ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – A Historic District in Elmira will be expanding and adding buildings to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

In an announcement, Governor Kathy Hochul said the State Board for Historic Preservations nominated 21 properties to the State and National Registers. Among those properties includes an expansion of the boundaries of the North Main & West Water Commercial Historic District.

In downtown Elmira, the nomination would add eight buildings, a park, and multiple churches to the district. Hochul said this addition “reflects the city’s economic growth beginning in the mid-19th century.” Such an addition can help revitalize properties and make them eligible for grants and tax credits.

“New York is home to so many historic gems of industry and culture, and through these nominations, those places can truly be recognized,” Governor Hochul said. “By including them in the historic registers, it ensures resources are available to maintain these meaningful reminders of the past. New York is a global spot for tourism, and bringing awareness to these 21 places will help draw even more visitors for years to come.”

Other nominations include the former home and workplace of a pioneering 20th-century social reformer in New York City, a summer camp created in Western New York by a spiritual community, the residence of a lumber baron who helped create the Adirondack Park, and a former factory in Buffalo that was once one of the nation’s largest manufacturer of automobile radiators.

Once recommendations are approved by the Commissioner, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and entered on the National Register once they are approved.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects, and sites significant in the history, architecture, archaeology, and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 120,000 historic properties throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts.