Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Fate of Hudson Houses

While we mourn the fate of some Hudson buildings, most recently 211 Warren Street and 620 State Street, we can celebrate the survival of others. 

Recently, while researching the history of staggered terms for aldermen, I came upon this item in the Common Council minutes for December 29, 1938.

The house, which likely had been seized by the City for nonpayment of property taxes, was sold at the end of 1938 for $350. It is reasonable to speculate that the fate of the house was brought about by the recession of 1937-1938, which occurred while the country was still recovering from the Great Depression. Adjusted for inflation, $350 in 1938 is $6,106.36 in 2019.

In February 2018, tax records show the house sold for $795,000.
COPYRIGHT 2019 CAROLE OSTERINK

4 comments:

  1. I heard it had a fabulous early and rich interior. Present landlord gutted it . White box now is all.

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    1. I know this house. As long as I've lived in Hudson, it never had a "fabulous early and rich interior." Fabulous and rich, yes, but not early. Herman Roth, who owned the house in 1993 when I moved here, told me when he bought it in the 1980s, it was a burned out shell. The people who bought it after Herman died in 2002 ripped out everything Herman had done (the house was still a work in progress), but they never lived here. They never even came here on weekends. The current owner lives here and, to my knowledge, has done nothing to alter the house except to cut down the trees in front.

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    2. The unusually large fireplace for a second floor with tea crane and the continuation of a formal stair rail beyond the first floor made me wonder just what this building was like originally.

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  2. Was probably the same David Solomon that owned The Blue Paint Store. Dave was quite a good boxer and acquired the nickname Seven Second Solomon after he knocked an opponent out in seven, seconds.

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