Cocktails and Literacy

The ninth annual Hudson Children's Book Festival is happening on Saturday, May 6, at Hudson High School. It is, if you didn't know, one of the biggest book festivals in all of New York State.

On Saturday, April 1, the directors of the HCBF Literacy Fund are holding their fourth annual cocktail party fundraiser to raise money to sustain the literacy efforts in the Hudson City School District. The fund provides "Good For" coupons for HCSD students to buy a book from the author of their choice at the book festival. A tax deductible contribution of $35 at the cocktail party provides a "Good For" to one student. The HCBF Literacy Fund also provides financial awards to college bound students for books, and financial coupons for summer reading to students moving up from 1st, 5th, and 8th grades.

The event, which is hosted by Colin and Katrina Stair, takes place at Stair Galleries, 549 Warren Street, from 5 to 7 p.m., on Saturday, April 1. For more information, visit the HCBF Fund Literacy Fund website. 
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Of Interest

There was an article earlier this month, in the UK Independent, about the patterned borders, created by Thomas Cole himself on the walls of his home Cedar Grove, which are now being uncovered and restored: "Thomas Cole murals uncovered on walls of Catskills home in New York state." Featured in the article is art restorer and Hudson resident Margaret Saliske.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Observing Women's History Month

This morning, in celebration of Women's History Month, Assemblymember Didi Barrett announced the release of the fourth volume of Women's History in the Hudson Valley: Ten Stories from Columbia and Dutchess Counties. The booklet tells the stories of ten women from our region who, during the past three centuries, made significant contributions in various fields. Among the ten women featured in the 2017 booklet is Mary Shepherd Hallenbeck.

Commenting on the release of the booklet, Barrett said, "This year marks the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in New York State. It was an extraordinary accomplishment resulting from ordinary women coming together to form a grassroots movement for suffrage. Too often women's history and women's stories are forgotten; my office has published these volumes each year to ensure that in our region they are forgotten no more."

The booklets are distributed in collaboration with the Mid-Hudson Library System. Copies of the booklet are available at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. The booklet is also available online, as are the previous three volumes.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Sunday Afternoon Serendipity

There is a delightful little book called Mirrored Memories: A Glimpse into the Photographic Collections of the Columbia County Historical Society, which was published in 1991 and may now be out of print. One of the photographs that appears early in the book is this one, showing Zebulon Hunt's Stove Works Store on Warren Street in Hudson.

In the book, the photograph is dated c. 1860s, but this afternoon I stumbled upon a little item in the Daily Star for June 14, 1858, which gives the photograph a much more precise date.

Surely, the photograph that made it into Mirrored Memories is the same one hailed as "one of Forshew's last and best" in the Daily Star. If only the editor of the Star had been more precise in his identification of the people in the picture, perhaps naming them from left to right, although it's unlikely he could have imagined that people 160 years later would be curious to know who these men and boys were. 

The caption indicates that Z. Hunt's stove works store was located at 299 Warren Street. Today, there is no 299 Warren Street, and even if there were, this picture was taken before 1888, when all the house numbers on the west-east streets were changed. I decided, in preparing this post, to figure out which building on Warren Street was the location of Z. Hunt's stove works store in 1858, and I managed to do it without too much difficulty. It is 541 Warren Street.

I came to this conclusion in the following way. Comparing the pre- and post-1888 numbers that I knew, I was able to generalize that, in the 500 block, you could add 240 to the pre-1888 number to get today's number. Doing that, of course, yields 539, and 539 is now a vacant lot--or rather a pocket park. It's not likely, though, that the missing building was Zebulon Hunt's stove works store, because the building to the right in the 1858 photograph is a three-story building, and the building to the right of 539 today, where Mexican Radio is located, is a two-story building.

So the missing building is likely the one that housed S. W. Worth Paints in 1858.

There is also visual evidence that 541 Warren Street was the location of Z. Hunt's store--in particular the spacing of the windows. The three windows are not evenly spaced across the facade. The two at the right are closer together. The third window at the left lines up with the door that gives access to the upper floors, which today has been converted into a window.

