Most visitors are so focused on enjoying the world of entertainment on display at the New York State Fair that they may not notice that the regal buildings providing a foundation for this fabulous festival have been spruced up. Acting Director Troy Waffner gave State Fair Hound the scoop on the updated buildings.

“At the Center if Progress building, we made the south wing of it, which goes into the restaurant, ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compatible,” Waffner explained. “We replaced the south entrance of the Center of Progress because it was deteriorating. We put in a new ramp there.

We uncovered the old, brick steps on the Dairy Products building and restored them. We did some work on the International Building. The cornice pieces were deteriorating. We replaced those. We brought in a masonry company that specializes in historic masonry and they’ve cleaned the buildings so it gives us a really good sense of what’s underneath some of the dirt, where they need to be repointed, whether the seams need to be redone. The plan is to continue that.

The Art and Home Center is an ongoing project. We got the slate roof replaced with another slate roof. We also replaced the main columns on because they were deteriorating. We also washed the art deco tile around the Horticulture. It was repaired where needed. It was actually in very good shape.”

As terrific as the grounds look with the middle opened up, expanding the midway and RV park areas, it’s the century-old buildings than make the New York State Fairgrounds special. “When you walk in you get that sense of the history of the fair,” Waffner said. “It’s what sets us apart from a lot of other fairs. When you go to the Arizona State Fair, they’re really like post-World War II tin buildings. But you come here and you’ve got these gorgeous old buildings.”