Today is the print deadline for #Feast2023 - if you would like your business to be in the invitation (sent to over 2500 households in the Capital Region) or you would like your name as part of the Honorary Commitee. 

Call Kim at 518 465 0876 ext 110 or you can do both the honorary committee and sponsorship virtually using the links below:
Honorary Committee - www.historic-albany.org/feast-hc
Sponsorship - https://www.historic-albany.org/news/2023/1/27/feast-sponsorship
What does this mean you/your business could be a part of?
-Providing low and free-cost programs that educate and empower (our tours and free hands-on workshops)
-Assisting people who need help with their historic houses
-Advocating for the architecture of the city
-Operating our ever-growing salvage Warehouse 
- Running our new Tool Lending Library.

Join the Honorary Commitee

Sponsor Feast 2022
 
First Fridays @48 Hudson

Free 25 minute tours

Come and see the progress we have made at 48 Hudson, the oldest building in Albany!   Speak with our knowledgeable staff to learn more about this building’s story, what makes it so special, and our organization's future plans for its future.

Join here

Welcome to HAF, Kirsten

Meet our new Admin Assistant, Kirsten Kellersberger

"I'm so excited to join the team here at Historic Albany! I moved to New York last April and have been volunteering since my third day in town. My background is in the nonprofit and education sectors. I'm deeply invested in restoration and hope to one day own my own historic home that I can pour entirely "too much" time, effort, and money into."

Book Club is Nearly Here!

Mon Feb 27th 6.15pm

The Book Club is this coming Monday! Join HAF and the NYS Writers Institute. Explore life in old Albany through the pages of this coming-of-age story set in downtown in the 1930s at 6.15pm.

Above: The "Meehan Warren" on Pearl Street, a setting in the book

Join here

48 Hudson Tax Credit Cultivation

Part of the funding pie for the House's restoration includes the sale of roughly $950,000 of Federal and New York State tax credits through the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. These credits are a critical part of many large-scale rehabilitation projects and are used by mostly for-profit developers.  As a not-for-profit, HAF cannot use the credits ourselves, but we can sell the credits to others who can. We are using a crowdfunding approach to our tax credits which will give the community a chance to be involved in the project. 

Last Thursday, we held our first invite-only workshop and are now putting the information out to the public. The workshop explained how individuals with an annual income of less than $250,000, real estate professionals, and corporations can invest in the project to receive the tax credits. We were happy to welcome our consultants Will Bradshaw from Reimagine Fund in New Orleans, Rich Rogers from Yots Law, and Jake Walsh from Common Owner, both out of Buffalo. We had a lovely audience of about 40 individuals who have supported 48 Hudson with lots of good questions and interest. All of the questions and feedback generated will go on the Common Owner portal here: commonowner.com/project/48-hudson

Right now we are "testing the waters" and gathering interest while we finalize the last few details of the offering. As we get closer to the full launch in the spring we will be scheduling more workshops to introduce the topic and how the tax credits work.  The offering site is up now for anyone to peruse. 

We will also be resuming our First Friday tours on March 3rd where we will talk more about the tax credits. Please do reach out to Cara at [email protected] with questions or interest! 

Heritage Marker Program announcement

The city of Albany and its surrounding towns hold a deep wealth of history, many of which remains unknown to the public. Much of this history has happened in ordinary homes and buildings that we walk past every day; and in neighborhoods and on streets that have never seen a historical marker. We owe it to ourselves as preservationists and historians to help recognize these locations and tell their stories for generations to come. 

I am pleased to announce Historic Albany Foundation's newest initiative; the Heritage Marker Program. Each year, a dedicated committee within HAF will choose a building or structure that has helped shape our area's past. When I became board president nearly three years ago, this was something I felt tie in HAF's core message of preservation and my love of local history. Public recognition can lead to proper care and maintenance of historic structures, saving them from demolition in the future.

What is the criteria? The building or structure must still exist; sorry all you Tweddle Hall lovers. While not a hard and fast rule, we plan to focus on neighborhoods, minorities and women that have been underrepresented in our community. 

We need your help! You will be able to submit nominations for places you think should be recognized. You can also help by donating money to the cause. Details and requirements can be found on our website.

