Downtown Historic Architecture Tour Planned

Riverhead has a rich history and scores of longtime residents with experiences to share about the town's storied past.

To that end, a Downtown Historic Architecture Tour of Main Street with Richard Wines, chairman of Riverhead's Landmarks Preservation Committee,  will take place on July 16. The tour will begin at 5:30 p.m. by the Riverhead Grilll, with an after party to follow at the Grill. Tour is by donation. 

The tour is one of a series of community events planned in conjunction with the "Eyes on Main Street" exhibit currently on view in downtown Riverhead.

The art project aims to let individuals see Riverhead through another's eyes.

The community-based public art installation, created by Flanders resident and artist Andrea Cote and sponsored by the East End Arts Council, seeks to shine a light on the "rich and varied spaces and stories of Riverhead's citizens, drawing upon oral histories with a visual twist," Cote wrote, in her project description.

Using a unique concept -- photos of residents' eyes, which are imposed on cloth blindfolds - the project involves local residents, who can help to create video portraits, where they give voice to their own personal histories in Riverhead.

Cote filmed 12 video portraits of local personalities, business owners, and others who come together to create the canvas of Riverhead.

The interviews - which include talks with Riverhead locals including Pat Snyder of the East End Arts Council, Bob Spiotto of The Suffolk Theater, Maryanne McElroy, a business owner, teacher, and choir director, Anthony Meras of The Star Confectionary, known as "Papa Nick's, and others -- Cote said, are filled with stories, anecdotes, and memories.

After unveiling the project with "blindfolds," which features prints in the shape of eyes of Riverhead residents, at the 17th Annual Riverhead Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival on Memorial Day weekend, Cotes worked to transform the windows of empty storefronts on Main Street.

Posters were created to be visible throughout downtown; multiple copies of 12 different photographs containing photographs of the artist wearing particular blindfolds are accompanied by a website address and “QR code.” When scanned with a smartphone, a video will appear, featuring the "portrait" of the person whose eyes Cotes is wearing. 

"You'll be able to see Riverhead through another person's eyes," Cotes said.

Cote, originally from Miami, said she was inspired by Riverhead's rich legacy. "I love this place," she said. "Riverhead has such history."

Currently, eight video portraits are up on the project's website, with four more coming by the end of July. 

"Some wonderful stories are shared, including the after-party football parade filing into Star Confectionary in the 50s heyday of Main Street, and the turn-of-the-century house at the old traffic circle where Route 24 eventually went right through Judy Sky (Leavitt's) family home," Cotes wrote in a letter to supporters.