#EndangeredAlbany 168 Clinton Avenue
/“It has a Scarlett letter. It appears to be wider, higher, deeper and newer than its neighbors. There are no other like it in the area” - Gordan Mowbray
When driving past the many rowhouses in Clinton Avenue’s historic district, you might have spotted this unique Queen Anne-style building, with its beautiful projecting gabled pavilion. One of our supporters suggested adding the building to our #EndangeredAlbany list (see below for more information) and we have to agree! The building has been red Xd for a while, with no work done within the past year at least.
Let’s take look at the history of this building:
> It was built in 1880
> It is a Queen Anne-style building, one of the “popular Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910.”
> The features of this rowhouse include a false gable and iron crest-rail, as well as a bay window, and decorative panels. It is 3 and a half stories and is 3 bays wide (see inventory sheet)
> It is part of the Clinton Avenue Historic District which was recognized in 1981. The district covers 70 acres, with 600 of the properties rowhouses of different architectural styles. This area has the “greatest concentration of such houses in the city of Albany”, with the predominant style being Italianate. Many of the building were built as speculative housing for the emerging middle class during the 19th century.
Who Called it Home?
The lot was previously owned by Martin White, a builder, who used it as a stable. Mrs Mary Van Wormer (Irish born) lived there first with her husband and child - both of whom were store clerks. Additionally, the Van Wormers also had tenants - a Mr Harlan Draper, a bookkeeper, and his wife. This property was later bought in 1900 by John Murtagh, an Irish-born junk dealer. He lived at the property with his wife and one servant. He then moved out and rented it to tenants. In 1913 to 1924, it was owned by Peter Riley, and then from 1924-1951, it was owned by a laundry pressman, Nicholas Robilatto.
Coty of Albany Assessment Rolls, Directories & Federal Census 188, 1900, NYS Census 1905
Begun in 2000 and issued every five years, Historic Albany Foundation designates an Endangered List for the City of Albany to raise awareness and guide our advocacy efforts. The Endangered List draws attention to buildings, properties, and landmarks that suffer from vacancy, disinvestment or inappropriate development pressure, and are often potential targets for emergency demolition. It takes about 10+ years from a building to go from endangered to saved IF and only if the stars align and a responsible owner with a plan and funding can be found AND that owner can obtain the building. Given this, the list doesn’t change very often. HAF’s Endangered Historic Resources List has highlighted the same large and white elephant buildings for nearly 20 years. This year we are shaking things up a bit. WE are not issuing a list of buildings that we care about and are concerned about. YOU ARE!
We will be using the hashtag #EndangeredAlbany to do monthly blog posts about endangered buildings that are of concern to a member of the public. Updates to the past Endangered List buildings will be done monthly using #EndangeredAlbany as well.
