It is a big news day in Troy...although we still have a long way to go, we keep hearing about new projects that have a lot of potential for improving the city and continuing the positive momentum.
A few weeks ago, we heard about improvement plans for the lower and upper portions of Congress Street (three separate but related projects). Last week we heard about evolving plans for City Hall (or the future city hall site).
This week, there are articles about redevelopment along the Troy waterfront at the north end of downtown (click link for project web site and see below for more information), as well as efforts to advance redevelopment of architect William Demers' handsome three-story, brick, Renaissance Revival style Haskell School (constructed in 1894) at 150 Sixth Avenue, in the Lansingburgh section of Troy, which has been vacant for quite awhile now.
Demers was the architect of numerous Troy buildings, including the RPI "Approach," Beman Park Hose Co. No. 9 (the subject of BCon's first historic structure report-oriented Preservation Design Studio), several churches, several private residences, and other buildings across New York State. Haskell School is listed in the National and State Register of Historic Places; click the link to read the nomination form.
A few weeks ago, we heard about improvement plans for the lower and upper portions of Congress Street (three separate but related projects). Last week we heard about evolving plans for City Hall (or the future city hall site).
This week, there are articles about redevelopment along the Troy waterfront at the north end of downtown (click link for project web site and see below for more information), as well as efforts to advance redevelopment of architect William Demers' handsome three-story, brick, Renaissance Revival style Haskell School (constructed in 1894) at 150 Sixth Avenue, in the Lansingburgh section of Troy, which has been vacant for quite awhile now.
Demers was the architect of numerous Troy buildings, including the RPI "Approach," Beman Park Hose Co. No. 9 (the subject of BCon's first historic structure report-oriented Preservation Design Studio), several churches, several private residences, and other buildings across New York State. Haskell School is listed in the National and State Register of Historic Places; click the link to read the nomination form.
- Major Development Envisioned for Troy (Chris Churchill, Albany Times Union, 3/13/07) - Details Latham, N.Y.-based developer First Columbia's plans for the waterfront redevelopment in the downtown/North Central area of Troy. First Columbia recently purchased the Hedley Cadillac properties, as well as the former waterfront industrial buildings known as Hedley Park Place and Flanigan Square. The ambitious redevelopment plans, while still in the preliminary stages, call for "new office and condominium buildings, a seven-story hotel, and a waterfront promenade," among other things. The article continues "First Columbia has even taken the unusual step of commissioning a master plan for roughly 25 city blocks in an area bordered by Federal Street to the south and Jay Street to the north. The plan, which dubs the area "The Hedley District," calls for the eventual construction of dozens of buildings in the area just north of downtown and the Green Island Bridge.
- Old Building Has Solid Potential (Kenneth C. Crowe II, Times Union, 3/13/07) - Describes the city's (and others) recent efforts to facilitate and encourage redevelopment of this historic school building near the border of Troy's North Central and Lansingburgh neighborhoods.
- History, Digitized (and Abridged) - (Katy Hafner, New York Times, 3/10/07) - About the potential loss or disappearance from view/memory of historic artifacts and materials because of digitization. Lengthy, but interesting and thought provoking. Reminds me of Nicholson Baker's now long-ago (1994) article in the New Yorker about the disappearance of library card catalogs as libraries moved to online card catalogs and databases.
- Digging for the Roots of America (Donna Kornhaber and David Kornhaber, New York Times, 3/10/07) - Another lengthy but worthwhile read which describes an international conference on the origins of American theater held in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's extensive archeological investigations and research related to the possible reconstruction of the Williamsburg Playhouse, thought to be America's first theater. Includes several research-based elevation and section drawings.
