Capital Region landmarks part of state's new historic business registry

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Perreca's Bakery co-owner Maria Papa displays a fresh loaf of panettone in this 2015 Gazette file photo. The bakery in Schenectady's Little Italy is part of a new state registry of historic businesses.

ALBANY — Several Capital Region landmarks are listed on a new state registry of businesses in operation for at least 50 years.

Designation to the Historic Preservation Business Registry is honorary, intended to highlight and promote long-running businesses, but those listed have access to educational and promotional assistance to help extend their longevity.

The program includes an interactive storyboard map online at https://parks.ny.gov/historic-preservation/business-registry/default.aspx that provides the location and a brief history of each business.

–More from Schenectady – The Daily Gazette–

Among the first round of 100 designees are a dozen in the Capital Region:

B. Lodge & Company was founded in 1867 and remains a landmark on North Pearl Street in Albany.
Curtis Lumber Company in Ballston opened its original retail location in 1955 and has since grown to 23 locations; its roots date to Isaac Curtiss’ early 1800s sawmill.
DeCrescente Distributing Company in Mechanicville was started in 1948 by Angelo DeCrescente, who operated out of his home with one truck.
DeFazio’s in Troy’s Little Italy was begun in 1951 as an import grocery; the founders’ son opened a pizzeria next door in 1989.
Fix Brothers Fruit Farm in Hudson is a fifth-generation agricultural business established in 1899 that now includes a pick-your-own operation.
Lansing Farm in Niskayuna has provided fresh food to the region since 1788; Al Lansing is the eighth-generation owner.
Fox Jewelers of Saratoga Springs was opened in 1947 by Norman Fox, who went on to help organize the Downtown Business Association in the 1960s.
Perreca’s Bakery opened in 1914 in Schenectady’s Little Italy neighborhood and has been run continuously since then by the same family.
The Queensbury Hotel was conceived in 1924 by a committee to boost the Queensbury economy and completed in 1926.
Stewart’s Shops, headquartered in Malta, traces its roots to 1917 but got its retail start in 1945 with a Ballston Spa dairy shop.
Sunny Hill Resort & Golf Course in Greenville has evolved over 102 years from a farm to a boarding house to a vacation destination with 12 lodging options.
Telescope Casual Furniture was established in 1903 in New York City and relocated to its current location, Granville, in 1921.

–More from Saratoga Springs – The Daily Gazette–

Erik Kulleseid, commissioner of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said these businesses and many more like them are the backbone of the state’s economy.

“Many of our state’s homegrown businesses have helped shape the character and identity of the communities that they call home,” he said in a prepared statement.

Designation is noncompetitive and is gained through nomination by the senator or Assembly member whose district includes the business.