I Love My Park Day 2013
Join Parks & Trails New York in their efforts to "give back" to your park by volunteering there on May 4, 2013. Details on I Love My Park Day 2013 for Knox Farm State Park will be posted here. Please stay tuned!
BPO to Play at Knox Park June 27, 2013!
Main House in Knox Park is the 2013
Junior League Decorators' Show House
Last year, The Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. contacted the president of the Junior League to ask if that organization would consider the main house in Knox Farm State Park as a contender for their Decorators' Show House. Several representatives of the Junior League came and toured the house with Seymour Knox IV and Peggy Cooke. The Friends followed up with letters to the Junior League President and the then head of the Decorators' Showhouse Committee but did not hear anything for quite some time. Last August, Betsy Wallace received a call from the current Decorator's Show House Committee Chairperson, Kitty Lysiak. She inquired about touring the house again with the this years' committee. That second tour took place in August.
As the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. are currently collaborating with the Preservation League of New York State, (in the Seven to Save Project), and the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, (OPRHP), to rehabilitate the buildings in the park according to historic guidelines, all parties felt the need to confer with the OPRHP's architectural historian, Julian Adams, about the possiblity of the main house becoming the Decorator's Show House. All party representatives met with Julian Adams a few months ago. Another tour of the house that day and a subsequent discussion involved stipulations pertaining to what could or could not be done by potential decorators. In the end, there was a meeting of the minds between all parties.
The Decorators' Show House Committee, however, voiced concerns about repairs that had to be made in the main house prior to the property being chosen. The OPRHP of late has been completing numerous other repairs in the park, and, consequently, their contribution to the repairs in the main house could only be limited. Therefore, the Friends offered to pay for supplies and to enlist the help of volunteers to complete the repairs. Two gentlemen with considerable carpentry expertise subsequently offered to head up a team of volunteers. These volunteers, Bruce Mitchell and Philip Spiesz should be commended for their efforts.
On June 5, 1919 a meeting was held in the home of Mrs. Seymour H. Knox I, 800 Delaware Avenue, to discuss bringing the Junior League to Buffalo. Sixty-seven women responded to the first roll call.
During the weekend of February 9 and 10, 2013, 8,500 people visited the main house for the "Sneak Peak," the "before" tour. The number of visitors obliterated the record for attendence in comparison to any other Decorators' Show House in history! Hats off to the Junior League for accommodating such a crowd!
The Main House in Knox Farm State Park will be open for viewing from April 27 to May 19.