After the Marvin House at the northeast corner of Division Street and Broadway in Saratoga Springs was destroyed by fire in 1865, it was quickly rebuilt as the city’s largest hotel. In the early 1880s it was renamed The Arlington Hotel briefly before being purchased by William W. Worden in 1885. He renamed it The Worden Hotel at the request of guests who honored him with a dinner celebrating his purchase. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Worden Hotel: A Short History
Architecture
Posh Portals: Elegant Upper West Side Entrances
Andrew Alpern, author of Posh Portals: Elegant Entrances and Ingratiating Ingresses to Apartments for the Affluent in New York City (Abbeville Press, 2020), says first impressions count when it comes to the luxury buildings of the city, which is what inspired him to write Posh Portals. [Read more…] about Posh Portals: Elegant Upper West Side Entrances
Old Stone Fort Hosting Lecture By Author Chuck D’Imperio
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The Old Stone Fort Museum and Schoharie County Historical Society have announced a virtual lecture with local radio personality and author Chuck D’Imperio, who will give a behind the scenes look at the development of his latest book Open House: 35 Historic Upstate New York Homes, set for Tuesday, June 8th.
[Read more…] about Old Stone Fort Hosting Lecture By Author Chuck D’Imperio
Long Island’s 2021 List of Endangered Historic Places
Preservation Long Island’s Endangered Historic Places List for 2021 includes seven sites and one district facing a variety of threats from demolition and overdevelopment, to a lack of municipal funding and support for historic preservation in communities throughout the region. [Read more…] about Long Island’s 2021 List of Endangered Historic Places
Engineering Theatre: The Brunel Legacy in London & New York
For a long time Rotherhithe was London’s natural port, gaining its name from the Anglo-Saxon term for “landing-place for cattle.” There were shipyards in the area from Elizabethan times until the early twentieth century, and working docks until the 1970s. [Read more…] about Engineering Theatre: The Brunel Legacy in London & New York
A Historic Preservation Success Story in Saratoga
Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has purchased the building located at 65 Phila Street in Saratoga, with plans to restore and preserve the property. [Read more…] about A Historic Preservation Success Story in Saratoga
Troy’s Nathan Dauchy Centerpiece Harmony Hall Still Stands Tall
Downtown Troy developed rapidly throughout the 19th century. The bustling river city saw a devastating fire that ripped through River and First Streets and the surrounding area in 1820. Troy’s business community quickly rebuilt, this time with many more brick buildings. As the century progressed, River Street and the downtown blocks that connected to it saw vast growth and development. [Read more…] about Troy’s Nathan Dauchy Centerpiece Harmony Hall Still Stands Tall
Restoring an Iconic Long Island Landmark
The local drug store used to be a fixture on many a small town main street. For Sayville, Long Island it was Thornhill’s on the corner of Gillette and Main, featuring a marble soda fountain, an iconic neon sign, and the first telephone number in the area.
Preservation architect Matthew La Piana purchased the vacant property in 2018 and spent the next few years bringing it back to life. You’ll hear how on this most recent episode of the Long Island History Project. [Read more…] about Restoring an Iconic Long Island Landmark
Troy’s Washington Park Assoc. Reorganizing After 181 Years
Troy’s Washington Park Association (WPA) is reorganizing after more than 180 years to become a new homeowners association.
Washington Park was laid out in 1840 and is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in New York State. At the time, Troy was an industrial powerhouse and the houses surrounding Washington Park were home to captains of industry and commerce.
The buildings imitated the homes in wealthy New York City neighborhoods. As a stand-in for Gramercy Park, Washington Park provided the “old New York” scenery in films like Martin Scorcese’s The Age of Innocence (1993) and will appear in HBO’s upcoming The Gilded Age (2021). [Read more…] about Troy’s Washington Park Assoc. Reorganizing After 181 Years
Climate-Adaptive Design Opportunity for A Hudson Waterfront Community
There is an opportunity for a Hudson riverfront municipality to host the Cornell University Department of Landscape Architecture’s Climate-adaptive Design studio during Fall 2021.
The studio links Cornell University students in landscape architecture with communities to explore design alternatives for more climate resilient and connected waterfront areas. It’s a collaboration between DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program and the Cornell University Department of Landscape Architecture. [Read more…] about Climate-Adaptive Design Opportunity for A Hudson Waterfront Community