Addendum: I consulted the Hudson Tap Book, the record of when every building in Hudson was connected to the municipal water supply. One of the best things about the Tap Book is that it gives both the current building numbers and the pre-1888 numbers. The Tap Book confirms that 541 Warren Street was 299 Warren Street (actually it says 299½, but no 299 is listed), and the building was owned by Z. Hunt when it was hooked up to the water system on May 17, 1875. 
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Waterfront Development in 1851

During the summer of 1851, a couple of items in the Daily Star indicate that the newspaper's editor, Alex. N. Webb, although he lived on the north side of town, was keeping an eye on the development happening at the mouth of South Bay, the Hudson Iron Works. On May 22, he reported:

On August 15, the Daily Star announced that the Hudson Iron Works were "fast approaching completion":

Although the Daily Star never reports exactly when the iron works commenced operation, four months later, on the last day of 1851, the activity there is spoken of as if it has been going on forever, with effects that are not altogether beneficial to the residents of Hudson.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Thinking of Spring and Gardens

There may still be snow on the ground, but tomorrow is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. If gardens are among things that bring you joy in spring, something of great interest is happening on the second day of spring, Tuesday, March 21. Hudson's own Secret Gardener, Ben Eaton will be speaking on the topic "Historic Gardening in Columbia County" at the James Vanderpoel House "Below Stairs," 16 Broad Street, in Kinderhook. The event, which is presented by the Columbia County Historical Society Volunteers, begins at 7 p.m. Eaton's lecture will be preceded by a preview of the ten-minute film 60 Tortillas, by local filmmaker and organic gardener Gretchen Wall. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the CCHS website.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Seeking and Not Seeking Public Input

Yesterday, the folks at Henry Hudson Hall, formerly the Hudson Opera House, shared the news that more than 6,000 people had responded to the Hudson Area Visitor Survey. The survey results are expected to be published in late spring. "This data," the message continued, "will be invaluable . . . when it comes to creating an environment that's conducive to tourism and visitorship."

The response to the survey was gratifyingly good, but the response to the organization's name change, which was announced on Monday, has been anything but good. In an interview on WGXC on Wednesday, Gary Schiro, executive director of what had been the Hudson Opera House and is now Henry Hudson Hall, acknowledged that he and the board knew "not everyone is going to like it," but it seems there isn't anyone who likes the new name. Since the announcement, there have been several posts on Facebook decrying the new name and calling for the staff and board to reconsider, each one garnering a long string of comments in passionate agreement. Byrne Fone, author of Historic Hudson: An Architectural Portrait and part of the original group that formed the not-for-profit to purchase the building back in 1992, weighed in from the idyllic Dordogne to express his objections to the name. 

Among the interesting facts that emerged from the WGXC interview was that although nine focus groups had been held to establish that the name Hudson Opera House was a barrier to people immediately grasping the mission of the organization, the new name, Henry Hudson Hall, was never tested with a focus group before it was announced on Monday.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

More Perspective on Stella

On Thursday, we published photographs to compare the amount of snow that fell during Winter Storm Stella with what fell during the Blizzard of 1888. Today, we recall another great snowstorm in Hudson history--one that took place in December 1969. Bob Tomaso, who grew up on Eighth Street, sent Gossips these pictures of the aftermath of that storm. 

Tomaso recalled it was days before the streets were passable after that storm in 1969. He also told Gossips that there were many big snowstorms in Hudson in the '60s and '70s, and things were much worse on city streets in those days than they were in the aftermath of Stella.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Photos courtesy Bob Tomaso

Repealing and Replacing and You

In a memorable Freudian slip, Paul Ryan once declared, "We won't give up destroying the health care system for the American people."

While the folks in Washington are hard at work repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, Rob Bujan, who has more than twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare consulting world, is offering free town hall meetings to outline the health insurance delivery system--"from pre-ACA, to the current state, and into the future." Bujan promises "a nonpartisan fact-driven presentation that outlines what you need to know to make educated decisions in this time of change in the world of health insurance."  

No matter how you get your insurance: Medicare, Medicaid, NY State of Health Premium Subsidy Program, directly from a carrier, or through your employer, these town hall meetings will be of interest to you. Bujan is providing these meetings as a public service to the community and assures there will be "no cost, no sales pitch, nothing to buy--just good solid facts."

There are two opportunities to attend one of these town hall meetings in Hudson. The first is on Wednesday, March 22, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. in the main floor gallery space at Camphill Hudson, 36o Warren Street. The second is on Saturday, March 25, from 10 to 11:15 a.m., in the Blue Room on the third floor at Camphill Hudson, 360 Warren Street. Click on one of the dates above to go to the appropriate Facebook page and RSVP.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

A "Must Do" for the Weekend

Winter Storm Stella is over, and the city is digging out from the snow. It's time for everyone who's been hunkered down at home to get out, and just in time, too, because this weekend is the very last weekend for Fairview Cinema 3. Appropriately, for its final weekend, our only independent, locally owned hometown movie is showing, as its final film, The Last Picture Show.

Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 critically acclaimed film is based on a semi-autobiographical coming of age novel by Larry McMurtry. The cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Randy Quaid, and John Hillerman. If you don't know the film, you can click here to see the trailer. 

The Last Picture Show will be shown tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday at 7 p.m. There are also matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Head out to Greenport (it's just over the border) sometime this weekend to see a classic movie, have some popcorn, bid a fond farewell to Fairview Cinema 3, and wish Bruce Mitchinson the very best in whatever lies ahead.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Save Your Quarters

Photo: Paul Trantanella

So, this morning, I agreed to meet someone for coffee at 10 a.m. at a coffee shop on Warren Street. I pulled the Gossipsmobile out of its spot on the odd side of my street, where it had been parked since 8 o'clock on Tuesday night, and drove to my destination, where I was able to park on the even side of the street, where the snow had been cleared, except for the wall of snow that remained along the curb. I walked five car lengths, in the street, to a spot where someone had shoveled a break in the snow wall, then walked the same distance back on the sidewalk to insert a quarter in the parking meter for my car's space, then went to my destination. Not a Herculean effort, but on arriving home, I discovered that twenty minutes after I'd made it, Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton released this statement:

Metered parking in Hudson is suspended today. Any tickets issued for meter violations since Tuesday will be voided. If you have received a ticket for a meter violation since Tuesday that you have already paid, please bring the ticket to the parking bureau so a refund can be processed. Stay safe out there! 

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Stella in Perspective

David Voorhees reminded me earlier today that, among historic snowstorms, Stella was really not all that catastrophic:

Tuesday's snowstorm was nothing compared to the Blizzard of 1888, which lasted three days with 80 mile per hour winds, and dropped more than 60 inches of snow in some parts of the Northeast. Albany's official tally was 47.7 inches, Saratoga topped that with 58 inches, New Jersey had 46.7 inches, topped by sleet. The death toll was over 400 people.

To provide a visual comparison of Stella and the Blizzard of 1888, Paul Trantanella took this picture on Tuesday night, after it stopped snowing and he had finished shoveling the sidewalk in front of this building on Warren Street.

Photo: Paul Trantanella

Compare it with this picture, which shows a sidewalk on Pearl Street, near Maiden Lane, after it had been cleared of the snow that fell during the Blizzard of 1888.

Photo source: All Over Albany

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Business Support for Sanctuary

The Common Council is poised to vote next Tuesday on the resolution declaring Hudson a "welcoming and inclusive city." This morning, in the run-up to that vote, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement released an open letter, signed by twenty-eight business owners in Hudson, declaring support for the resolution. That letter is reproduced below. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The letter reads in part: "It is in the interest of our businesses, the City of Hudson, and area residents to ensure that all community members and guests, including immigrants, are welcomed and safe while living, working and visiting our great city." 

The following businesses signed on to the letter: Antigo, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Casa Urbana, Colonia, Fern, Five and Diamond Vintage, Golden Grain, Hidden Gears, Hudson Clothier, Lil Deb's Oasis, Limner Gallery, Look, Mark Jaeger Antiques, Moto Coffee Machine, Musica, Oak Pizzeria, Peggy Polenberg Real Estate, Rev Cafe, September Gallery, Sideshow Vintage, Spruce, Taste of the Caribbean, The Inn at Hudson, Timothy Doyle Antiques, Valley Variety, Verdigris Tea & Chocolate Bar, Warren Street Market, Wm. Farmer and Sons Boarding & Barroom.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

And Then There's This . . .

Bill Williams on 98.5 The Cat is reporting that a car crashed into a house at the corner of State and Sixth streets just after 8 a.m. this morning. 

According to the report, "Streets in the area around the crash were closed due to limited space, due to high snowbanks." Judging from the pictures, there seems to have been a nice wide path from the street to the house, which allowed the car leave the street and smash into the house instead of a snowbank.

Photos: 98.5 The Cat

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

In the Aftermath of Stella

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he was sending help to various cities, in the Hudson Valley and elsewhere, in cleaning up the two feet of snow that fell on Tuesday. The governor is quoted, in a report on Hudson Valley News Network, as saying:

We have been redeploying assets now from New York City and Long Island, and we're going to move them to the areas where we need the most help. Binghamton needs help in Broome County. We have Utica and Rome, and Poughkeepsie and Beacon are going to be our priority areas. For Poughkeepsie and Beacon, we're going to redeploy an additional 100 National Guard and an additional 100 pieces of equipment to help in Poughkeepsie and Beacon.

Meanwhile, here in Hudson, after a snowstorm for the record books, the Department of Public Works is going it alone to clear the streets, and social media—and not-so-social media—is teeming with complaints, outrage, and indignation from people inconvenienced by snow still in the streets less than thirty-six hours after the snow stopped.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Fifteen Down, Nine to Go

The Register-Star reported this afternoon that Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton has announced she does not intend to run for a second term: "Hamilton will not seek reelection."

About That Name Change

This afternoon, on @Issue on WGXC, Seth Rogovoy and Victor Mendolia spoke with Gary Schiro, executive director of Henry Hudson Hall, just days ago known as the Hudson Opera House, about the newly completed renovation of the building at 327 Warren Street, the plans for the grand re-opening of the performance space, and the change of name. Click here to listen.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

The Word from City Hall

Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton just released a directive about snow removal and parking in the days to come. The memorandum is reproduced below. Click on the image to enlarge.

The most important information is contained in the second paragraph, which reads:

Plowing and snow removal will continue for the next four to five days. During this time, it is important that everyone obey the NO PARKING signs that will be placed on each street. No street will have parking on both sides of the street until removal of snow from both sides is complete--this will be indicated by the removal of NO PARKING signs from the street. To reiterate: always obey the posted NO PARKING signs 24 hours a day until they are removed.

There you go.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Snow Emergency Update

The snow emergency ends at 6 p.m. tonight. After 6 p.m., the signs are your guide to where you can park to avoid being ticketed and/or towed.

The signs have already appeared on my block, on the even side of the street, which means my car can spend another night on the odd side of the street, where I parked it last night.

I'm told the "NO PARKING" signs are up on the even side of the street elsewhere around town, but they could be on the odd side. Look for them. They supersede the regular alternate side of the street parking rules.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Stay Home Tonight

Lisa Kenneally, who chairs the Zoning Board of Appeals, just informed Gossips that tonight's ZBA meeting has been canceled. There may be another meeting scheduled this month, but that has not yet been determined.

It was expected that Colarusso's appeal of the City's Order to Remedy, regarding work done on the dock without site plan approval from the Planning Board, would be taken up at tonight's meeting. This discussion will not happen until the next ZBA meeting. Gossips will keep you informed about when that meeting will take place.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Snow Emergency Reminder

Cars must remain parked on the odd side of the street until 6 p.m. tonight.

Of course, if you have to go somewhere, you can move your car, but you must park it on the odd side when you come back, assuming you return before 6 p.m.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Snow Emergency Update

All cars should now be parked on the ODD side of the street.

Many thanks to my neighbor who helped me dig the Gossipsmobile out of the snow.

Witness the Discussion

Just as I finished my attempt to summarize and synthesize the discussion that went on last night about the "sanctuary city" resolution, Dan Udell informed me that his video of the proceedings was now available on YouTube. Click here to watch the entire fifty minutes.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

The Difficulties of Sanctuary in Hudson

Since January, supporters of the sanctuary movement have filled the Council Chamber (and the lobby) at City Hall for every Police Committee, Legal Committee, and Common Council meeting, to urge the aldermen to pass a resolution declaring Hudson a "sanctuary city." At the end of February, the Legal Committee and the Police Committee both voted unanimously to move forward a resolution, which nowhere mentions the term sanctuary city but instead affirms "the City of Hudson as a Welcoming and Inclusive City." The sanctuary advocates were again present in force on Monday night, expecting to witness the resolution introduced, but, curiously, it was not on the agenda.

After six or so minutes of introductions and seconds for four other resolutions and the local law implementing a lodging tax, Council president Claudia DeStefano seemed about to wind up the meeting when Michael Chameides, chair of the Hudson City Democratic Committee, asked about the "sanctuary city" resolution. DeStefano explained that the mayor had, only that day, sent to her and the other members of the Legal Committee New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's "Supplemental Memorandum to Guidance Concerning Local Authority Participation in Immigration Enforcement and Model Sanctuary Provisions." The eight-page supplement had been released by the Attorney General's office on March 9. (The original guidelines were released on January 19.) DeStefano explained that because she had only received the document that afternoon, and most members of the Council were seeing it for the first time at the meeting, she was postponing any discussion of the resolution until the aldermen had a chance to review the new information from the Attorney General.

