The state's Board for Historic Preservation is recommending a series of additions to State and National Historic Registers of buildings and properties. Among those earning designations are Springville's First Baptist Church, Delaware Avenue Baptist Church and the Linde Air Products factory.
The Linde Air site has radioactivity problems from its use to help make the first atomic bomb.
"Not all things that are historically important are always 100% good news and uplifting," said preservationist Tim Tielman.
"Sometimes there's complicated stories and those deserve to be told and the places where they occurred deserve to be preserved."
The designations open the properties to rehab by using historic tax credits, as many local buildings have.
"Delaware Baptist is the pinnacle Baptist in Western New York historically," Tielman said.
"In fact, the architect of the church, John Coxhead, was a very long-time member and this is one of Coxhead's most significant works, Richardson Romanesque, just fantastic craftsmanship."
The Seneca Nation is looking for historic designation for its Allegany Council House and is applying directly for listing. Tielman points out that many other Native American sites in New York "are protected and their sites aren't given because they're so important the state wants to prevent people from doing unauthorized digging."
The State Board for Historic Preservation is recommending 22 resources, properties and districts for formal listing across New York State.
