Past Work Weekends

Boyertown, Pennsylvania: 2024’s Work Weekend returned to the Colebrookedale Railroad to assist in much needed preservation work at this quintessential historic railroad site. The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley Line, is a historic railroad that offers scenic train rides through the beautiful countryside of Berks County. In recent years, the railroad has undergone extensive restoration efforts – with the assistance of HPP’s Work Weekend Program, to preserve its historic infrastructure and enhance the visitor experience. Vintage railcars and locomotives have been meticulously refurbished, and stations along the route have been restored to their former glory.

Port Allegany, Pennsylvania: A National Register of Historic Places listed property, Lynn Hall was designed by Walter Hall, a self-taught designer/builder, and his son, Raymond Viner Hall. Walter Hall built Lynn Hall, and his work there was a contributing factor in his selection as chief contractor of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Thirty HPP and MRP students worked on a number of projects on the property, including tuck-pointing; re-roofing the main building, waterproofing an exterior water feature; removing, regrading and re-laying a large stone patio; and installing cork wall finishes.

New Bedford, Massachusetts: Originally constructed in 1829, and modified in the 1840s and 1850s, the First Baptist Church remains a fine example of Greek Revival architecture. Conducted in concert with two local groups: the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE (WHALE) and Your Theater who aim to adaptively reuse the church as a performance venue.

Tarrytown, New York: A historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, activities included rebuilding and repainting entryways of 1880 Lord & Burnham designed greenhouse, a historic brick and stone masonry workshop, and the restoration of historic windows and doors.

Albion, New York: Situated only a few short steps from the Erie Canal, the Opera House served to local and traveling public for decades, seating hundreds of patrons at a time in its third-floor, high-ceilinged space. Now being restored through the efforts of the Albion Main Street Alliance, the site hosted 35 Cornell students, alumni and professors for the event.

Tarrytown, New York: 33 students from HPP, CRP, M.Arch and other programs, along with HPP alumni and friends, participated in preservation work at the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Lyndhurst Estate, 30 minutes north of Manhattan. The former home of 19th-century robber-baron Jay Gould, it includes a number of historically significant structures, including the National Register listed 174-year-old mansion designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis and iron, stone, wood and brick buildings in a variety of styles.

Wyco, West Virginia: Wyco Community Church was constructed in 1917 for the coal mining community that once surrounded it. Since 2003, the church has been under the ownership of the Rural Appalachian Improvement League (RAIL), who stabilized the building and is now working on its restoration.

Manassas, Virginia: Liberia Plantation is an 1825 plantation house on 18 acres of property in the Liberia Historic District in Manassas, Virginia. The property is being restored with the assistance of historical architect C. Richard Bierce, AIA of Alexandria, Virginia and Oak Grove Restoration Company under the Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. The property is owned by the City of Manassas. Projects included whitewash and shutter repair.

Ithaca, New York: Located in Stewart Park, the boathouse has been home to the Cascadilla Boat Club as well as an auxiliary space for Ithaca Youth Bureau. The Boat Club had been forced to give up second floor use due to egress and other safety issues. The project included window repair and the scraping, cleaning, painting and minor wood repair on the veranda.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Students traveled to the Eastern State Penitentiary where they worked with the site's conservation staff to stabilize one of the nation's most historic prisons.

New Orleans, Louisiana: In March 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, faculty and about ten students from HPP and CRP joined ranks with groups like ACORN and hundreds of volunteers from across the country for the recovery effort in New Orleans. The Cornell group worked on two projects: gutting several flooded houses in the devastated Ninth Ward, and developing planning documents for the reuse of the St. Roche Market building. HPPA was able to provide more than $1,000 in assistance to students for travel and materials related to this work.

New York, New York: Work Weekend returned to Ellis Island.

New York, New York: Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument “Historic preservation and planning students from Cornell University are undertaking a volunteer venture to stabilize a neglected structure on Ellis Island -- the Commissioner's House. In doing so, they hope to attract support that may lead to a full-scale rehabilitation of this national monument.” Press release.