What's Planned for an Iconic Hudson Building

Once upon a time, it was called the State Grill, and with that name, it was one of the settings for a gritty video called "A Day in the Life of Hudson, NY," made back in 1993.

The building also figured in the 1994 movie Nobody's Fool, starring Paul Newman. For the movie, the bar was renamed The Iron Horse. The name stuck, and the sign created for the movie set remained hanging in front of the establishment.

On Friday morning, the new owners of 14 South Seventh Street presented their plans for the next phase of the building's life to the Historic Preservation Commission. Armed with historic pictures of the building, including the one below from the Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection at the Columbia County Historical Society, which shows the building when it was the office of Dr. J. H. Luff, Hudson's most celebrated veterinarian, they explained that their intention was to restore the building to its earliest appearance.

The ground floor windows on the front of the building will be restored to their original size and configuration. The original entrance door, which was discovered buried in a wall, will be reinstalled at an angle at the corner of the building as it originally was. The fishtail shingles on the cupola will also be repaired, restored, and replicated where needed. 

The plans for the north side of the building, along Cherry Alley, include removing the covered staircase, which, as the historic photograph below indicates, has been there in some form for quite a while. There are also plans to construct a 10-foot wide deck along the north side of the building.

The Historic Preservation Commission determined the application to be incomplete, requesting a photograph to document the staircase before it is removed, a narrative outlining all the proposed changes, and elevation drawings of the north side of the building, with the deck, and the restored entrance. The HPC's review of the project will continue on April 22.

Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection, CCHS

When the restoration/renovation of the building is complete--which includes the interior as well as the exterior--the building will reopen as a bar with a new name: Governor's Tavern.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK