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Local businesses, neighbors, and city officials recently joined Mayor Deana Michaels in dedicating a new, two-sided sign designating a two-block section of West Broadway listed in 2020 as a Commercial Historic District on both the National and State registers of historic buildings.
“I want to thank Jerry Kasperek for her passion, dedication and commitment to both starting the movement, and making this commercial historic district a reality,” Michaels said. “I also want to thank our common council, Parks and Recreation, and Community Development Agency for their support. Today, we celebrate the future success of our local businesses, and also thank the Friends of History in Fulton, NY for telling and preserving our story.”
The sign reads: “West Broadway Commercial Historic District – The District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New York State Register of Historic Places in 2020 and comprises the only extant section of late 19th and early 20th century commercial activity in the City of Fulton. The eight West Broadway buildings located between West First and West Second Streets were built between 1877 and 1901 when the neighborhood was known as Oswego Falls. West Broadway and the surrounding area was incorporated into the City in 1902.”
In the wake of the many changes brought by the city’s urban renewal program, Kasperek wanted to preserve the buildings on W. Broadway. “I started with a letter writing campaign and worked for five years to get this on the state and national historic registers,” she said. “I am especially grateful to First Ward Councilor Dan Farfaglia for his assistance in getting and keeping the process going. It’s wonderful to see this day happen.”
Farfaglia, who was not able to be present due to illness, shared a statement read by Michaels congratulating Kasperek for her efforts: “…Today’s event is the culmination of years of hard work by a very distinguished citizen, Jerry Hogan Kasperek. She has devoted herself to many years of service locally…She has never sought any recognition for this accomplishment…With these buildings now being forever preserved, future generations of Fultonians will proudly be able to see that a piece of the past will also be a piece of their future.”
Brittney Jerred, representing New York State Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay, presented and read a citation, which reads, in-part: “RESOLVED, that I, Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay, on behalf of all residents in the 120th Assembly District, recognize and congratulate the Westside Historic Business District for its service to the greater City of Fulton for more than 100 years;…it is with great pleasure that I recognize and honor the dedication of the City of Fulton’s Westside Historic Business District.”
Mayor Michaels also noted that the Broadway commercial district “is a beautiful area of our city. This designation opens doors to much-needed funding, grants and additional preservation support that ties in nicely with our Downtown Revitalization Initiative efforts.”
