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CURE PORCH ON WHEELS
  • Home
  • About
    • About the Porch
    • Oral History Project
    • Historic Saranac Lake
  • Events
    • Events on the Porch
    • Reserve the Porch
  • Story Phone
  • Resources
    • Online Resources
    • A How-To Guide
    • Porch Schematics
    • Energy Options for Cure Porches
    • Porch Brochure
  • Support
  • Historic Saranac Lake

About

The Porch

A symbol of local architecture and heritage, the Cure Porch on Wheels is a mobile public space that hosts a wide variety of arts and culture activities. A project of Historic Saranac Lake, it serves the residents of Saranac Lake and the Adirondack region.
When not on the road, the Cure Porch on Wheels is parked behind the Saranac Laboratory Museum in downtown Saranac Lake. The Porch is open during regular museum hours, Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 - 5:00. Stop in to see the Porch and share your memories on the Story Phone today!
2020_cpow_brochure.pdf
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Painting by artist Julie Riker.
a gallery. a studio. a set. a booth. an exhibit. a workshop. a stage. a classroom.

How will you use the porch?

A Shared Space
The Cure Porch on Wheels is available for use by other organizations and individuals for public events. As a mobile space, it allows us to move beyond the walls of our organizations to connect with the public in new places. The possible uses are many! It can serve as a warming hut at outdoor winter activities, or a studio for plein air painters. The Cure Porch on Wheels is built on a trailer, and can be towed to a variety of locations. Complete with a wheelchair lift, lights, electrical outlets, and solar power, the Porch is an affordable venue that can be used in even the most remote locations. The Porch is also heated for year round use! Visit our 
Reserve page to see the Porch specifications. 
​An Architectural Model
The Cure Porch on Wheels is a symbol of our Saranac Lake's unique architecture and heritage. Historic Saranac Lake brings the Cure Porch on Wheels to the hamlets, neighborhoods, and special places of the North Country for a variety of place-based outreach activities that raise awareness of local architecture and history. The Porch also serves as a venue to record the voices and stories of community members as part of its Oral History Project. 
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Find out more

Why A Porch?


This project draws on the American cultural tradition of a front porch—a place to visit with neighbors and enjoy the outdoors. In the early 1900s, Saranac Lake welcomed thousands of tuberculosis patients to come for the “fresh air cure”. These patients spent most of their time on specially built “cure porches” that allowed them to experience the restorative effects of fresh air and to socialize with other residents despite the contagious nature of tuberculosis. As a symbol of our local history, the Cure Porch on Wheels is a fitting venue for a variety of arts and culture programs.

How we got here

2010
Historic Saranac Lake attends a regional conference and learned about a traveling porch created by artist Bryony Graham at Salem Art Works.
2016
Historic Saranac Lake awarded NEA Artworks Grant to design the Cure Porch on Wheels
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2017
​We call it the "Traveling Cure Porch". The Porch is initially designed on a truck.
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2017
​Historic Saranac Lake hires Don Rumble Carpentry to work on the Cure Porch on Wheels.
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2018
Historic Saranac Lake meets 2017 fundraising goal to build the Cure Porch on Wheels, thanks to many generous donors and foundations.
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2018
Historic Saranac Lake begins collaboration with BOCES Building Trades students and instructor Clarence Brockway.
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2018
Construction on the Cure Porch on Wheels begins with the construction of the steel frame by Don Rumble
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2019
The Cure Porch on Wheels is unveiled in the Winter Carnival Parade!
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2019
The Story Phone becomes a permanent feature of the Cure Porch on Wheels!
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2012
​Historic Saranac Lake begins planning Porch design.
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2017
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Project Director travels around the country to present the Cure Porch on Wheels to the Oral History Association, American Alliance of Museums, and the American Association for State and Local History.
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2017
We decide to build the Porch on a trailer. The Cure Porch on Wheels is born.​
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2017
​Historic Saranac Lake buys the trailer and handicap lift for the Cure Porch on Wheels.
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2018
Historic Saranac Lake receives a New York State Council of the Arts grant to continue work on the Cure Porch on Wheels.

2018
Designer Melissa Kline and engineer Wiley Lavigne create the final plans for the Porch, complete with heat, solar power, and a handicap lift.
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2018
The Cure Porch on Wheels gets a makeover! Inspired by the "Little Red" cure cottage, Historic Saranac Lake decides to paint the Porch barn red.
2019
The Grand Opening of the Cure Porch on Wheels. Thank you to all the volunteers and donors who made this possible. Special thanks to Marty Rowley, our lead volunteer.
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Porch Builders

Thank you to everyone who helped build the Porch! Without your construction skills, design expertise, towing assistance, and more, this project would not have been possible. We appreciate support from: Adams Brothers Painting; Jay Annis and Spencer Boat Works; Bob Bevilacqua and Carcuzzi; Paula Blanchard; Clarence Brockway and BOCES; Richard Fletcher; Garrett Foster and Miles Gillette of Garrett Foster Roofing; Lee Foster; Earl Gardner; Ken Gochenaur; Bryony Graham and Salem Artworks; Harlow Excavating; Haselton Lumber; Andy Kelly, Melissa Kline and Maple Lane Design and Drafting; Lamb Lumber; Wiley Lavigne and Adirondack Inspection Services & Engineering; Bill Madden and Madden’s Transfer and Storage; Mike Mahoney, Stephen Kemp, Tyler Legault, Mike Holmes, Shawn Barney, and Austin Proper of Blue Moon Builders; Jim Meade; Bill Plumb and Adirondack White Pine Cabins; Martin Rowley; Don Rumble Carpentry; Jesse Schwartzburg and Black Mountain Architecture; and Marc Wanner. 

Supporters of the Porch

Thank you to the many generous donors and foundations who made this project possible: Katherine Bachman, Lucy Jones Berk, Sally and Sandy Berk, Kay and Marvin Best, Cole & Brandon Campbell, Charles and Jane Carroll, Jim and Kathy Clark, Cloudsplitter Foundation, CycleADK, Tom and Nancy Downs, Drumcliff Foundation, Lisa Dumas, Donna Evans, Dorothy Federman, Kathy Ford, Julia B. Frank, Eileen Gerrish, Priscilla Goss, Steven and Sunita Halasz, Arthur and Kathy Handley, Sandra Hildreth, Carol Jackman, Katherine Judd, Natalie Leduc, Richard and Diane Loeber, Jean Mason, Kevan Moss and Steven Horne, J.M. McDonald Foundation, Janet Mueller, Edward and Nancy Murphy, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Dorothy Pecora, Andy Rawdon, Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, Judy Rush, Helen and Ritter Shumway Foundation, Ned and Patricia Trudeau, Ursula Trudeau, Craig and Connie Weatherup, David and Holly Wolff, and Members of Historic Saranac Lake, and our thanks for several generous anonymous donations.
The Cure Porch on Wheels is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 
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Help us make the cure porch on wheels a sustainable part of the Saranac Lake community.

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  • Home
  • About
    • About the Porch
    • Oral History Project
    • Historic Saranac Lake
  • Events
    • Events on the Porch
    • Reserve the Porch
  • Story Phone
  • Resources
    • Online Resources
    • A How-To Guide
    • Porch Schematics
    • Energy Options for Cure Porches
    • Porch Brochure
  • Support
  • Historic Saranac Lake