On August 15 to 17, 1969, an estimated 400,000 people traveled by any means possible to the farm of Max Yasgur for the Woodstock Music and Art Festival.
That weekend made history, not only for the massive traffic jams and the convergence of so many people with few incidences, but also for the incredible lineup of talent that took the stage, rain or shine, daylight or moonlight.
The site now includes the Museum of Bethel Woods and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
In 2016, Governor Mario Cuomo of New York applied to have the Woodstock site put onto the National Register of Historic Places. On Tuesday (June 7), Cuomo announced that the application had been accepted and the grounds of the festival added to the registry, adding that the site was a “pivotal moment in both New York and American history”.
According to the National Register site, the criteria for becoming listed is:
The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:
A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
B. That are associated with the lives of significant persons in our past; or
C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
D. That have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.
Being on the registry will allow the curators tax breaks for rehabilitation and consideration for federal preservation money and construction projects.
