Main Street Historic District (New Hamburg, New York)

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13 and 15 Main Street, New Hamburg (2008)

The Main Street Historic District in New Hamburg , New York is located on the town's main street, west of the New Hamburg Metro North stop. The six buildings that together here as Ensemble listed are, are m² on an area of 4000 and have an intact remnant of the hamlet, was built in the mid-19th century, before the Hudson River Railroad was built, the place the cut in half.

The contributing buildings, three residential buildings, three commercial buildings, are built of bricks and represent anonymous applications of the then popular architectural styles Neoclassicism and Neo-Gothic . On February 27, 1987 these six buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Districts . It is the smallest of the 62 Main Street Historic Districts on the registry.

building

The borough includes all of the parcels on the north side of Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Bridge Street. A former church building on the south side was converted into an apartment building and is not a listed building because of these modifications.

  • 9A Main Street . The two-story house was built in timber frame construction by John Lawson around 1845 on a brick and stone foundation. It was later supplemented by a terrace with a hipped roof and Tuscan columns and a turned balustrade .
  • 10 Main Street . The two-story clapboard combined commercial / residential building was built around 1876.
  • 11 Main Street . The one-and-a-half-story house in timber frame construction on a brick base was built around 1850 and is a salt box with a low roof pitch, the eaves of which are emphasized by small skylights on the cornice.
  • 12 Main Street . The one and a half story brick house on a stone base was built in 1875 as a post office for New Hamburg. The projecting roof is supported in pairs by brackets and has pointed end columns at the corners.
  • 13 Main Street . The one and a half story brick house was built in two sections around 1855 by Conklin Bishop. The decorative porch was added later. A more recent garage is the only structure in the district that is not a contributing object.
  • 15 Main Street . Built around 1855 as the Central House Hotel, it is the largest building in the listed area. The five-story, two-and-a-half-story building with a sheet metal gable roof, the ridge of which ends with a chimney, has a two-story veranda at the front that runs the full length of the building. The porch has frayed posts and decorative sawn balustrades. The lower floor was used as an inn and guests slept on the upper floor.

history

New Hamburg emerged as a small settlement on the river, on whose Point Street ships loaded and unloaded goods. These were brought across the road to Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls . By the 1840s, most of the land on Point Street had been vacated and new residents began building houses on Main Street a few blocks from the riverside. 9A Main Street was built by John Lawson, a descendant of the earliest European settlers in the area. It is the oldest house in the historic district.

Construction of the Hudson River Railroad began in 1848. A nearly 250 m long tunnel - now an open trench - was built on the hillside north of the city and work on it drove the development of Main Street as a business area. This development continued, as a stop for passengers and facilities for cargo handling were put into operation. A city map from 1858 shows that at this point in time four of the six houses were already standing, and another map from 1876 shows all six.

The railroad line that fed Main Street ultimately caused its decline. In 1928 the railway line, now part of the New York Central Railroad , was expanded from one to two tracks and the level crossing on Main Street was removed one block further north in favor of an overpass on the new Bridge Street. The traffic shifted to the new street and Main Street became a short side street, the only meaning of which for the residents of the town was that the shop was on the corner .

After the Second World War, the importance of the railway line itself declined, as a result of which economic activities in New Hamburg continued to decline. The railway station was eventually closed and only later reopened as a stop for commuters through the Metro-North Railroad . Most of the buildings on Main Street have been converted into residential buildings as a result.

aesthetics

The houses from the mid-19th century show the influence of neoclassicism , which was still popular at the time. The shape of the houses is right-angled, the interior of the building is aligned with the main hall that is usual for this style. The bat dormers are another feature that was used on these buildings.

The buildings that were built later already show the rise of the neo-Gothic architectural style. The steeply rising cross gable in the middle of the building is the most striking feature. Later changes and additions to the other buildings were influenced by this, this is most likely to be seen in House 9A by Lawson.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The entry in the information system of the US National Park Service names the area. The next largest "Main Street Historic District" is according to those data with an area of ​​1.6 acres in Trempealeau , Wisconsin .
  2. ^ A b c d e f g h i Neil Larson: National Register of Historic Places nomination, Main Street Historic District ( English ) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . December 1986. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  3. ↑ Charles Hill: 9A Main Street ( English ) Retrieved on 5 November, 2008.
  4. ↑ Charles Hill: 10 Main Street ( English ) Retrieved on 5 November, 2008.
  5. ↑ Charles Hill: 12 Main Street ( English ) Retrieved on 5 November, 2008.
  6. ↑ Charles Hill: 13 Main Street ( English ) Retrieved on 5 November, 2008.
  7. ↑ Charles Hill: 15 Main Street ( English ) Retrieved on 5 November, 2008.

Coordinates: 41 ° 35 '14 "  N , 73 ° 56' 54"  W.