The Fate of Central House

In the past couple of months, Gossips has been piecing together the history of Central House, the hotel that once stood at the southeast corner of Warren and Fifth streets.

Historic photographs provide evidence that sometime after 1868, possibly in the 1890s, the facade of the building was renovated, acquiring some features characteristic of Stick Style architecture. We learned that in 1917, the building ceased being a hotel, and in 1918, it was converted to "stores and flats"--two stores on the ground floor and three apartments above. There is even a 1953 photograph by Howard Gibson of the building that shows one of the storefronts introduced by Michael O'Connor in 1918 still in place.

The missing bit of information in story has been when the building was demolished. Today, thanks to Bruce Mitchinson, that question can be answered. It was demolished in 1973, around the time that so many historic buildings in Hudson were lost. 

Last night, Mitchinson sent Gossips a newspaper clipping dated August 14, 1973, which featured this photograph of the building.

In 1973, the two stores were occupied by Maratskey's jewelry store and Jack's men's and boys' clothing store. The accompanying article explains the fate of the building.

  
The original plan called for the demolition of the building that had been Central House (501-505 Warren Street), but at some point the building that had been Hudson Savings and Loan Association (507-509 Warren Street) was also demolished to build the suburban style bank building now occupied by TrustCo Bank. Today, the first building in the block that survives from the 19th-century streetscape is 511 Warren Street.

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