To educate about historic preservation, Preservation Partners launched a contest in 2014 called "This Place Matters." Twenty-four historic properties in the Tri-Cities and Wayne were nominated and the public voted for their favorite place that mattered. Between June 11 and July 6, 2014, 322 people voted in the online survey. The most popular historic property was Bellevue Place (pictured) at 333 S. Jefferson Street in Batavia. The building was built in 1854 by stone mason William Beith for the Batavia Institute. Its most famous occupant was Mary Todd Lincoln who stayed there for several months after her husband was murdered (see her bed in the Batavia Depot Museum!). Today the building hosts 12 apartments. Others receiving top votes were: 1952 Geneva Glass House, 1872 Challenge Windmill Factory in Batavia, and c. 1855 Hurlbut House in Batavia.
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SOURCES: "Batavia Historic Sites Top the Charts," Advocate (Fall 2014), 1.