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2011 Heritage Award Properties
Soldier’s Monument (1895 and 1896)
West Junction of Huguenot and Main Streets
On
May 30, 1895, the base of the Soldiers Monument was dedicated on triangular
piece of land at the west intersection of Main and Huguenot Street. The
property was donated by the Presbyterian Church which was, until it burned in
1923, situated in back of the monument. The date of the dedication was
particularly poignant. John Flandreau, the native son for whom the local Post
was named, had been killed in the Battle of Bethesda Church on May 30, 1864. He
was the only New Rochelle casualty in the Civil War. The monument was
inscribed: “300 deceased veterans
and the battles in which they fought - those of the Civil War, War of 1812 and
Revolutionary War” “Tribute of New Rochelle to her loyal sons. Erected
1895. 1861 – 1865 One Flag, One Country,
Union Forever."
The next year, on Memorial Day,
another grand event was held to commemorate the placement of the stone and
granite statue, which was manufactured Badger Brothers, Quincy, MA. As the New
York Times headlined, “The Village in Holiday Dress Receives Her Many Visitors-
Elaborate Parade Followed by Exercise at Which Gen. Butterfield and Gen.
Sickles were Chief Speakers.” The article reported that “New Rochelle has
seldom received as many visitors in a single day,” and detailed the long parade
that had been organized by Isaac E. Young, Superintendent of Schools. The
statue was unveiled by Miss Marie L. Cushing, a former New Rochelle teacher and
daughter of Civil War hero, Commander W. B. Cushing, U. S. Navy. Two Civil War
cannons, acquired through congressional action, were placed at the foot of the
monument, completing the site that would later be named “Roosevelt Park”.
Leonard Talner Building (1929)
565 Main Street
The building at 565 Main Street
was among those constructed in the Art Deco style during the “boom” period of
the 1920s. Completed in 1929, it replaced the wood-framed structure that had
housed Scott’s Feed Store for decades.
The new building contained several popular stores, including the small
“Talner’s Jeweler’s” that was started by Leonard Italiano. He was one New
Rochelle's premier jewelers - first working door-to-door and then in an
upstairs store on Mechanic Street (now Division Street) as early as 1924.
Despite his birth name, Italiano was one of New Rochelle's early Jewish
shopkeepers. By the time he opened a small Main Street store near Centre
Avenue, in 1928, he had changed his name to Leonard Talner.
Over the next four decades,
various members of the Talner family, including cousin Arnold Heaps, managed
the business. In 1960 Robert Talner and Heaps had purchased the store from the
other Talner family members and began expansions. By 1962, they had enlarged
the store by purchasing the adjacent hat store, dress shop and Fannie Farmer
Candies. Through the years, Talner's gracious and accommodating service,
distinctive and top-quality jewelry has attracted the likes of Tommy Manville,
Theresa Brewer, Dennis James, Peter Lind Hayes, and other celebrities who made
their homes in New Rochelle.
In 2007-2008, 565 Main Street
underwent a significant restoration project that rejuvenated and preserved its original
integrity: one that exemplifies the architectural style and construction of the
Art Deco period, the predominate style of New Rochelle’s downtown business
district. As one of the five buildings in the New Rochelle Model Development
Block, 565 Main Street’s restoration project led to a 2009 Excellence in
Historic Preservation Award by the Preservation League of New York State. The project was orchestrated by the New
Rochelle Business Improvement District (the BID) with support of the Community
Preservation Corporation (CPC), working closely with the State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO), the architect (Susan Doban Architect), the
contractor, and the building owners.
Daniel Webster Elementary School (1930)
95 Glenmore Drive