89 Second Avenue by Matt Malette

Lower Second Avenue circa 1951.jpg: This is how lower Second Ave looked in the early 1950s. 89 is visible on the far right side of the image with the former Our Lady Help of Christians Church down the street.

I don’t make it to the South End very much anymore. Growing up in Central New York it was the spot in Albany I visited most. My grandparents lived and worked at 89 Second Avenue and were fixtures of the neighborhood for decades. Most families who live above their business operate something familiar like a bodega or a bakery, but not my family. They lived above their funeral home.

“Most families who live above their business operate something familiar like a bodega or a bakery, but not my family. They lived above their funeral home.”

Sue Dreis 89 Second Ave circa 1958.jpg: My aunt as a toddler sitting on the front stoop with the original wrought iron railing and basement trap-door visible behind her in 1958.

My grandfather, Louis T. Dreis, purchased the property with the plan to continue it as a funeral home. He and my grandmother, Marian, had no inclination of living *in* the funeral home like their predecessors so it was converted to a single family home. The downstairs back bedrooms were remodeled to an office and an embalming room. The kitchen became a smoking room. My grandparents, mom and aunt lived upstairs. They were quite proud of their home and kept it in great condition. It was nothing short of immaculate. The fireplaces and mouldings (along with the bedroom sizes) were all original. Tulips were planted every fall in the front flower bed and tomatoes in the tiny backyard. We can forgive them for the vinyl siding craze that swept the nation in the 1980s. The original wooden siding and cornice still sit hidden and preserved behind it.

“On many visits we had to tiptoe around upstairs because a wake would be in progress downstairs.”

Marian Dreis 89 Second Ave circa 1957.jpg: 89 Second Ave with my grandmother standing next to the Dreis Funeral Home sign after purchasing the home in 1957.

My memories of the place begin in the early 1980’s. It had a large green awning with the Dreis name on the sides. A double set of large wooden front doors with a transom greeted you at the top of the steps. My cousins and I would ride down the banister until we were yelled at. Father Dowling Mysteries and Wheel of Fortune were regular occurrences on their 600 pound wooden encased television. We spent all our holidays and many Sunday dinners there. On many visits we had to tiptoe around upstairs because a wake would be in progress downstairs. On the few days someone wasn’t being buried we would play games in the rooms hopping from chair to chair or hide and seek behind caskets. While there may not have been a service we were rarely “alone” (because dead people). Thinking about it now it was pretty morbid, but it’s further proof that kids can make a playground out of anything. 

In 1995, my grandparents sold the home to Sturgess Funeral Home and they moved their business in with McVeigh on North Allen St. My grandfather died four years later in 1999. My grandmother passed many years later in 2018. On her final drive we took the funeral procession down Second Ave one last time. 89 has long since been boarded up. The tulips are gone and plywood now covers the front doors. The green awning ripped and blowing in the breeze. It was a sad sight for those of us that knew it at its height and it’s probably best she didn’t see it in the state that it’s currently in.

“The tulips are gone and plywood now covers the front doors. The green awning ripped and blowing in the breeze.”

 A large part of me would love to go back inside one more time to see if anything remains besides just the memories. The South End hasn’t had a lot going for it lately. But the bones are good and with good bones anything is possible.

By Matt Malette

89 Second Ave circa 1993.jpg: The funeral home after the Blizzard of ‘93. There’s that green awning.

89 Second Ave 2020.jpg: It has certainly seen better days. The awning is now gone and the front bed is overgrown and collecting trash.

89 Second Ave Entryway 2020.jpg: The front doors are now boarded up but Dreis “D” on front steps, while weathered, still remains .

89 Second Ave Door and Exterior Trim 2020.