NEW YORK’S WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL SITE NOMINATED AS HISTORIC LANDMARK

Bethel Woods, also known as the original grounds for the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, held August 15-17, 1969, is officially nominated to become a New York Historic Landmark. The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair hosted over 400,000 people on a 600 acre farm, bringing together the hippie subculture for a wild weekend of Rock and Roll in the late ’60s. Some of the artists featured there included Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janice Joplin, and The Who. Woodstock may have been one of the most major events to change history in the 20th century. If Bethel Woods, which is also home to Mysteryland USA, is approved by the New York State historic preservation officer, it will become one of the New York State Register of Historic Places and will also be nominated to join the United States National Register of Historic Places. There is currently a monument and a Woodstock Museum at the site – The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. If it gets cleared with the New York City State Register, it will be open for future events, public services, and state protection. There were over 26 projects recommended by the state’s Historic Preservation Board, including the Waterloo Downtown Historic District, Offerman Building, and the Niagara Power Project Historic District. The governor of the Empire State Andrew Cuomo said,

“New York’s history is this nation’s history, and we are leading the way to preserve the sites of significant events for future generations.”