RECONNAISSANCE-LEVEL SURVEY OF THE DELAWARE AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD 2011-2013 SPONSORED BY The Preservation League of New York State Delaware Area Neighborhood Association & Historic Albany Foundation PRODUCED BY Kimberly Konrad Alvarez, Landmark Consulting LLC 83 Grove Avenue, Albany, NY 12208 www.landmarkconsulting.net Produced March 2013 This project is funded by Preserve New York (2011), a grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts. A reconnaissance-level historic resource survey is the most basic approach for systematically documenting and evaluating historic buildings. The primary purpose is to provide a "first cut" of buildings in a given area that appear by their age and integrity to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Reconnaissance survey involves only a visual evaluation of properties, not an assessment of significance based on associated historical events or individuals. Properties are evaluated and identified as "eligible" in a reconnaissance survey based on criteria of age (must meet National Register age threshold) and integrity requirements. In other words, this means they should retain most of their original appearance and be at least 50 years old. It typically includes an historic overview of the community derived from a cursory review of available sources and a brief discussion of the buildings in the area based on a “windshield” survey. The survey work also involves documenting each site in the survey area, with digital photography, mapping, property identification information and a preliminary eligibility evaluation. Produced March 2013 Kimberly Konrad Alvarez Landmark Consulting LLC 83 Grove Avenue, Albany, NY 12208 518-45-8942 [email protected] With assistance by SUNYAB Planning Student Intern Megan Dawson 3 St. James Street, Albany, NY 12209 612-205-2372 [email protected] This project is funded by Preserve New York (2011), a grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts. Reconnaissance-Level Survey of the Delaware Avenue Neighborhood TABLE OF CONTENTS: I. SURVEY REPORT • Summary of Project • Established Survey Area Boundaries • Historic Context • Bibliography of Research Sources • Survey Results • Recommended Next Steps for Further Study II. APPENDIX - HISTORIC RESOURCE INVENTORY FORMS • Barclay Street • Catalpa Drive • Delaware Avenue • Federal Street • Marinello Terrace • St. James Place • Summit Avenue III. APPENDIX – PHOTOGRAPHS • Property Photo Thumbnails • Historic Photos (ACHOR Engineering Photo Files) IV. APPENDIX - HISTORIC MAPS AND DRAWINGS V. APPENDIX - DATABASE • Color Coded Survey Map • Database Spreadsheets SUMMARY OF PROJECT In May of 2010, at the request of Historic Albany Foundation (HAF) and the Dana Area Neighborhood Association (DANA), Landmark Consulting provided a proposed scope of work to survey a portion of the combined commercial and residential streets within the Delaware Avenue neighborhood. The proposed project was to conduct a reconnaissance level survey which is considered the most basic approach for systematically documenting and evaluating historic buildings by providing a "first cut" of buildings in a given area that appear by their age and integrity to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This proposed scope of work was the basis of a grant application to the Preservation League of New York State for a PreserveNY grant. In September of 2011, DANA was awarded a $5000 grant for this project, substantially less than requested and the project scope and survey boundaries were revised. This survey project began in November of 2011 and spanned through February 2013. This work was conducted by Kimberly Konrad Alvarez, preservation consultant for Landmark Consulting LLC. Research and survey assistance was provided by SUNY Albany Planning student intern, Megan Dawson. Survey Project Objectives & Goals This particular survey project sought to fulfill the following objectives: 1. Identify those individual properties and district boundaries which on the basis of age and retention of integrity warrant further study for possible inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. This process also included determining representative properties already listed on the Register or Local Landmarks Inventory. The identification of these resources involved minimal documentation and data compilation, from which the properties are evaluated and identified as "eligible" based on age and integrity criteria. Specifically this means they should retain most of their original context, appearance and be at least 50 years old (the National Register age threshold). The justifications for these determinations were noted on the individual inventory forms. 2. The identification and characterization of properties documented during the survey deemed ineligible for the National Register and therefore not worthy of further study. The justification for a property’s exclusion were based primarily on the loss of historic integrity, no known historical associations, a lack of uniqueness, age or its status as a non-contributing resource in a potential National Register district. Again individual determinations and their justification were noted in the Inventory forms. 3. The last objective was the identification of reference materials required to complete a future National Register nominations of individual properties or potential districts deemed worthy of future study. Many of these sources were noted while preparing the historic narrative. A bibliography of these materials comprises a separate section of this report. This project’s research design followed professional methodological standards as well as Secretary of the Interior Standards and National Register Survey Guidelines. It intended for each step in the process to build upon the results of the previous task, thus making for a time & cost-effective effort. This report, together with the accompanying individual property files and database, was intended to facilitate land-use management, community development and city and neighborhood planning efforts within and around the study area. Methodology The methodology applied to this study involved an initial phase centered on research of the history of this portion of the City of Albany. The historic narrative of the Delaware neighborhood’s development focused on a period ranging from 1800 to 1940. This narrative provided the context necessary to evaluate the Reconnaissance-Level Survey of the SUMMARY OF PROJECT Delaware Avenue Neighborhood Page 1 historic significance of these properties. In total, 180 properties were minimally documented of which 175 property warrant further study for possible NR inclusion. Prior to commencing the survey, the general level of historic information on the neighborhood was limited to its few landmark buildings (Hook & Ladder 4 and St. James Church) and connection with its main transportation route, Delaware Avenue, which began as a 19th century turnpike, later was a streetcar line and today remains as a State & Federal route (Rte. 443 and 9W). There remains some visual evidence of the 19th century-era farmsteads that once populated the rural lands along the turnpike and outside the city limits. A portion of the current neighborhood lay outside the city line in the Town of Bethlehem in the mid-1800s and even still with expansion in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century as much of the city was experiencing a great population and housing boom and expansion westward, the streets in this area were being laid out and systematically developed, particularly with the expansion and increased popularity of the newly introduced trolley/street car line. Many of the side residential streets appear to have been developed by real estate speculators, rather than custom architect designed. It was anticipated that the survey project would shed greater light on development of the neighborhood and this research served two primary purposes; first to help identify property types and specific historic resources, while also facilitating the determination of significance of any individual resource in relationship to the broad patterns of Albany’s historic, architectural, and engineering heritage. In short it provided the link between a property as it exists today and the past which gives it meaning. With preliminary research begun, the actual field survey efforts were commenced by initially conducting a “windshield survey” and notation of basic building styles and materials to document the properties within the survey area dating to before 1940. This cursory documentation involved the completion of individual New York State Historic Resource Inventory forms for each building and photography of at minimum the front, partial side view and streetscape view of the properties involved. Current tax assessment records were consulted to understand both the property ownership status and the zoning categories (commercial, institutional, single or multiple family use). In addition to this existing condition information, the cursory research involved the review of late 19th and 20th century insurance and tax maps of the area, and minimal historic tax assessment records to identify date of construction and builder/architect information, review of city directories and published city histories. The final phase of the project entailed compiling the survey data into its final database as well as final revisions