April 22, 2009 Bulletin

The Bulletin -- April 22, 2009 (#987)

Program: Steven Engelhart, AARCH, "What to Do With the Crown Point Bridge"

Steven Engelhart

Steven Engelhart began by pointing out the appropriateness of the Bridge as a Rotary topic for a few reasons. The discussion about its preservation is not only current, but the Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) also tries to be effective advocates and uses opportunities such as this to share important information.

The Crown Point Bridge was first conceived in the 1920’s when transportation was really booming. The increase in traffic use inspired the establishment of the bridge at this part of the Lake, which in turn lead to the Lake Champlain Bridge Commission. The commission hired a Boston engineering firm to study the project. The location and design evolved through the firm’s study, and in the end, the “continuous truss” style prevailed. This bridge was the first of its kind in the U.S., and thousands of people turned out for its opening and the festivities surrounding it.

For 80 years it has served the area well. It becomes more iconic every year and is a sort of symbol for the region. It had been well cared for over the years, in part due to the tolls that were collected to cross it. When that system ended, work to maintain it began to slack.

The Future of the Bridge boils down to a few alternative plans: rehabilitating and restoring the Bridge as it is; replacing it with the same alignment; replacing it with a slightly modified alignment; and rebuilding it altogether somewhere else further south down the Lake.

Where does AARCH fit in? AARCH is concerned with protecting the history of structures in the Adirondacks and is in the process of getting the Bridge designated as a National Historical Landmark by trying to make a case to the public.

AARCH believes restoration of the Bridge will lead to a number of benefits:

Keeping the bridge preserves the original work of the civil engineers
It is the most economical option
It will take the least amount of time and red tape
It can continue to meet most of the transportation needs
New York State designated a group of bridges as worthy of protecting and the Crown Point Bridge was on this list. It is therefore consistent with NYS policy.

AARCH hopes this process, though expected to take a couple years, will move forward. The Public Advisory Committee for the Bridge (from both NY and VT) is working hard. Engelhart said, “We will get the word out to the people letting them know that this is an important work of civil engineering that needs to be preserved to protect our heritage.”

AARCH’s hope is to some day celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bridge. Engelhart was optimistic about the future. They hope to look back in answering the question, “how much do we care about our history?”, and find that wisdom and the drive for preservation prevailed.

Questions:
Q: First a comment: “Preservation” is an interesting word to use when talking about a bridge since we usually see it used in terms of preserving the environment. My Question: What role do you play with the fire towers?
A: For years, AARCH has advocated to preserve the fire towers. We are involved in raising money and establishing relationships in D.C. to help preserve them. We put the towers on the National Registry of Historic Places. St. Regis Mountain and Hurricane Mountain are the hottest towers at the moment, and we're working on preserving those.

Q: How many places in the Adirondacks have the highest number of historic designations?
A: There are individually designated sites as well as designated districts, such as Warrensburg, Keeseville (125 buildings), Saranac Lake (100+) and Essex (70-80). More are designated in Essex County than anywhere else because of the interest there.

Q: Do you have information on tours?
A: AARCH’s website, www.aarch.org, will have tours posted in May. If you want to know about the tours before the general public does, you can by becoming a member. Pick up a membership brochure and/or feel free to attend some of our events.

Q: You mentioned there were other potential locations for the Bridge. Could you name them?
A: I don’t really know what they are. They need to keep it in the southern end of the Lake, so I think they were all within 20 miles of each other.

Q: There is an amazing lighthouse right underneath the Bridge. What’s the status of that?
A: That was originally built as just a lighthouse, but in honor of some Champlain event, it was changed in to a lighthouse/monument. New York State owns it, and has spent a good amount of money restoring it. It will be rededicated during an appropriate celebration this year.

This Week

May 2 is the District Assembly in Cornwall and a carpool is being formed. All members are encouraged to attend if possible.
Friday, May 29, is the Paul Harris Fellow dinner at the Valcour Conference Center Boathouse.
PP Marty Mannix distributed entry forms for the Rotary Golf Outing on Wednesday, June 10 at The Barracks. Prizes are still needed.
Highway Cleanup Day is scheduled for Thursday, April 30. Meet at 3:45 p.m. at the Best Western Inn at Smithfield.
Howard Lowe asked for any club member who attended Woodstock or know of someone who did, to please contact any Program Committee members. Bob Parks asked anyone willing to share photos of themselves from 1969 to either see him or send them to him.

Auction: Gil Zahn auctioned a bottle of John Zurlo’s homegrown wine for $25 to Ita Bullard.

New Member Talk: — Roger Van Guilder
Roger Van Guilder grew up in the Adirondacks in Warren County and was the Branch Manager at a bank in Newcomb. Having grown up in the Adirondacks, Roger had the great opportunity of attending Albany Business College when Vietnam was underway. He was thankful—not for the war– but because it gave him the opprotunity to join the Army and to know himself better through those years. When he was discharged, he took a job at Glens Falls National Bank making $95/week as a teller. Roger bought a new Ford Mustang 351and felt he had finally arrived! He worked his way to where he is now with God’s blessing and has wonderful things in his life such as the Boy Scouts, American Legion and March of Dimes. These organizations are important to the community. But so is Rotary. Roger was a member of Chestertown’s Rotary Club and aims to live up to the four way test now as he did then.

Happy Dollars:

Cathy Forget had a dollar for Keith Tyo who, after he won the 50-50 raffle two weeks ago, purchased the special sale item from the Rotary Store.
Stan Ransom announced that this Friday at 10:30 a.m., children from the Oak Street Elementary School will be celebrating Arbor Day at the Library with the planting of an Adirondack crabapple tree. He also announced that the Friends of the Library are planning a book sale on Thursday (5-7 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (all day).
Peter Ensel had a few dollars for his son who has accepted full room and board stipend to graduate school. His daughter will be attending the University of Albany in the fall.
Phil Green had a dollar announcing his daughter has had a little girl. His second daughter announced she is expecting a baby as well.
Alice Recore announced that this weekend is Mountain Lake PBS’s 25th Anniversary Arts Auction this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They are honoring former Rotarian and longtime PBS supporter Jane Ashley.
PP Marty Mannix jokingly apologized to the club as he was the person who asked for desserts with less calories. Unfortunately their solution to the problem was addressing portion size.

Guests: No guests, No Visiting Rotarians this week

50/50: The pot is worth $500 thanks to Keith Tyo who won the raffle two weeks ago. We are now drawing for the Queen of Hearts. Hope Coyer drew the six of spades.

Upcoming Programs/Duties: go to Membership Duty List