Historic stone chimney move could be costly

Local News

Related Photos

The Old Stone Chimney sits on the embankment of the Robert Moses Parkway near the corner of Buffalo Avenue and John B. Daly Boulevard.

February 7, 2012

By Mark Scheer Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Tue Feb 07, 2012, 11:52 PM EST

NIAGARA FALLS — City officials are dealing with some sticker shock after receiving an initial estimate for what it might cost to move an historic stone chimney to a new location.

City Planner Tom DeSantis told city lawmakers on Monday that a consultant has pegged the cost of disassembling, moving and re-assembling the 1750s-era chimney currently located near the Robert Moses Parkway off Buffalo Avenue at about $200,000.

DeSantis and Mayor Paul Dyster both said the estimate, provided by HHL Architects of Buffalo, far exceeded expectations and the city will pursue other options as a result. Dyster described hearing the estimate for the first time as a “horrifying moment” and HHL’s findings as a mix of “good news and bad news.” He said the city had hoped to find that when the chimney was moved in the past, it had been re-assembled with all the stones marked in precisely the same way that it was built originally in the 1750s. In discovering that it had not been preserved in that way, Dyster said the city now has the opportunity to look for less intensive, “lower-cost alternatives” including, perhaps, using city workers and equipment to do the job.

“We’re going to exhaust all the cheap alternatives before we look at others,” Dyster said.

The Old Stone Chimney is a remnant of the French and Indian War. Historians believe it dates back to 1750 when it was part of Fort du Portage, or Fort Little Niagara, at the upper landing of the Niagara Portage. The two-story, 60-ton chimney is believed to have been attached to log barracks outside the fort. Years later, the chimney survived a fire set by the French who burned down the fort in anticipation of the arrival of British forces. In 1760, when the British built Fort Schlosser, just east of the former site of Fort Little Niagara, they constructed a two-story house attached to the French stone chimney. A year later, the structure became home to portage master John Stedman. Fire destroyed Stedman’s home in 1813, but, once again, the chimney survived.

The chimney has been taken down, moved and re-built on two occasions. The first came in 1902 when the property where it was originally located was purchased by the Niagara Falls Power Co. The second move came in 1942 when it was transferred to its current location behind the parkway off Buffalo Avenue near John B. Daly Boulevard.

City officials have expressed an interest in moving the chimney to a more appropriate spot along the Upper Niagara River to provide better access to the public. The city council authorized the planning department to spend up to $50,000 on hiring a consultant to examine the condition of the chimney and its base as well as alternatives for moving it to another site.

DeSantis said HHL’s estimate involved a detailed deconstruction and reconstruction of the chimney and the city would investigate other “low-tech” approaches. He said the standalone chimney is technically not considered an historic structure but rather a relic and will not necessarily require a stone-by-stone reconstruction as a result.

“We have not pursued a different methodology at this point,” DeSantis said.

Local historian Paul Gromosiak, who has been encouraging city officials to take better care of the chimney for many years, said it is an “absolute disgrace” that the chimney has been allowed to languish in obscurity for so many years. He believes it is important for the chimney to be moved to a more suitable location and said the city should spend what is necessary to preserve the structure’s integrity.

“Here it is 2012 — the first year of the three-year anniversary — of the War of 1812 and we’re not doing much of anything around here,” Gromosiak said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.

May 24, 2012
Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.

May 24, 2012
Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.

May 24, 2012
Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Sense of resignation on AES pact
May 24, 2012
Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.

Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Fugitive in meth case caught
Moments after Falls police narcotics detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents uncovered a clandestine meth lab in the city's Echota neightborhood, their prime suspect sent a cryptic text message to Detective Joe Palmero.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
More Local News Headlines

Do you think cigarette sales to non-Native American customers should be taxed on reservations?