The Brick Tavern Museum in Montour Falls has completed a $1.25 million renovation and expansion that adds collection space and makes the historic building more accessible.
The work includes a 1,600-square-foot annex, a three-stop elevator and an accessible entrance, doorways and restrooms, according to the New York Department of State, which announced the project's completion Thursday.
A $792,000 grant supported the project through Montour Falls' $4.5 million NY Forward award. The museum is the first project completed under the village's award from the program's first round.
More room for Schuyler County's history
The expansion creates dedicated space to preserve the museum's stored collection. Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said the accessibility improvements will open the museum to people of all abilities while helping it showcase the village's history.
Built in 1828, the museum is Schuyler County's oldest brick structure and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It began as a tavern along a stagecoach route and later served as a Select School for Boys, a boarding house and the home of Dr. Charles D. Clawson, then head of the Bethesda Sanitorium.
The Schuyler County Historical Society bought the building in 1974, and it subsequently became a museum.
Historical society Executive Director Heather O'Grady-Evans said the organization had worked for eight years to complete its “Uplifting History! Accessibility for All” project. Mayor James Ryan said the museum was both the first of the village's NY Forward projects to break ground and the first to be completed.
Five other downtown projects received awards
Montour Falls' NY Forward plan also includes $971,000 for Main Street streetscape improvements. That work calls for enhanced crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, curb bump-outs, sidewalk extensions, street trees, green infrastructure, benches, signs, public art and gateway arches.
Another $916,000 was awarded to build townhomes for long-term rentals on a vacant downtown lot.
A $685,000 project would put a new building on a vacant Catharine Street property, with an established dental practice, room for that practice to expand, another commercial space and new long-term apartments.
A $200,000 small-project fund is intended to help businesses within the NY Forward boundary with renovations, facades, interior build-outs, permanent equipment, awnings and signs.
The plan also awards $936,000 to upgrade North Catharine Street lighting, including additional pedestrian-level lights to make the street more comfortable at night.
NY Forward supports smaller downtowns
Montour Falls was the Southern Tier's first-round NY Forward winner. Other regional recipients include Waverly, Groton, Hammondsport and Urbana, Bath, Dryden, Stamford and Margaretville.
New York created NY Forward as part of its 2022 budget to complement the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which began in 2016. Communities work with a planning consultant and state agency experts led by the Department of State to develop investment plans for projects scaled to smaller and rural downtowns.
Through four rounds, NY Forward will have awarded $340 million to 77 communities statewide, according to the department. The enacted fiscal 2027 budget provides another $100 million for the program.
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