The “Montour House” is considered one of the gems in what is known as the “Glorious T” of Montour Falls, NY. It was built by Charles Cook, considered the “father of Schuyler County”, in 1854 as the Canal Hotel and his personal residence. As the years went by, the building badly deteriorated and by 2000 and was in danger of having to be torn down for safety reasons—bricks falling out of the exterior, roof leaking, etc. After Bruce was directed to this project by an interested banker friend, he did a careful analysis before submitting a proposal to the Village. He felt the building could be saved and would be a beautiful asset to the Village Main Street. So work began in 2008 and in 2010 was completed and occupied in ten residential units and four commercial enterprises. This project received a 2010 New York State Historic Preservation Award for an outstanding adaptive use project and commitment to community revitalization. It also received the Preservation League’s award for Excellence in Historic Preservation on May 12, 2011.