For our first Heritage Marker, 2023 'marks' quite the anniversary in Albany's history. 150-years-ago this year, the city's color barrier was broken and African Americans would attend Albany Free Academy (Albany High School) for the very first time. Arabella Chapman, an 1877 graduate, was the only Wilberforce Academy student to pass the school entrance exam and be admitted. To honor this special occasion, our inaugural marker will be Arabella Chapman's home in the West Hill neighborhood. Several years after graduating high school, she and her husband, Clarence Miller, moved to North Adams, MA where they raised their children until moving back to Albany in the early 20th century. Arabella Chapman lived at 247 Second Street from 1914 until her death at the age of 67 in 1927. Unfortunately, her childhood home on Hamilton Street was demolished more than 130-years-ago.

We owe it to ourselves to help share the stories of remarkable people and events while preserving what we still have left from them.

Historic Albany Board President, Matt Malette 

Learn more

Watch the segment on Spectrum by HAF Board President, Matt Malette

Tool Librarian Training Next Week
Become Part of the Team

I want to become a Librarian

We will be having Tool Lending Library Training on March 1st, 5-6pm, at 89 Lexington Ave 12206. If you would like to learn more about becoming part of the program, please feel free to join. You can also call Kim on 518 465 0876 ext 110 for more information. If you can't make these times but are still interested, contact us.

We ask all librarians to volunteer 20 hours over the year, and everyone receives a complimentary membership.

What's New in the Warehouse
Come in Out of the Cold…

And let the sunlight in with this vestibule!
Donated from the Saratoga area, this vestibule consists of two side walls each with three panels and a stationary window; a two-panel storm door with one stationary window; and two six-pane sidelites. The glass in each component is heavy and very wavy.

It looks like, perhaps, this vestibule was made of reworked components that may have originally had five panels and no glass.

Side walls, each: 45 5/8” x 116”
Storm door: 36” x 91”
Sidelites, each: 19 ¾” x 87 ¼”
$350

Casing the Joint…
With these giant faux-grained circa-1850 Greek Revival window casements. We have at least one complete unit and one partial. How can we tell that these are Greek Revival? The “ears” that step out at the top corners are one sure giveaway.

If you’re building out a new space and want handsome window framing, come on in and give these a look. While you’re here, notice how the wood graining was applied (you can see the layering) and the trompe l’oeil panel with shadowing.

Exterior dimensions: 50” x 101”
Opening dimensions: 35 ¼” x 66 ½”
$125 each

Wanted…
Old house parts, especially…

-porcelain doorknobs
-panel doors
-clawfoot tubs (if delivered or accessible at ground level)
-pedestal and farmhouse sinks
-mantels

Instagram: @architectural_parts_warehouse
Facebook: HistoricAlbanyPartsWarehouse

News

Plastering Class this Spring!

"This course will provide you with an introduction to the basics of plaster restoration/repair and a working knowledge of basic flat and run plaster skills as they relate to the rehabilitation of historic buildings. Through hands-on labs, lectures and field trips, you will learn about the repair and restoration of walls and ceilings with lime and gypsum plasters, with a focus on tool skills and application techniques, proper surface preparation and the business of plastering, as well as how to create knives and support systems for run plaster moldings and medallions. You will also be introduced to the concepts of assessment and structural investigation."

Learn more >>

Debating the Role of Women in the Dutch Golden Age

"Presented by the New Amsterdam History Center and the New-York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History"

Learn more >>

Historian Job Opening, Great Camp Sagamore, Raquette Lake, New York

"The Historian hires, trains, and supervises a team of seasonal Interpreters to guide public tours
of the campus and camp-related infrastructure sites in the nearby forest. The Historian also
serves as an Interpreter. The successful candidate will further refine an intricate narrative of the
camp’s main characters, its historical antecedents, and its place in the wider phenomenon of the
Great Camps of the Adirondacks.
For more information contact: Emily Martz, Executive Director, [email protected] "

The Former St. Jospehs Church is For Sale 

"High potential for federal and state funding, including Historic tax credits, Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), Community and Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding."

Learn more >>