COPYRIGHT 2018 CAROLE OSTERINK
Friday, November 2, 2018
211 Warren Is No More
For years, I've been told that on the day in late November 1969, when the demolition of the General Worth Hotel was complete, the front page of the Register-Star carried a picture of then mayor Sam Wheeler standing in front of the rubble, with a caption that read: "Progress!" I've never been able to find that picture.
Today, as the demolition continued of the building that stood beside the General Worth for a hundred and thirty-two years and was probably there long before the General Worth was built in 1837, there was no one around to declare that this was progress of any kind. Instead, the damp, drizzly November day seemed to reflect everyone's feelings about the loss.
COPYRIGHT 2018 CAROLE OSTERINK
COPYRIGHT 2018 CAROLE OSTERINK
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Rest in pieces ... 211
ReplyDeleteAre there plans for a new structure on that lot?
ReplyDeleteGiven that the building sat for 7 seven years with nothing done to it, I suspect there will be any empty lot for sale.
DeleteThe owners had actually started work on the building when the initial collapse occurred. As I reported, they had a certificate of appropriateness to build a new passive building utilizing the original brick facade. My information is that there is the possibility they will build the building they planned and replicate the facade with the salvaged bricks, but I don't know that for sure. They had scaled back their original plans, proposed in 2015, presumably for monetary reasons, so now with the unexpected expense of the demolition, it's not clear what will happen.
DeleteColumbia-Greene’s library has microfilm of old Register-Stars. I don’t recall how far back it went, but it was pretty far iirc. The State library should have even more. Have you looked for the photo at CGCC already? It’s cumbersome to use at first, but if they have those dates covered, you could probably find the article in a few minutes, if it exists.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sam. I'm very familiar with the collection at C-GCC, although I haven't gone there specifically to look for the newspaper for the day the Worth Hotel demolished. I was planning to go with that single purpose in mind, but on Thursday night, at Lance Wheeler's presentation at the library, Gary Steffer, who is now the chair of the History Room Committee and for whom the General Worth is a topic of particular interest, said that the Register-Star for that day is mysteriously missing from all the collections he has consulted.
DeleteHmmm... Per above, then I would try Albany or one of the area college libraries. Not sure if Bard has the Register on microfilm. The Hudson History Room had or had its own microfilm, too.
ReplyDeleteNote that for a period, there was a Northern Dutchess edition, and some libraries only have that version of the paper (which had fewer Hudson-related articles).
[P.S. Steffer or Sheffer?]
Sheffer. My apologies to you and Gary for the misspelling.
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