The Demise of an Early House
Periodically, I check the recent scans at PhotobyGibson.com, and I am rarely disappointed with what I find. My most recent discovery revealed how this early Federal house, which for much of the 19th century was the home of R. B. Benedict who had a hardware store at the corner of Water and Ferry streets, met its end.
This house stood on the north side of Union Street, one house up from South Second Street. In the 1870s, the house on the corner belonged to Sherman Van Ness, the city surveyor. That house apparently was demolished to make way for the construction in 1928, Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church.
At some point, the house became the parish house for the church. Howard Gibson's photographs document how, in 1955, the Federal house was demolished.
 |
| Photo by Gibson |
 |
| Photo by Gibson |
It appears that the demolition of the house, then more than a hundred years old, was occasioned by the construction of the new parish house behind it--a structure that still exists.
 |
| Photo by Gibson |
COPYRIGHT 2019 CAROLE OSTERINK
This house stood on the north side of Union Street, one house up from South Second Street. In the 1870s, the house on the corner belonged to Sherman Van Ness, the city surveyor. That house apparently was demolished to make way for the construction in 1928, Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church. 
At some point, the house became the parish house for the church. Howard Gibson's photographs document how, in 1955, the Federal house was demolished. 
What a gorgeous structure. I’m at a loss for words.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this. Sad to see such a lovely building gone. On a related note, photobygibson is a wonderful resource (as you write) and the man behind it, Bruce Bohnsack, has been so generous to the Hudson Area Library, allowing us to use photos from the collection for publicity and general display with one stipulation only: credit Howard. And the photos on that site are quite a high resolution and we've been able to blow them up on foam core for display in the library and at Winter Walk. Just a great resource because of Bruce's generosity and Howard's striking talent.
ReplyDelete