Friday, November 7, 2014

Back to the Robert Taylor House

Last weekend, our attention was drawn to the Robert Taylor House by an extreme roofing repair job being done without a building permit or a certificate of appropriateness. (The house is included in the locally designated Union-Allen-South Front Street Historic District and, if that weren't enough, is an individually designated local landmark.)

We were reminded then of the owner's thwarted desire to move the two-hundred-year-old house to the 200 block of Union Street. The chief reason for wanting to move it was the perceived undesirability of its current location. Recalling that brought to mind the following picture, discovered in the Evelyn and Robert Monthie Slide Collection at the Columbia County Historical Society. Probably taken in the early 20th century, it shows the house (at the lower left) in its setting before the now abandoned Kaz warehouses were constructed.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK

4 comments:

  1. Carole, has the Code Enforcement Officer commented as to how/why this was done? Since it was a breach in Code, do you know if the CEO is going to issue a fine? Should the citizens be writing to him? Help!

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    1. @HankinHudson--I haven't been able to stay on top of this. I have heard differing reports--both from people who should know. Someone told me Galvan had been issued a "ticket," which I imagined meant a fine of some sort. Someone else told me Galvan had been issued a building permit after the fact for work already done. It's possible that both were done.

      I think it would be great if other people expressed their concerns about code enforcement and the way people seem permitted to circumvent the code.Our architecture has been central to Hudson's revival and is essential to its continuing vitality. It needs to be protected better than it is.

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  2. Thank you gor for the unending Historical entries & pics of Hudson.
    It is challenging to read about the rape of the Robert Taylor House w/o becoming just a bit taken aback. My exact words would not be acceptable to post here. But what is of equal disappointment is that the destruction goes on w/o a building permit.
    Just how can the City Code Enforcer, Haigh, expect property owners to follow the "code" if he does not enforce the same. If he can't do his job than why is he being paid to do so? Mr. Haigh, if there is not a permit for work on this bldg. you should resign from your duties.
    Once again, just who cares about Historical Hudson?
    It sure as hell isn't those Hudson by Birth citizens.

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  3. last year due to hail damage i was forced to put a new roof on my house, getting a permit was the easy part. a lifelong Hudson friend did the work and he would not even get out of the truck until i had a permit. it would be a good idea to punish the contractor as well as the property owner, the only way to stop this ridiculous bait and switch happening to hometown.

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