Friday, September 13, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This WeekPOTSDAM — Both the town and village are officially supporting the grassroots movement to salvage sandstone from the state psych center buildings slated for demolition in Ogdensburg.
The …
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BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This WeekPOTSDAM — Both the town and village are officially supporting the grassroots movement to salvage sandstone from the state psych center buildings slated for demolition in Ogdensburg.
The town approved its resolution Aug. 13 to back the salvage of the Potsdam sandstone used in a few of the buildings at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center.
Village board members passed a similar resolution at their Aug. 19 meeting.
The state, after years of inaction, has finally agreed to demolish the empty buildings in Ogdensburg at the former center. The structures have sat unused and have started to deteriorate.
Recently, however, a group of local people, one of whom was former Potsdam historian Mimi VanDusen, learned that the contractor charged with clearing the structures would take the debris to a landfill out of the area. The group has begun lobbying the state to allow the Potsdam sandstone used in some of the structures to be rerouted to Potsdam and be stockpiled here so it could be used in future restoration and construction projects on some of the communities historic structures.
Potsdam sandstone is a “well-cemented sandstone of nearly pure quartz, renowned for its reddish hues, ranging from salmon pink to orange-red, and its strength in construction,” said the resolution passed by the village board on Aug. 19.
The village and town have 28 buildings made of Potsdam sandstone which are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Those include the Civic Center and the Potsdam Museum and several buildings in the downtown business district. The stone, which was quarried in the 19th century, was also used extensively around the community in various applications including in sidewalks and gravestones. It also was used to construct the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa and the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany.
The local movement to salvage the material from the demolition of the state buildings in Ogdensburg is gaining steam and state officials, including Assemblyman Scott Gray, have voiced support for it.
