Red Hill Fire Observation Station
Why it's listed
Red Hill Fire Observation Station sits on the 2,990-foot summit of Red Hill in the Catskill Forest Preserve, in the town of Denning. It consists of a 60-foot steel lookout tower prefabricated by the Aermotor Corporation and erected in 1920, plus a small frame observer's cabin from 1931. The site was chosen in 1919 to cover an area on the south slope of the Catskills that existing stations did not reach. The cabin, clad in reddish-brown waney-edge siding on a rubble foundation, is one of three of its standard type built that year and remains among the oldest of its kind. Observers served here from 1919 until the station closed in 1989, making it the last Catskill fire tower to shut down. Public access ended in the early 1980s when the jeep trail across private land was posted. Restoration work began after a new foot trail was cut in 1997.
Significance in brief: The station is significant under criteria A and C for its association with the New York State Forest Preserve. It is a representative example of an early twentieth-century fire observation station. Its 1931 observer's cabin is one of the oldest surviving observer's cabins of the Conservation Commission's standard type.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01001030, listed September 23, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Red Hill, Denning |
|---|---|
| County | Ulster County |
| Listed | September 23, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01001030 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1920-1950 |
| Architect / builder | Aermotor Corporation (tower manufacturer) |
| Architectural style | NO STYLE/Utilitarian (fire tower); Rustic (cabin) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Entertainment/Recreation, Conservation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as not in use. The tower is intact and undergoing repair, with stair treads, some steel members and window glazing replaced in kind. The cabin is intact but unused, with its roof temporarily tarped awaiting repair. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.92366, -74.51736 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01001030.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7304273
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.