The Pine Hill Main Street Initiative Committee held a potluck dinner at the Community Center last Tuesday to discuss an application for Historic District status for the Main Street area of Pine Hill. Jill Fisher, a historic district consultant with the firm Fisher and Larson Associates presented an illustrated lecture on the achitectural history of Pine Hill from the late 1700's to the present. She said that Pine Hill is replete with Gothic Revival and late Victorian Queen Anne style buildings. Shandaken Town Supervisor Rob Stanley, a resident of Pine Hill, and Shandaken Town Board members Doris Bartlett and Jack Jordan also attended the presentation. Bill Kratinger from the NY State Department of Historic Preservation attended the dinner, and informed the people attending about the criteria used by the state in determining which areas can receive a historic distric designation. Pine Hill has excellent prospects for designation as a historic district based on its historic buildings and bridges, four of which have already received historic landmark status. The hamlet was a major tourist destination in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The population of the hamlet, then an incorporated Village, peaked in 1901.
The part of Pine Hill cut off by the new Route 28 in 1960 cannot be included in the historic district according to the consultants because Route 28 breaks the visual and spatial continuity of the historic community. The residents of the cut off section, located along Maple Avenue and Birch Creek Road, do not accept this evaluation, and are talking or organizing to present their case for inclusion in the historic district. They contend that there are many beautiful Victorian houses in the area lopped off from Pine Hill history, including the former Morton house, which was built by the man who was the first President of Stevens Institute of Technology and for whom the nationally landmarked Morton Memorial LIbrary in Pine Hill was named.
Property owners in the landmarked zone are eligible for tax credits for renovations on their property, although there are no restrictions on any renovations carried out. Property owners not in the historic distric are not eligible for this.
Businesses on Main Street such as Pine Hill Books at 300 Main Street, may benefit from the historic designation. Market research presented to the Main Street Committee indicated that about 25 percent of travelers are motivated by an interest in local history and learning about historic areas.
Pine Hill's streets have very little traffic, which make it possible to take peaceful walks around town enjoying the pure air and the mountain scenery. Three busy lodging places active in Pine Hill include the Belleayre Lodge, Pine Hill Arms, and the Colonial. A part of the Colonial was built in the late 1700's.
The Shandaken Town Museum, housed in a nationally landmarked school house, is located in Pine Hill.
