The Hurlbut St. Garage by Ken Klapp

A few days ago I had the opportunity to drive through the Albany neighborhood where I spent the first 15 years of my life! I had mixed emotions as drove past 72 Hurlbut Street which is now an empty lot (Photo 1). Most readers will probably remember that site as the former Carosello Bakery, popular for about 30 years for extraordinary baked breads and pastries. I remember dozens of people raving about Carosello’s but I, regrettably, never stopped in.

My memories go back to the 1950’s when that building was home to the Hurlbut Street Garage (Photo 2). From the 1920s to the early 1960s my grandfather, Matthias Klapp, owned and operated a service station and storage facility there (Photo-3). As with most family businesses, my father and uncle both worked in the garage until they enlisted in the army when the U.S. entered World War II.

The garage was located next to School #18, where I spent my elementary school years (1955-1962) and I would often stop by. My grandfather was a talented mechanic and I would usually find him underneath a car. No lifts in those days; cars were jacked up using a huge floor jack. Repairs that are routinely performed standing up today were done laying on your back on a ‘skateboard’ like contraption called a mechanics creeper. Every so often he’d ask me to hand him a wrench - usually I’d get the wrong size but he was patient with me. I still have a few of his old tools (photo-4)!

“As with most family businesses, my father and uncle both worked in the garage until they enlisted in the army when the U.S. entered World War II”

Additional space in the garage was rented by a local bakery (I think it was the New York Bakery) to park their delivery trucks overnight. I remember the place never smelling like oil, grease or gasoline for it always had the aroma of bread and donuts coming from the trucks. Occasionally one of the drivers would leave a bag of hard rolls with him and he’d drop them off at our house.

“I remember the place never smelling like oil, grease or gasoline for it always had the aroma of bread and donuts coming from the truck”

Sadly the building was demolished back in June of 2019, but thanks to the Historic Albany Foundation we were able to salvage the original sign (nearly 100 years old)! Two more generations of Klapps get to stand by it (photo-5)!

After he retired, I can still remember my grandfather’s favorite quote about the quality of the current mechanics - “The best mechanics are six feet under!”

#WeSaveAlbanysStories

Thank you so much to Ken for sharing is family’s story and their connection to the garage - we couldn’t think of a better beginning to this project.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4