Last weekend the YUPs held their first heart bombing event. (Never heard of heart bombing? Click here to learn more). Despite the exceptionally frigid temps, the event was a great success! We started with a brief lesson and video for neighborhood kids at the Lincoln Branch Library on Joseph Ave. YUP member and city schoolteacher, Bradley Huber, explained to the kids what historic preservation is all about, why old buildings matter, and what we can do to help bring them back to life.

Then the fun started! With a smorgasbord of crafting supplies, adults and kids alike got to work making valentines for the abandoned former synagogue down the street. There was an explosion of pink construction paper, doilies, and stickers! Here we are hard at work:

The end results were fantastic and heart-warming!

We did an indoor heart bombing while we were still at the Library to spare some of the smaller kiddos from the subzero windchill.

Then the rest of us (including a few adventurous and hardy kids!) trekked a few blocks down the street to heart bomb the former synagogue in person. The former B’Nai Israel synagogue has been vacant and deteriorating for years but its future is finally looking a little brighter. The Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance plans to adapt this building to a performing arts center and has begun planning for its adaptive reuse and fundraising for rehab.

Next stop on the heart bombing express was a vacant former brewery along the Genesee River gorge on Cliff St. This amazing building is slated for demolition by the City of Rochester. Us YUPs think it has great potential for an adaptive reuse project.

What better way to spend your Valentine’s Day weekend than by showing some love to a few historic buildings that could really use it?! You can show your love for old buildings all year long by getting involved with the YUPs, joining The Landmark Society, rehabbing a building, advocating for preservation in your community, and by spreading the word that these places matter.