Neighborhood Walking Tours
Steve Baltsas leading a walking tour along Johnston Street in April 2022.
The Look! Mira! Walking Tours (researched & written by architectural historian Steven Baltsas) celebrates the under recognized architectural, historical and social gems of four distinct neighborhood corridors. As part of the Building Shells:Building Community project, these walking tours use Newburgh as a case study to explore how the community and municipality can work together to prevent historic buildings from falling into disrepair. The tours bring together residents and city agencies (Codes, Buildings) to share the architecture and social history of overlooked corridors; to learn how to identify tell-tale signs that a building is in distress; and to discuss how collectively we can better advocate for these buildings. The tours will solidify a network of local organizations and align with related Newburgh efforts, such as the upcoming NEA-supported design competition for artworks at building shells, the Urban Archive project, and the city’s new SeeClickFix app that allows residents to report building-related issues. The project will also develop a toolkit and training materials (including scripts) so that walking tours can be led by local community groups, and be replicated in other Hudson Valley cities. Through our partnerships with local organizations we will train the next generation of civic neighborhood stabilization coordinators.
Walking tours will be held in Spring 2023. Stay tuned for information on how to sign up!
If you’d like to do a self-guided tour, we’ve uploaded the tour scripts below.
Steven Baltsas and his project, Building Community: Building Walking Tours, is a 2022 Open Space Institute McHenry Award winner in the Historic Preservation category. In honor of Barney McHenry’s contributions and accomplishments, the Open Space Institute has established and administers an award to celebrate his leadership and foster future leaders in the Hudson River Valley. The annual award will be used to provide financial support to promising young leaders and exemplary projects that make significant contributions to environmental protection, historic preservation, tourism, environmental justice, and the arts in the Hudson River Valley.
Press
Albany Times Union. “Young Environmentalists Earn Grants to Lead Local Projects” (June 7, 2022)
Open Space Institute Press Release. “Four Young Hudson Valley Environmental Leaders Earn Awards from The Open Space Institute to Lead Local Projects” (June 2022)