Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 

This year has been a very special one for Historic Albany Foundation in many ways.  Our organization turning 50-years-old honors an incredible milestone and achievement.  The year gave us not only an opportunity to look back and reflect on how far we have come, but also to see how far we still have to go with preservation efforts in our community.

We celebrated our 50th golden anniversary year with a sold-out Gala in May, followed by Built: The Disco Ball art auction in November.  We welcomed best-selling author Russell Shorto to both our annual book club and the Matthew Bender IV Lecture in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Albany’s Dutch roots, hosted monthly DIY workshops in conjunction with our Tool Lending Library and new Tool Truck, hosted 3 sold-out lectures at the Albany Institute, and conducted 10 unique walking tours in neighborhoods throughout the City of Albany. 

With our mission-driven advocacy work we…

- presented 15 Preservation Merit Awards to projects large and small

- worked with the City of Albany on building repairs to St. Joe’s and strategized new and different ways to promote the sale and use of “white elephant” buildings, such as Bath House No. 2 in the South End

- updated our Endangered Building List 

- received Historic Resources Commission approval of our proposed new local historic district for the Holland Avenue Tudors (pending Common Council approval) 

- Our technical services calls increased dramatically this year, with many more site visits for first time home buyers, helping them plan their “new” homes’ repairs. 

Our Architectural Salvage Parts Warehouse also had a tremendously busy year in sales and customer traffic.  We have been fortunate to receive donations of incredible inventory that is in demand in historic neighborhoods where there is an increased sense of pride in preservation.

And because that’s not enough to keep us all busy … as we write this, we enter into the third and final phase of construction of the Van Ostrande Radliff House (48 Hudson Avenue) with a project completion date of just one year from now!  We cannot wait for everyone to see the newly unveiled façade that harkens back to the house’s construction in 1728.

And how do we do all that we do - with your help and support!  We have a dedicated corps of volunteers from our Board of Directors and Advisory Board, event and program committees, Warehouse and Tool Library volunteers, office help, members, donors, sponsors, partners and more!  And as we close out the calendar year, I want to personally say a huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who help us do what we do each day.

See you in the new year! 

Pam Howard

What's New in the Warehouse?

The Parts Warehouse is open!
Friday, December 27 Noon-4pm
Saturday, December 28 9am-4pm

Friday, January 3 Noon-4pm
Saturday, January 4 9am-4pm

We will be CLOSED on New Years Day!

Regular Warehouse hours:
Wednesday 12-6 pm
Friday 12-6 pm
Saturday 9-4 pm

Address:
89 Lexington Avenue, Albany NY 12206

NEWS

Free Lead EPA Training from the Cornell Cooperative Extension

January 7, 2025 8am-5pm 
at the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center (EOC)
431 River Street, Troy, NY 12180

See the flyer with all January dates here! 

Registration is required, sign up here!