Historic Wood Window Rehabilitation Course Open

The course, in cooperation with the New York State Historic Preservation Office and the Historic Albany Foundation, will provide you with hands-on training in the traditional trade of historic window rehabilitation, including the repair of historic sashes, glazing, frames and weights. You will gain an understanding of fenestration systems used on 19th and 20th century buildings, as well as the basics of the field of historic preservation, weatherization techniques, and where to market your skills.

Students will:

• Plan and execute a window rehabilitation project

• Understand the repair process through lectures, observation and hands-on repair of wood frame windows in a workshop setting

• Gain a broad overview of the history and evolution of windows in America, the materials and construction methods used, and an understanding of typical failures, and the methods used in repairs

Location: The STEAM Garden, 279 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12206

Tuition: $850
Additional Fees: A materials fee will also be assessed. Please request a list of required materials to purchase. Students are encouraged to complete an EPA Lead Safe class before completion of the course.

Delivery of Course:

Instructor-Led (Classroom)
40 hours, 4.0 CEUs, Non-Credit

Advocacy 2022

Because of the recent newspaper articles, Historic Albany Foundation would like to take this opportunity to clarify our mission, advocacy, and preservation efforts in the coming year(s). For the remainder of 2022 and 2023 (at least), we will be located at, and doing business as usual at, our location on Lexington Avenue.

After a successful year of good works in 2021, Historic Albany Foundation is looking forward to renewed and refined advocacy efforts for the new year. As an organization will be focusing on the following four mission-driven projects

1. The Van Ostrande-Radliff House (48 Hudson Avenue)
As you may have recently read in our announcement and in the press, HAF is the recipient of a $500,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation through the Regional Development Council’s CFA process. This money will pay for the restoration of the roof and the exterior of the house, presenting it as the Dutch house it started out as in 1728.

In addition, HAF has announced that we will be making 48 Hudson Avenue our future home. It is our hope, within the next two years, to be able to utilize the entire building to include the HAF offices and Architectural Parts Warehouse, an expanded Tool Library, as well as programming, workshop and meeting space that could be shared with other community organizations. Securing this round of funding has made this goal much more tangible as we move ahead with additional fundraising.

The idea of moving our administration offices and the Warehouse is something that our organization has been considering for a few years. As we look toward our 50th anniversary in 2024, we are looking at ways to strengthen our mission, our outreach to the community and the neighborhoods that depend on our work, and to offer new, expanded, and different programming, all within our own building. And where better to do that than in the oldest surviving building in Albany, that we are restoring. As construction begins and progresses this year, we will keep everyone updated through our newsletters, website, and with onsite tours.

2. A Better Lexington Avenue
One of HAF’s main advocacy efforts is our own neighborhood: Lexington Avenue and the surrounding streets of West Hill.

HAF leadership has been working with the Albany Police Department, City of Albany Code Enforcement Department, the City of Albany’s Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator, other stakeholders, and business owners to try to make our neighborhood a better and safer place to live, work, and visit. Over the next month, HAF and our neighboring constituents will be applying for a Love Your Block grant to help stabilize our neighborhood, with the help of various City of Albany Departments. Outreach efforts will start to take place now over the winter months, with code sweeps, cleanups, and neighborhood watch events happening throughout the spring and summer months. HAF is taking the lead on these efforts and looks forward to working with members of our immediate community to make a Better Lexington, and beyond for everyone.

3. Annual Restoration Faire
The Restoration Faire is an annual program hosted by Historic Albany to provide assistance to property owners looking to purchase and restore historic buildings in the City of Albany. Over the past several years, the event has hosted in-person and online programming including webinars, Q & As, and a dedicated Facebook group for networking.

The in-person programming includes lectures, demonstrations by seasoned contractors, clinics with expert speakers, and open houses in partnership with the Albany County Land Bank. The Faire traditionally focuses on all phases of rehabilitation beginning with planning and purchasing, design and permitting, stabilization if needed, construction and finishes, and the all-important component: funding. Previous programs on vacancy prevention assistance, permitting, funding, and neighborhood resources remain available and will be updated as offerings change. This program is an annual partnership between Historic Albany Foundation, the City of Albany, and the Albany County Land Bank.

