Preservation League Awards Maverick Concert Hall for Excellence in Historic Preservation

From the Preservation League of New York State:

The Preservation League of New York State has selected the Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock to receive an award for excellence in historic preservation.

The league's statewide awards program honors notable achievements in retaining, promoting and reusing New York State's irreplaceable architectural heritage.

"This National Register-listed concert hall in the Catskill Mountains was built for the utopian Maverick Colony 100 years ago, and is home to the oldest continuous summer chamber music festival in the United States," said Jay DiLorenzo, president of the Preservation League. "The Hall's unique, hand-built design presented a number of challenges to the project team, as did the wooded site. We applaud all involved for providing sensitively designed, strategically engineered and enduring solutions to restore the hall and to introduce proper drainage and modern amenities that will serve performers and concert-goers for the next 100 years."

Major restoration work repaired and replaced three rotten sills on the casually built barn-like structure and stabilized the iconic north wall with its multiple barn sash windows set on the diagonal. Proper drainage protects the hall from storm water runoff from the nearby cliffs. New, accessible, composting toilets with hand-washing sinks replace the four one-hole outhouses and obviate the need for a septic field and attendant woods-destruction. Big Ass Fans® move air silently to cool summer audiences. An upgraded electrical service feeds new LED lighting appropriate for a range of performance and audience scenarios.

The Board of Maverick Concerts directed the process. Notable were Sondra Siegel, Building Committee chair from 2011 to present; David F. Segal, chairman of Maverick Concerts; Susan Rizwani, Building Committee Chair from 2008 to 2011 and Neil Larson, Building Committee member and pro bono preservation consultant. Major supporters were Save America's Treasures, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Thompson Family Foundation of New York, the Villchur Foundation of Bearsville and hundreds of individual donors. Preservation architect Stephen Tilly prepared a master plan and coordinated multiple work phases by Silman, Structural Engineers New York, Cabezas-DeAngelis Civil Engineers of Bridgeport, Conn., Tate Construction, Rhinecliff, J.O.B. Construction Co. of Woodstock, Yankee Construction Co. of Mountainville and StoneRidge Electrical Service of Kingston.

According to architect Stephen Tilly, "Maverick Concert Hall transforms a summer afternoon or evening into a magical reverie, fulfilling founder Hervey White's original vision for this rustic performance venue. Our goal was to stop reality from intruding into the reverie and enhance the magic as best we could behind the scenes."

"The prestigious Award for Excellence from the Preservation League is very confirming for Maverick and those who have contributed their time, commitment, energy and funds," said Sondra Siegel, chair of the Building Committee. "Seeing the progress of the restoration and the ultimate results has been thrilling and gratifying."

"The Board and the Architects have done an extraordinary job of respecting and enhancing the place, preserving the essential qualitative experience of being there, yet bravely and subtly adding essential elements of modernity," said Frances Halsband, FAIA, and audience member.

The awards will be presented at the Preservation League's Awards Ceremony in New York City at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11 at the historic New York Yacht Club, located at 37 West 44th St.

The complete list of award winners is: The Renaissance Albany Hotel (Historic DeWitt Clinton Hotel) – Albany; Apple Store, Upper East Side – Manhattan; United Nations Campus Headquarters Glazed Façades Replacement – Manhattan; Babcock Shattuck House – Syracuse; Spirit of Life & Spencer Trask Memorial – Saratoga Springs; 845 Commons (Historic Mica Insulator Co. Building) – Schenectady; T. G. Hawkes Glass Co. Apartments – Corning; and Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock.

"With our annual awards program, the Preservation League explores not just the present, but the future of historic preservation. Many of the 2016 award winners provide valuable examples for others by incorporating energy efficiency techniques, adaptive reuse strategies and federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits," said DiLorenzo. "Each year, we are impressed by the number and variety of laudable nominations, and this year was no exception. We are delighted to celebrate the rebirth of the historic Maverick Concert hall and to commend all members of the project team for their leadership and vision."