehabilitation tax credits in 2013, the state and federal program has spurred billions of dollars in completed investments in historic commercial properties and tens of millions of dollars in owner-occupied historic homes, officials said.

There are more than 120,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the most recent nominations.

The two buildings in Rockland are:

• Camp Hill School, Pomona - Erected in 1923 as a two-room schoolhouse, the building continued to be used for educational purposes into the early 1960s.

After lying unused for a period, it was renovated in the later 1970s to function as the municipal offices and as a gathering place for residents of the Village of Pomona, which was formed in 1967.

• Pig Knoll School, Ramapo - Architect Walter Robb Wilder (1874-1934) of the distinguished firms McKim, Mead & White and later Wilder & White designed the rustic American Arts & Crafts-inspired building in 1915.

The building functioned briefly as a public school and today is the Pomona Cultural Center.

Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.

More information about the nominations is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.