Westbury adds 4 buildings to village's heritage trail

An eclectic group of buildings has been added to the Village of Westbury Heritage Trail.

The four structures carry religious, historical, commercial or regional significance for the village, said Mayor Peter I. Cavallaro. They were incorporated at a plaque-unveiling ceremony Saturday morning.

“All of the sites in their own way have a lot of merit and are recognized in one reason or other,” Cavallaro said.

The Episcopal Church of the Advent, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Early Westbury Public School and Westbury Neighborhood House are new members of the heritage trail, and passersby can read about their history on the yellow and blue plaques erected in front of them.

Each building recognized Saturday has a different significance for the village, said Gary Monti, chairman of the village’s Historic Preservation Commission.

The Episcopal Church of the Advent, built in 1910, is architecturally significant because it was designed by John Pope Russell, the architect of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, Monti said.

“I think it’s one of the most beautiful churches,” said Carmen Lloyd, a warden at the church. “It’s just a quiet place when you just need to go and pray.”

The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1887, has historical significance, according to Monti, because it was the first African Methodist church in the area.

The Early Westbury Public School, built in 1857, had local significance because the three buildings, now located in front of the Robert Bacon Memorial Children’s Library, were some of the earliest school buildings in the district, Monti said.

The Westbury Neighborhood House was built in 1916, and has since provided social services to the community, including nursing services, food pantries, holiday dinners and toy drives, Monti said.

“It was a very nice thing, you know, that we were noticed and appreciated for what we do,” said Ray Muntz, president of the house’s board directors.

Cavallaro began work on the Incorporated Village of Westbury Heritage Trail two years ago in the wake of a series of downtown revitalization projects. He wanted to commemorate the village’s history, which can be traced to Quaker farmers who settled in the area in the 1600s.

“While we’re doing things for the future which are great and necessary, we want to recognize our past,” he said.

Choosing which buildings get a landmark designation is a joint effort between the mayor’s office, the Village of Westbury Historical Society and the village’s Landmark Preservation Commission, Cavallaro said.

The process takes four to six months, Monti said. Committee members do extensive research on potential landmarks, ensuring that any nominee is significant to Westbury and that its history can be verified by using historical archives and public records.

The buildings joined six other sites designated landmarks last year: the house of Ambrose Clark, the Westbury Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, Hicks Nurseries, the site of the Vanderbilt Cup Race Grandstand, the Robert Bacon Memorial Children’s Library and the Westbury African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

“If you can understand the past, you can really understand the future,” Monti said.