BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ten projects around New York state have received 2019 state historic preservation awards and a dozen additional locations have been nominated for listing on the state and national historic registers.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the awards Wednesday. Sites represent New York history from Dutch colonial settlement to the Civil Rights movement era.
State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid says historic preservation is an important tool to spur community renewal, economic development and job growth.
The Colored Musicians Club received an award for Excellence in Historic Documentation.
Here is a description from the Governor's office about the club:
Formed in 1917, the Colored Musicians Club was one of the oldest continually operating African-American musicians' clubs in the country as well an office for Buffalo Local 533, an early African-American union of musicians. These organizations were part of the response to racism and segregation in Buffalo's musical community. The Colored Musicians Club was home to performances by such notable artists as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole, Miles Davis and Cab Calloway.
Three locations in WNY were selected as nominees for the State and National Registers of Historic Places. They are the Buffalo Public School #78 in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood, Empire Worsted Mills located in Jamestown and the Forsyth-Warren Farm in Cambria.