2025 Recap & Annual Fund

December 10, 2025
4:33 pm

December 10, 2025
4:33 pm

Dear Friends of The Landmark Society,

Thank you for your continued support of The Landmark Society. As we close out another extraordinary year, we turn to our Annual Fund—the only time each year when we reach out to our entire community to ask for direct financial support. Your contribution ensures that we can continue the work that matters most: protecting historic places, supporting neighborhoods, educating the next generation, and advocating for preservation across our region. Read below to learn more about the important work we’ve done this year.

Here are some of The Landmark Society's 2025 Highlights:

Preservation and Advocacy

Completed two new National Register district nominations, totaling nearly 700 properties listed and now eligible for historic tax credit programs. We also documented approximately 500 historic properties through historic resource surveys in the Village of Victor and the Town and Village of Phelps, along with an additional 150 barns across the towns of Perry, Mount Morris, and Nunda as part of the Genesee Valley Barns Survey.
Responded to approximately 185 contractor requests and provided various forms of technical guidance to numerous property owners through our Old House Help program.
Collaborated with several neighborhood associations, organizations, and Rochester’s Department of Environmental Services to successfully designate the Cobb’s Hill Park Preservation District.
Partnered to pursue local landmark designation and protection for the Cutler Mail Chute Company Building in Rochester. While unsuccessful through the city process, The Landmark Society filed an Article 78 lawsuit – the only appeal process offered through the city’s code – to further advocate for this important building.
Twelve projects successfully completed capital projects and received grant reimbursements through the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant program, administered by The Landmark Society in partnership with the NY State Historic Preservation Office.
Facilitated the 2025 New York Statewide Preservation Conference in Poughkeepsie, with 310 people in attendance from across New York State and beyond.
Partnered with author Steve Jordan to co-write and publish The Historic House Handbook. Hosted four book events, a webinar, and an appearance on Connections with Evan Dawson, selling over 250 copies to date.
Partnered with Tyler Lucero to expand our free Architecture on the Go! tours & held five architecture and preservation classes – serving a total of 106 attendees – through our Young Urban Preservationists (YUPs) in collaboration with the Rochester Brainery.
Hosted a press conference and engaged with multiple media outlets to announce and promote the 2025 Five to Revive list.
Our annual Preservation Awards ceremony was held at the Little Theater, honoring some of the best preservation projects in western New York.

Programs and Tours

Hosted a sold-out, one-day tour at the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Boynton House, welcoming 225 guests.
Continued supporting the Rochester Historical Society in revitalizing its collection management, public outreach, board training, and expanding its program offerings.
Nearly 1,100 people attended our annual House and Garden Tour—the highest attendance since before COVID—along with more than 500 guests at Ghost Walk and 650 participants at the Inside Downtown Tour.
Ellwanger Garden Open Days welcomed over 230 visitors.
Over 1,200 students and teachers from 13 different schools attended our program, Walk the Walk: Encounters with Rochester’s African American Ancestors. This year also involved high school mentor students from East High School’s Advanced-African American studies program.
More than 1,100 students took guided field study tours at the Stone-Tolan Historic site, learning about our heritage and what it takes to form a community.
Partnered with teachers from Genesee Community Charter School to incorporate our local botanical and landscape history into their 2nd and 3rd grade program.
Our architecture-themed travel program, Landmark Travels, took participants across the globe this year—from a winter journey by bus and train to Montreal and Quebec City for Winter Carnival, to a yacht cruise exploring Spain and Africa, and a scenic voyage along Portugal’s Douro River.
St. Joseph’s Park, in collaboration with the Eastman Community Music School and the University of Rochester Dance Department, presented a vibrant season of performances, featuring five concerts, four community dance events, and a sold-out staging of The Tempest by Shake on the Lake. Additional partnerships connected concerts with Architecture on the Go! walking tours, inviting audiences to explore art, architecture, and community in a shared experience.
Our dedicated volunteers contributed over 1,500 total hours to support our events and programs, while contributing 1,300 hours to our properties including Stone-Tolan, St. Joseph’s Park, and Ellwanger Garden.
Received funding approvals for future preservation work at St. Joseph’s Park and Stone-Tolan Historic Site from the New York State Council on the Arts, as well as New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. We also submitted the organization’s annual audit which received a clean audit opinion from an external, independent accounting firm.