CALLICOON  — Since the 1930s, the towering silos on Lower Main Street in Callicoon have stood tall and proud, but as their age starts to show, creatives want to keep them preserved.

The ENGN Civic Creative Center, which is located right next door to the silos, is holding a fundraiser in order to look after landmarks that have become a Callicoon staple.

Interest in saving the silos first sprouted around 2022 when leaks were first noticed coming through the withered roof. Since then, inquiries were started with local builders on how to approach repairs.

“It’s not just patching things up—it’s about preserving the town’s heartbeat,” said the ENGN Team member, Isaac Diebboll. “We’ve been told many times, it’s the most photographed building in town. We want to make historically accurate repairs, secure the structure, and maybe even transform the space into a public viewing tower down the road.”

Diebboll last informed the Democrat the fundraiser has so far raised just over $3,000 of the anticipated $32,000 needed. All that is raised would go to funding roof and siding repairs, lowering the cogs, and potentially a structural study by an engineer for better integrity moving forward.

“I grew up looking at the silos, wondering almost in awe at their scale and size. Like giants. They sit right up against Main Street in a very specific way, and they create something unique about our town,” said Diebboll. “They’re architecturally interesting, and I think they somehow offer people something to dream about. To look up at and wonder at their history and what goes on inside of them. Or even to wonder what the view is like from up there.”

Diebboll described them as towers that “have this very fantastical and romantic storybook quality that makes   [Diebboll] think of castles and fairy tales.”

Back in the day, the silos proved a major aspect in Callicoon’s development. The structure was built after securing a lease with the Eerie Railroad for the coal business. According to ENGN, many people from all over, as far as Monticello and Honesdale, would travel to Callicoon for energy - for the coal brought in on train that was deposited into the silos.

ENGN isn’t the only group in the hamlet that wants to see the silos saved.

“I think it’s amazing,” said Nicole Vallance, President of the Callicoon Business Association (CBA). “The CBA is working with ENGN and planning to do a joint fundraise for Save the Silos. The Business Association feels it’s an important landmark, so it stands as an important landmark of our history and the landscape.”

ENGN strongly believes the silos could most definitely be a historical marker for visitation in the future.

The team noted the “historically interesting” cogs and wheels up at the top. They also suggested the possibility of lowering some of those pieces down to ground level for more ease of viewing.

“Imagine standing up there, looking out at the river and the town,” said Diebboll, “all because we acted today.”