After last week's post about G. B. Croff and Hudson, Gossips learned that an elevation drawing for 5 Willard Place, now known as The Croff House, also appears in Gilbert Bostwick Croff's book, Progressive American Architecture. The house lost its third floor is a disastrous fire that occurred on May 29, 1941. The drawing shows that, unlike the house next door at at 4 Willard Place, also designed by Croff, and the houses that once stood at 1 and 2 Willard Place, this house had neither a mansard roof nor a tower.
Browsing further in Croff's book online, Gossips discovered three more elevation drawings for buildings he designed for Hudson. One of them is for a banking house, which we know was constructed as Farmers' National Bank in the 500 block of Warren Street.
This extraordinary building, which stood at 544 Warren Street, was destroyed by fire in 1926.
So, here comes the challenge. Croff's book includes one more elevation drawing for a building associated with Hudson. The notation describes it as a "Residence Prepared for Erection at Hudson, N.Y."
It is entirely possible that the house was never actually built, but it may have been. Are there any Gossips readers who recognize the house and know its fate?
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK
Thanks to Duncan Calhoun for providing the information that inspired this post
There are a lot of similarities to 325 Allen St., but it's not the same. There aren't that many high style Second Empire mansard roofed houses in Hudson, so it may no longer be extant. It might also have been the house pulled down to build St. Mary's Academy on the corner of Willard Place.
ReplyDeleteCynthia--Both the houses that were demolished to create St. Mary's Academy were Second Empire houses with towers, very similar to 326 Allen Street. See the photograph on page 184 of Byrne Fone's book "Historic Hudson: An Architectural Portrait."
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