4. The Tool Library
New this year! Historic Albany Foundation and its Architectural Parts Warehouse have been planning and fundraising to launch a Tool Library from our location at 89 Lexington Avenue this spring - thanks to grants from the County of Albany and Bloomberg, Inc., as well as private donors. The aim of this project is to help residents of the Capital Region by providing tools they may not be able to afford/have space for, provide basic safety training, and to conduct workshops to teach people DIY, tool safety, and preservation skills.

Who will Benefit From This?
> Low Income Families & First Time Buyers
For many low-income families and first-time homebuyers, creating an arsenal of tools is expensive, time-consuming, and confusing. The Tool Library will help ease the financial pressure, and democratize access to tools.
> The Environment
Tool lending libraries promote a sharing economy that has a major positive impact on the environment. Instead of tools being purchased for one use, tools are shared in the community, reused, and regularly maintained.
> Local Preservation
By empowering individuals through training, we want to put preservation back in the hands of the public.
> The Community
We want to foster a community-minded program where people can volunteer, learn from each other, interact, and share their experiences. We are looking forward to partnering with many organizations across the Capital Region to reach as many individuals as we can.

You may have noticed that much of this newsletter focuses on the nuts and bolts of preservation. Can we prevent a gaping hole on a block by stabilizing a building instead of tearing it down? Where is the potential for giving an old building new life? How can we give a new owner the tools (figuratively and literally!) to reveal the beauty and comfort in their home and perform routine maintenance? In 2022, we’ll work with our neighbors and community organizations to find ways for more people to enjoy old homes and for old buildings to breathe a new life. Albany’s buildings tell a lot of stories, many of them are just waiting for the next chapter to be written.

Happy New Year!

Want to learn more or have any questions? Email us here

#WhereinAlbany Bleecker Place, Mansion Historic District

Last week’s #WhereinAlbany was two tremendous twins located on Bleecker Place (not to be confused with Bleecker Street located in the Pastures).

The houses on this street were built 1849-51, and there are 15 properties of a similar, simplistic style with touches and nods to Greek Revival & Italianate architecture; both popular in the country at the time.

Some of the homes feature eyebrow dormers (“small arched window that projects into the roof to allow light into an upper story”) as well as simple wooden cornices and pitched roofs. They are 3 bay, frame houses.

Did you know?

This street is part of the Mansion Historic District which was designated in 1982 in the south of the city, so-called due to proximity to the New York State Executive Mansion, the official home of Governors since 1875. This neighborhood was originally known for being the first suburban area in the city, with many wealthy families choosing to build their homes here during the last 18th Century. It borders the South End Historic District.

From Wikipedia: Bleecker is a Dutch-language occupational surname. Bleecker is an old spelling of (linnen)bleker ("linen bleacher"). Most if not all people listed below are descendants of Jan Jansen Bleecker/Bleeker, who came to New Amsterdam in 1658

Proactive Demolition

Emergency demolition is something we have long worked against. We are appreciative that the City of Albany has been working toward a proactive and thoughtful approach to emergency demolitions. Two buildings have been identified to be the first proactive demolitions. These buildings have been assessed by an engineer and cost estimates for stabilization and rehabilitation were obtained from an independent contractor. HAF reviewed the buildings to determine if they had any historic or architectural significance. 

One of the properties, located on First Street in the West Hill neighborhood, was a long abandoned and neglected home that was causing water leakage and damage to the occupied  home next door.  It was determined that the best course of action was to take this property down.

On Wednesday, December 18th, staff and volunteers from HAF went to the property and were able to salvage radiators, doors (with their original hardware), a fantastic corner sink, moldings and more. 

While Historic Albany Foundation does not condone demolitions in the City of Albany, they still do happen.  If there is ever a positive takeaway, it’s having the ability to salvage materials from the home prior to its demise.   This defers some of the materials from the landfill, and into our Architectural Parts Warehouse for sale to raise funds to further our mission.

And in this case, working with Rick LaJoy from Code Enforcement and Sam Wells, the City’s Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator, in a proactive manner has made for the best case of a bad situation.  In addition to parts being salvaged, it is expected that the neighbor in the adjoining home is going to purchase the land once it’s vacant, so the empty lot will be cared for and maintained moving forward.

Lastly, it is worth noting that there has not been an emergency demolition in the City of Albany since early November.