SAHARA Highlights: Richard Longstreth

November’s selections from SAHARA highlight a new collection of over 1,500 images contributed by former SAH President, Richard Longstreth. These images are all of buildings in the Adirondacks region of New York and illustrate his recently published Guide to Architecture in the Adirondacks (Keeseville, NY: Adirondack Architectural Heritage, 2017). They include a wonderful range of material, from the early domestic and ecclesiastical structures built when this was a thinly settled but carefully fortified region of the northeastern United States, to the rustic log-and-twig buildings characteristic of its late-nineteenth-century emergence as a resort region, to the modern touristic infrastructure of custard stands and mini-golf courses. Richard’s excellent photographs well illustrate the rich history of this place.

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Wells Baptist Church, Hamilton, New York, 1845. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2009.

Bluff Point Lighthouse, Valcour Island, Clinton, New York, 1871-74. Designed under guidelines from the federal Light-House Board, the building, on Lake Champlain, is similar to counterparts in Connecticut and Vermont, with its light tower an integral part of the larger building. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2016.

William West Durant, Main Lodge, Camp Pine Knot, Raquette Lake, Hamilton, New York, begun 1877-78, enlarged late nineteenth century. Pine Knot was the proving ground for Durant to develop his vision of an Adirondack camp and no less so for his workforce to create a rustic architecture that was also elegant and refined. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2013.

Berlin Iron Bridge Company, Hadley Bow Bridge, Lake Luzerne, Warren County, New York, 1885. The bridge is the only remaining example of three such structures known to have been erected in the United States with the deck at mid-height of the trusses, an arrangement that added lateral stiffness and precluded end posts at the portals. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2009.

Isaac G. Perry, Kerin Cottage, Sanitorium Gabriels, Franklin County, New York, 1895-97. Sanatorium Gabriels was the first sanitarium built in the region after Trudeau's at Saranac Lake and was created to serve people of modest means. It was also the first in the region to accept African-Americans. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2014.

William Lincoln Coulter, Main Lodge, Eagle Island Camp, Upper Saranac Lake, Franklin County, New York, 1902-1903. Eagle Island Camp ranks not only among the most ambitious examples of its genre, but also one of the most imaginative. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2016.

Custard’s Last Stand, 1 Lake Street, Long Lake, Hamilton County, New York, 1958. Photograph by Richard Longsteth, 2013.

Geodesic dome, 320 River Road, Bloomingdale, New York, late 1960s. Photograph by Richard Longstreth, 2014.