Recently John Cody, who grew up in the First Ward and was the president of SHOW (Save Hudson's Only Waterfront), which fended off the oil refinery proposed for the waterfront in the 1980s, shared these pictures of a waterfront building that survived into the latter decades of the 20th century before being demolished. The building, once used to store ice, was located at the north end of Water Street, just east of the Hudson Power Boat Association clubhouse, which was originally the ferry station. The first photograph below, taken in 1985, shows the building's location.
Thanks to Sam Pratt for making the Hudson Valley article from December 1984 available on his blog.
I could wish that we all paid more attention to the several historical structures which still survive at our waterfront.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the land from the water gives one an entirely different perspective. The lay-out and logic of the waterfront as a single artifact reaches back to its origins as Claverack Landing, and are still evident in structures such as: multiple wharves; a wooden bridge that nobody seems to care about; several foundations; the boat houses at Furgary, some dating to the 19th century.
Today I spoke with two different 90-year olds who grew up at Hudson's waterfront in the 1920s. (I was trying to date the first Pulver Gas and Oil Company tanks for the sake of the city's BOA program.)
Considering the general interest in history hereabouts, at least the professed interest, future generations will be outraged that we took these old folks and the waterfront itself for granted. What say we make the effort.