“The Cochecton Pump House is a truly unique project, unlike anything we’ve seen nominated for our Excellence Awards before,” said Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo. “The ingenuity it took to see the potential in this ruin is inspiring, and we applaud the project team for turning the site into an amenity for the community.”
David Lieber and Jin Zhang, proprietors of the 1879 Cochecton Pump house, a “historic relic of the industrial revolution,” were recognized for transforming the overgrown building into an ever- evolving dining establishment with live performances and cultural events.
You won’t need a passport to get authentic German cuisine—just head over to Sullivan County. The two-year-old Cochecton Pump House offers up crispy schnitzel sandwiches, Bavarian pretzels, brats, and a wide selection of local wine and beer on tap. But what really makes this spot special is the setting: a once-abandoned 19th-century brick building that has been transformed into an open-air beer garden, complete with hundreds of twinkling string lights and a stage for artists to bring the (pump) house down. Come for live music Thursdays–Sundays, along with the occasional dance party.
Take happy hours outdoors: Ahead of dinner at The Heron, Detour to Cocheton Pump House. Locals Jin Zhang and Dave Lieber recently reimagined the abandoned brick structure as an open-air gathering spot for live music and craft beer.
New York’s Catskills: How To Spend 48 Hours In Sullivan County
"The newest weekend hot spot in Sullivan County, or at least what counts as such a thing in the Catskills, is the Cochecton Pump House. Food trucks provide sustenance to revelers who descend for live music and local beers served inside the red brick shell of an abandoned 1879 oil pump station."
Issue No.16: Back On The Map Cochecton Pump House
“OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE STRUCTURE, WE WANTED TO GIVE IT A SECOND CHANCE AND APPROACHED IT AS A HISTORICAL PRESERVATION RATHER THAN A RENOVATION.”
DORIS CHEVRON 10/8/2021
New places to eat and drink in Hudson Valley in 2021
"they purchased the property in the summer of 2020 and transformed the remaining four brick walls into an epic stage for a now buzzing open-air gathering space that officially opened in late June. Sample food and drink from a rotating line-up of food trucks, or watch out for pop-up events, screenings, exhibits, and performances, not to mention the occasional dance party framed by the ruinous beauty of the space."
Bringing down the pump house
"Technically Speaking,” a fiscally sponsored project of Act Underground, recently packed the Cochecton Pump House on Route 97."
Abandoned building gets new life
"Known as a secret place that locals explored, now those weeds and brush have been cleared and the brick building will be restored to stand strong once again.."
Celebrating the old, welcoming the new.
"Since 1879, the red brick pump station building has stood proud, tall and seemingly indestructible at the intersection of State Route 97 and County Route 116"