After summarizing the progress of the resolution thus far, Chameides asserted, "We're in a pretty good place to discuss the resolution now." Alderman Michael O'Hara (First Ward), who chairs the Legal Committee, expressed his opinion that "It wouldn't hurt anything to put it on our desks now." The problem was that no one had copies of the resolution, and aldermen who were on neither the Police Committee nor the Legal Committee claimed never to have seen the resolution. The situation was remedied when members of the audience produced copies of the resolution and distributed them to the aldermen.

Gossips published the resolution on January 29 and does so again now. Click on the images to enlarge to a legible size.

The discussion that ensued focused principally on whether or not Chief Ed Moore was comfortable with the resolution. DeStefano said that Moore wanted the resolution sent to the attorney general's office for vetting. According to Chameides, "If the attorney general's office supported the resolution, it would ease [Moore's] mind." O'Hara said the resolution had been sent to the attorney general, and according to O'Hara, the attorney general's office "has expressed support for it." O'Hara went on to say, "It comports with their guidance." Chameides later noted that the resolution was "written based on the attorney general's guidelines, and now has passed muster with the attorney general."

Andy Howard, counsel to the Council, suggested that Moore "wants something from the attorney general's office." O'Hara said he had gotten a phone call from someone in the attorney general's office, and he would ask that person to call Moore as well, but he continued, "They will not issue a legal opinion to every community." Later in the discussion, Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) offered a similar opinion. "In my experience," he said, "the attorney general doesn't give verbal advice. There is no way we can give the chief the assurance he wants."

Friedman warned, "To pretend that the attorney general's guidelines are some kind of protection or panacea is a mistake." He went on to say, "This is not as clear cut as we would like. . . . We're screwing with how [the police] do their jobs, and we're pretending it doesn't matter." Although the proposal that Hudson become a sanctuary city started out in the Police Committee on January 22, Friedman repeatedly asked why the police had not been consulted on the issue at the beginning of the process. Friedman, after making the point that executive order issued by the police commissioner and the mayor on February 20 was more problematic, conceded, "I don't have any problem with this [resolution] because it has no teeth. Why didn't we do it as a local law?"

Somewhere during the course of the discussion, a motion to introduce the resolution was made and seconded. In all likelihood, the resolution will be voted on at the regular meeting of the Common Council, which takes place on Tuesday, March 21.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

You Can't Please All of the People . . .

There hasn't been much response on Gossips to the news that the Hudson Opera House was changing its name to Henry Hudson Hall, but on imby, Enid Futterman gives the re-branding a very bad review: "Hudson Opera House is NOT now Henry Hudson Hall."

Photo: Robert Umenhofter

Prepare Yourself

Winter Storm Stella is on the way, and Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton has declared another snow emergency.

The snow emergency begins at midnight tonight. From 12 midnight until 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should be parked on the even side of the street. From 8 p.m. tomorrow until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, cars should be parked on the odd side of the street. After that, follow the signage.

For the complete parking schedule, click here.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

A Cause for Community Celebration

Photo: Robert Umenhofter

The final phase of the restoration of the Hudson Opera House--the long-awaited restoration of the second-floor performance space which began last year--is now complete. The Opera House issued the following press release to announce that achievement and the anticipated re-opening of the historic theater.

The site of New York State’s oldest surviving theater, the Hudson Opera House has completed the final phase of a major restoration project begun in April of 2016. The re-opening of the historic theater is accompanied by a name change: the Hudson Opera House will be renamed Henry Hudson Hall.

In honoring the city’s historic namesake, Henry Hudson, the new name marks a significant evolution for the iconic venue, which, from its founding in 1855 until the building was abandoned in 1962, has witnessed some of the most exciting cultural, social and political events of the day. Since 1992, when the building was rescued from destruction, it has played a pivotal role in the cultural and economic advancement of the region.  

“This is a defining moment in the life of this treasured building and this organization. The energy and momentum brought on by the restoration project, and the exciting new possibilities it presents in terms of programming demanded we address misperceptions about the building and, most especially, our name,” says Gary Schiro, Executive Director of Henry Hudson Hall.   

