Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Renovated Cathedral To Re-Open

On May 29, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception will re-open after a year-long effort to renovate the interior of this historic Gothic church. The Cathedral, which was built in the 1840s, has been undergoing massive restoration work to stabilize the stone exterior and restore the interior to a late 19th-century color scheme while modernizing the worship space. Yesterday's Times Union has additional details with an excellent photo gallery showing the work.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=930069&category=region

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Fire - and support - for Lark Tavern

Early this morning, Tess' Lark Tavern, a very popular gathering place on Madison Avenue was devastated by a fire which caused "extensive" damage to the historic building which, in an ironic historical footnote, was built in the mid-19th century as a firehouse.

The Lark Tavern has been a beloved part of the Lark Street/Center Square area of Albany for decades and has been active in many fundraisers. In a great example of "giving back," fundraisers are already being planned to help the Lark Tavern and its staff.

If you would like to make a donation to a fund set up by Matt Baumgartner, please check his link for details.

Samson Contompasis of the Martketplace Gallery is organizing a fundraising event to be held at the Gallery on May 22. Contact him at themarketplacegalleryny@gmail.com if you would like to donate work or otherwise lend a hand.

According to Steve Barnes' Table Hopping, the Tavern was responsible for much of the food and beverages for tonight's Champagne In The Park benefit for the Lark Street BID. If anyone can help cover for the loss, there is information in today's blog.

Also, All Over Albany has an excellent roundup of news coverage of the fire and fundraisers.