10/21/2026
Hot off the (digital) presses! The New York State LGBTQ+ Context Exploratory Project.
In 2025, in collaboration with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation and the City of Ithaca, the Preservation League began work with consultants from Bero Architecture to explore the possibility of creating a statewide LGBTQ+ historic context statement.
The resulting report lays the groundwork for how we think this work could be most effective for a state as large as New York. As the report’s author Katie Eggers Comeau writes in the document’s Project Overview, “The LGBTQ+ Context Exploratory Project is intended to be the first step in a statewide project that will provide guidance to people who are interested in preserving historic places with significance in LGBTQ+ history anywhere in New York State.” In other words, the release of this document marks the beginning, not the end, of our collective efforts to document, preserve, and amplify LGBTQ+ history and culture. Through this initial research, a series of recommendations and next steps have been identified, notably the creation of an LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Action Plan & Toolkit and an LGBTQ+ History Action Fund. Find the full report here: https://www.preservenys.org/blog/new-york-state-lgbtq-statewide-historic-context-exploratory-project
This report would not have been possible without our stakeholder committee, comprised of regional preservation colleagues from around the state: Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH); Historic Albany Foundation; Historic Ithaca; The Landmark Society of Western New York, Inc.; NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project; Preservation Association of Central New York; Preservation Buffalo Niagara; Preservation Long Island; and Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation.
Project team: NY State Parks & Historic Sites, which also funded the report; the City of Ithaca; and Bero Architecture