“In working with the Opera House Board of Directors, executive staff, and Megan Kent, founder of Megan Kent Branding Group, we learned through discussions with constituents and key community stakeholders just how limiting our misplaced identity as an ‘opera house’ has been in our efforts to engage new and diverse audiences. The two most prominent names in the history of the building–City Hall and the Hudson Opera House–are both equally misleading,” says Schiro. “We feel the name ‘Henry Hudson Hall’ honors the richness of the building’s past while creating a bridge to a bold new future–one that advances the organization’s role as a leader in the civic and cultural life of the region.” 

Megan Kent, of MKBG says, “By awakening a sense of adventure, exploration and excitement, Henry Hudson Hall will be a place for everyone to discover something new. In naming Henry Hudson Hall after this city’s historic namesake—a man whose entire being was possessed by a spirit of discovery—we appropriately honor the history and future of this building.”

With the reopening of its magnificent theater, Henry Hudson Hall is poised to become a cultural beacon for residents and visitors to gather year-round and enjoy a rich array of quality performances, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, community events, talks, and more.  

THE HISTORY OF HUDSON’S “OPERA HOUSE”: THE EVOLVING IDENTITY OF A TREASURED LANDMARK 

Designed by architect Peter Avery, the building was constructed in 1855 as Hudson’s City Hall. In addition to city offices, the Greek Revival structure housed a bank, the police station, post office, and library, as well as a magnificent performance hall on the second floor. During the late 1800s, as it became popular for towns and cities to have ‘opera houses’, the upstairs performance hall was renovated to include a proscenium stage and dressing rooms.  

In 1881, City Hall then became known as the Hudson Opera House, although only a few operas were ever performed there. Around 1900 the building was often referred to as the Elks Theatre, when the management of the upstairs theater was overseen by the Hudson Elks Lodge. By the 1920s the building had again become known as City Hall. In the 1960s, when City Hall moved to 520 Warren Street, the building was briefly known as the Moose Lodge before closing in 1962. For three decades, the building sat vacant and had fallen into disrepair. In 1992, a group of citizens formed a non-profit and purchased the building to preserve its legacy and history and give it new life as an exhibition and performing arts center. 

A NEW ERA: THE RESTORATION PROJECT  

Completed ahead of schedule, renovations and improvements of Henry Hudson Hall’s facilities were funded by an $8.5 million campaign, of which $7.5 million has been secured with lead gifts from the Board of Directors; public support from Empire State Development, New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, New York State Council on the Arts; and private funds from foundations and individuals, including major gifts from the Educational Foundation of America and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also provided investment through its Community Facilities Program, secured with assistance from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and in partnership with Kinderhook Bank, which aims to improve rural community infrastructure and quality of life.  

Renovations to the second-floor performance hall include a flexible 300-seat theater, new heating, ventilation and cooling systems, high-end performance equipment and extensive rehabilitation of the mezzanine, stage and support spaces. Installation of structural steel and a new basement slab help to support the structure, while asbestos and lead abatement, installation of an elevator, and new electrical and fire systems have upgraded the building’s safety and accessibility. The restoration and improvements were overseen by Preservation Architecture, and carried out under the great care of Consigli Construction NY. 

Photo courtesy Henry Hudson Hall

LOOKING AHEAD: A SEASON OF DISCOVERY 

The 2017 season opens with The Proprietors Ball on Saturday, April 22, followed by a Community Day on Sunday, May 21, with free performances and workshops by Hudson’s own Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. Opening concerts include Classics on Hudson’s first season under the artistic direction of renowned flautist Eugenia Zukerman, with concerts by Brooklyn Rider, the virtuoso violinist Tim Fain, and NPR’s Christopher O’Riley performing with cellist Matt Haimovitz.  

Exhibitions include the return of LightField with Just the Facts: A Festival of Documentary & Vernacular Photography, with works by Brenda Kenneally, Stacy Kranitz, Zoe Strauss, and others who take an unflinching look at working-class people of all ethnicities who have become the focus of insecurity and fear worldwide. Hudson-based choreographer Adam H. Weinert returns with his critically acclaimed eveninglength dance piece MONUMENT, a dynamic new performance with original music that explores the historical legacy of the choreographer Ted Shawn through a contemporary lens. Not least, the young, visionary opera director R. B. Schlather has been commissioned to direct a new production of The Mother of Us All, Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s 1947 opera inspired by Susan B. Anthony. The American social reformer and women's rights activist spoke twice on the very stage where this production will premiere in November. 

Afterword: Gary Schiro and Megan Kent were on WAMC's Roundtable is morning, talking about the completion of the restoration and the new name. You are hear that interview by clicking here. 
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK