HomeMy WebLinkAboutVOCH Historian BOT Sept 8 on Centennial plans (2).pdfEXHIBIT 2015-041
For the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees meeting September 8, 2014:
An Update on the June 2015 Cayuga Heights Centennial Celebration
Beatrice Szekely, Village Historian
It is a great pleasure to bring the Board up to date on planning for the June 2015
Centennial. I’ve been working closely with the Village’s Historic Preservationists,
Carole Schiffman and Randi Kepecs and staying in close touch with Mayor Kate
and Clerk Joan.
Here’s hoping you have been reading and enjoying the portrayal of Village history
on our website, The History Project (www.cayugaheightshistory.weebly.com).
Centennial Events
o Speakers Series (February 1 through mid-April)
o Carole Sisler, the built environment -- architectural history of Cayuga
Heights
o Fred Cowett, the natural environment, land use and development of
the Village
o Beatrice Szekely, Village institutions, the government and schools in
Cayuga Heights
o A panel presentation with the participation of long-time residents
A Community Celebrations Grant for partial funding has been applied for,
notification in mid-November.
o Historic House Tour, partnering with Historic Ithaca
o Marcham Hall and a selection of homes representing the architectural
history of the Village
o Development of historic walking tours based on an interactive
database of village properties and sites
o Two Exhibits
o the Drawings of life in Cayuga Heights by John “Jack” Lambert
who recently died
o important documents in the Village’s history
An exhibit opening and reception will be held on the date of the house tour,
a Saturday in early June.
Additionally, we are working with Brent on plans for the courtroom, jury room and
vestibule of Marcham Hall in keeping with historic preservation. Of course, all this
needs to be run by Justice Galbreath as well as yourselves in keeping with the
building’s municipal use.
o For the art exhibit, the drawings by Jack Lambert will be displayed here in
the courtroom, replacing the reproduction maps currently on the walls that
were given in 1969 to the Village by Professor John Reps, the owner of
Historic Urban Plans of Ithaca. Although they have been here 55 years since
Mayor Marcham’s administration acquired the building and are very
interesting, that maps have little or no monetary value (see:
www.historicubanplans.com). Other than the Walton drawing, they bear no
relation to the history of Cayuga Heights.
o Two light fixtures found in the attic could be restored, made suitable for the
room’s current uses and rehung in the courtroom. They show up hanging
where the ceiling fans are in photos from an album of Miss Dorothy Cornell,
who built Marcham Hall in 1928. Colleagues at Historic Ithaca may be able
to help with the restoration and rewiring.
o A vintage clock could be placed on the mantel.
o and Mayor Marcham’s photo moved over the center of fireplace with the
Walton reproduction rendering of Ithaca moved to the vestibule.
Funding:
At this early stage of event planning, it looks as though close to $5,500 will be
needed for the above with the following estimated cost breakdowns:
o Speaker series, $1,150
o Art Exhibit, $2,000
o Documents Exhibit, $1,800
o Database development for the walking tour, $500.
There are two sources of funds on hand totaling $3150:
o $2,850 from the former Cayuga Heights Community Association’s savings
account and
o $300 from the Village Historian’s FY budget line item allocation of $1000.
It is hoped that Community Celebrations Grants from the Tompkins Count
Planning Department’s Office of Tourism will fund the remaining $2350.
If $750 is funded for the speakers series, that will mean requests for $1600 in grant
applications for the exhibits and database development .