Albany’s Historic Cherry Hill Wins National Preservation Award

This was just announced by Heritage Preservation.  It seems Historic Cherry Hill located here in Albany, NY has been selected for the Award For Outstanding Commitment to Preservation and Care of Collections.  Congratulations Historic Cherry Hill!

Here is the press release…

HISTORIC CHERRY HILL AND THE SHELBURNE MUSEUM RECEIVE NATIONAL PRESERVATION AWARD

(Nominations invited for 2010 award)

Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, New York, and the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, have been selected to receive the 2009 Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections.  This annual award is selected by a panel of distinguished conservation experts from across the nation and is presented jointly by Heritage Preservation and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
The two recipients have shown a sustained and exemplary commitment to preserving America’s heritage enriching their communities by caring for their unique and varied collections through dedicated planning and effort.
The presentation of the award to Historic Cherry Hill will take place on September, 17, 2009.  The presentation of the Shelburne Museum’s award will be on September 25, 2009.

Historic Cherry Hill

Historic Cherry Hill is the home of the Van Rensselaer-Rankin family. Built in 1787, it was lived in continuously by the family until 1963. Containing a wealth of information for scholars of social history and material culture, Cherry Hill is an invaluable cultural resource because of the well-documented provenance of its varied collection. The museum was founded when the entire estate, including 20,000 objects, 30,000 manuscripts, 7,500 textiles, 5,000 books, and 3,000 photographs, was donated by Catherine Putman Rankin.

Historic Cherry Hill’s programs and publications provide an unprecedented view into one family’s life and the community in which they lived. The size and richness of the collections literally had the house bursting at the seams−a structural engineer hired to review the site after staff members noticed severe cracking in the walls of the home in 1996 discovered floors that should have carried 30 pounds per square foot were discovered to be carrying 100 pounds.

Assertively responding to this crisis, the board and small staff successfully conducted a half million dollar campaign to design and construct a 3,500 square foot, state-of-the-art storage facility, which was completed in 2003. To date, more than 20,000 objects and 30,000 documents have been moved to the new facility and are being cared for in accordance with the latest advances in preservation.

In addition to this remarkable accomplishment, Historic Cherry Hill has researched and adopted many sound conservation practices to maintain its collection. From installing ultra-violet filtering and blackout shades throughout the house to obtaining grants and developing and executing a long range conservation plan, Historic Cherry Hill is a superb example of what the dedication and hard work of a few people at a small institution with limited resources can accomplish. And, in fact, they demonstrate that example at every opportunity by holding training sessions that share their acquired knowledge with outside institutions and the community at large.

Lawrence L. Reger, President of Heritage Preservation, said, “Historic Cherry Hill is a remarkable institution, and we are fortunate to have such a valuable collection in our national cultural history cared for with such close attention and thoughtful planning. The awarding committee was especially impressed by Cherry Hill’s ongoing work to refine its conservation plan and its collaborative relationship with other groups and the Albany community.”