We are heartbroken at the destruction of the Kenwood Convent to a devastating fire.  

The Albany Fire Department, Police Department, and other first responders, who remain on the still smoldering site, worked heroically and at great personal risk to control the fire which had already engulfed the building. Their service reminds us of the personal cost and threat posed by the irresponsible actions and inaction of this property owner.    

Irresponsible property owners are the recurring theme in Albany’s struggle against abandoned buildings and the loss of historic structures and neighborhoods.  In the case of Kenwood, many failed sales and planned development projects have left this property vacant since 2009.  The current owner, when beginning the development project, removed windows and doors for future replacement, but abandoned the project, leaving the main building open to the elements which led to significant deterioration.  Despite the City’s best efforts to board up and monitor these privately owned buildings, they were plagued by vandals and squatters.  Its Isolated location and the lack of any smoke alarms or security system made the buildings an easy target for those determined to get in. 

In the coming days, the fire inspectors will be drawing conclusions about the origin of the fire.  Those of working to preserve Albany’s historic buildings and neighborhoods will also be busy. Are there policies and procedures that could have prevented this catastrophe? Are there ways to better monitor or control the condition or illegal uses of privately owned, but vacant buildings? What can we do differently that may work better? 

In short, what comes next?  Historic Albany Foundation is committed to forming a working group with the City of Albany, neighborhood associations, additional preservation groups, and other interested parties to improve approaches to the treatment and monitoring of vacant buildings and threatened historic communities. We will also be working to help shape the future of Kenwood, including both the remaining structures and the historic landscape.

Several Historic Albany representatives were on the site this morning.  It is difficult to describe the devastation we witnessed and the deep sense of loss we shared with those who were there.  Over the years, we have worked hard to change, create and influence the practices and policies that should preserve the built history of our city. Our commitment to this has only been reinforced by this loss and the ones that have preceded it. 

Read the Timeline

Advocate for Preservation in NYS

EPF Fund

While the Governor’s budget proposal includes robust funding for the Environmental Protection Fund overall, a closer look at the numbers reveals a proposed $1 million cut to the Historic Preservation Grant Program within the EPF. This program is one of the few sources of bricks-and-mortar funding for preservation projects in our state, and the need is much greater than the available funding every year.  48 Hudson is one of the recipients of this program. A generous EPF grant will fund the construction and architectural services for the original 1728 house's restoration.

We’re asking all preservation advocates to reach out to their state legislators. Click the following two links to email Assemblymembers Patricia Fahy and John McDonald III.

Tickets For Our Annual Gala and Fundraiser, Feast

Support Historic Albany Foundation's Mission and have  great time!

We will be at the NYS Museum on April 22nd with music, food, drinks, and 11 bespoke windows designed to reflect the city of Albany - plus our amazing virtual auction open to all.

We hope you can make it and if not, please feel free to bid online. 

Join here

Thank you to the
Community Loan Fund

We are gearing up to go back under construction this summer restoring the facade and lowering the roof of the 1728 Van Ostrande-Radliff House. The plywood will come off and an 18th-century Dutch house will begin to take shape. This labor of love is made possible by a generous Environmental Protection Fund grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. This grant is reimbursable, paying Historic Albany back after work has been completed.

To make it possible to pay our contractors and keep the project moving, the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region has given Historic Albany a $500,000 bridge loan. We could not be more grateful for their support. 

The Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) serving the 11 counties of the Capital Region (Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington). Incorporated in 1985, their mission is to promote sustainable community development efforts for economically underserved people and communities. They provide access to lending capital by pooling investment and donations from socially concerned individuals and organizations and re-lending it to nonprofit organizations and small businesses. Similarly, they also offer free training and technical assistance programs for small business owners and nonprofit leaders. Together, they are strengthening communities and changing lives.

 "The Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region is proud to support the Historic Albany Foundation as they renovate 48 Hudson Avenue to house their administrative offices, tool library, as well as creative meeting and workshop space. Historic Albany Foundation has a long history of working to uplift underrepresented communities and to be inclusive of these groups, which aligns perfectly with CLF’s mission statement," says Michael Martin, Director of Community Relations and Development at the Community Loan Fund. 

Introducing the new Neighborhood Specialists
City of Albany

"We are excited to introduce you to the new Neighborhood Specialists that have been assigned throughout the entire City of Albany. Their names and contact information can be found below and attached.  Check out our new website at https://www.albanyny.gov/2152/Neighborhood-and-Community-Services

The Neighborhood Specialists will be working directly with Neighborhood Associations, residents, businesses and organizations in their defined areas to connect people with services and information as well as be involved with and keep current on ongoing projects and initiatives in your areas.

What's New in the Warehouse

“Frequency Illusion” and “Tessellation”

What, the—? Why are we bringing up these strange, apparently non-house terms? I mean, they seem like they should be related to one another, but what do they have to do with the Warehouse?

“Frequency illusion” is the term used to refer to the phenomenon where a person notices something, and then that thing seems to pop up everywhere. It’s relevant to this week’s New in the Warehouse because ever since we shared the fact that you can remove panels from old doors and fit the openings with glass, said modified doors have been cropping up in the Warehouse.

Here’s the most recent: a pair of modified cross-panel doors with two panels replaced with privacy glass.

Variously also called “obscure,” “patterned,” or “figured” glass, privacy glass has been rolled, embossed, etched, chipped, ground, or blasted to partly or fully obscure vision through a piece of glass while still allowing light through. Sometimes this treatment results in a simple frosted appearance, while others in something more fanciful.

In the case of these two modified doors, the glass has been rolled with a pattern of repeating, interlocking three-armed swirl figures. This M.C. Escher-esque technique that pushes a viewer’s mind closer to the edge of infinity is known as “tessellation.” Tessellation is also sometimes seen in other architectural details, like mosaic floors as well as interior and exterior moldings. Brickwork with a consistent pattern can also be said to be “tessellated.”

These two doors could likely tell a story. As mentioned, they have been modified with glass; one has hinges and a doorknob escutcheon, while the other does not. It appears that the one sans hinges had been nailed in place and is slightly taller at 84 ¼” while the other door measures 83 ½”. Both are 30” wide. $225/pair

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Click Here to View the More Information About Historic Albany Foundation : Statement on the Devastating Fire at the Kenwood Convent