Olmstead Street Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Olmstead Street Historic District is located along two blocks of that street in Cohoes
, New York
, United States
. It is a microcosm of the city's economy at its peak in the mid- to late 19th century, consisting of a former textile mill
complex, a filled-in section of the original Erie Canal
, and three long blocks of row houses built for the millworkers.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973. Today the row houses still serve as affordable housing
.
) streets. This area is just to the northwest of the larger Downtown Cohoes Historic District
.
The 18 buildings included in this 10-acre (4 ha) area are the houses and the former Ogden Mills complex, with its own parking lot, known as Ogden Mills Plaza. Between the street and the plaza is a grassy strip that was part of the original alignment of the Erie Canal. Today it has been made into a park, with playground
s and other facilities.
The mill complex consists of three sections. The north and south wings are both three and a half stories tall with gable
d roofs, corbel
ed cornice
s and a square tower rising from their 24-bay
west facade
s. The seven-bay central section, built later, comes to a full four stories. Both of its facades project slightly. It has a low-pitched gable roof and a modillioned cornice. There are two outbuildings.
The rowhouses across the street are in three blocks. All are three stories high and built of brick on rubblestone foundations, but there are some differences. The longest is the northernmost, at 42 bays. It has dormer windows and stone-trimmed windows. It extends from Cayuga to Van Vechten Street, where the 15-bay middle block begins on the opposite corner. Its buildings are flat-roofed and have wood-trimmed windows. Connected to it at its south end is the 18-bay south block, with gabled roofs, seven chimney
s and a corbeled cornice.
, built two decades earlier, had become so successful that its management found it necessary to build the Enlarged Erie Canal to handle larger vessels. They abandoned the original route for one that ran to the west of the present-day city. The Cohoes Company, which operated a smaller, local canal system that provided water power
to the industry attracted to the area by the canal, took over the former route.
The company built the north and south sections of the mill first, in 1844 and 1846 respectively. The houses were built across a new street named for company agent Charles A. Olmstead, who had supervised the original power canal construction. By 1847 the Ogden Mills were the city's leading producer of woven
cotton
.
That changed quickly. An 1849 strike
over a 15% wage cut ended after three weeks when workers feared losing their jobs to replacements
that Olmstead had advertised for, but the company failed in 1851. Harmony Mills
bought the plant and expanded it in 1859 with the middle section. By the later years of the century it was part of one of the largest cotton-production actions in the country.
The mill continued to be used for clothing manufacture until the late 20th century. Today it has been converted
into a mixed-use
complex with apartments, retail and office space. The house blocks are now Section 8
affordable housing
.
Cohoes, New York
Cohoes is an incorporated city located at the northeast corner of Albany County in the US state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile production to its growth. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 16,168...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a microcosm of the city's economy at its peak in the mid- to late 19th century, consisting of a former textile mill
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
complex, a filled-in section of the original Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
, and three long blocks of row houses built for the millworkers.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973. Today the row houses still serve as affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
.
Properties
The district is defined as both sides of Olmstead Street between Cayuga and Ontario (also NY 470New York State Route 470
New York State Route 470 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 9R just west of the Cohoes city limits in Colonie. The eastern terminus is at a junction with U.S. Route 4 in Troy...
) streets. This area is just to the northwest of the larger Downtown Cohoes Historic District
Downtown Cohoes Historic District
The Downtown Cohoes Historic District takes up of the city of Cohoes, New York, United States. Many of the 165 contributing properties date from the 1820-1930 period when the Erie Canal and Harmony Mills were the mainstay of the city's economy. It was recognized as a historic district and added to...
.
The 18 buildings included in this 10-acre (4 ha) area are the houses and the former Ogden Mills complex, with its own parking lot, known as Ogden Mills Plaza. Between the street and the plaza is a grassy strip that was part of the original alignment of the Erie Canal. Today it has been made into a park, with playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s and other facilities.
The mill complex consists of three sections. The north and south wings are both three and a half stories tall with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roofs, corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
ed cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s and a square tower rising from their 24-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
west facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s. The seven-bay central section, built later, comes to a full four stories. Both of its facades project slightly. It has a low-pitched gable roof and a modillioned cornice. There are two outbuildings.
The rowhouses across the street are in three blocks. All are three stories high and built of brick on rubblestone foundations, but there are some differences. The longest is the northernmost, at 42 bays. It has dormer windows and stone-trimmed windows. It extends from Cayuga to Van Vechten Street, where the 15-bay middle block begins on the opposite corner. Its buildings are flat-roofed and have wood-trimmed windows. Connected to it at its south end is the 18-bay south block, with gabled roofs, seven chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s and a corbeled cornice.
History
In the late 1830s the Erie CanalErie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
, built two decades earlier, had become so successful that its management found it necessary to build the Enlarged Erie Canal to handle larger vessels. They abandoned the original route for one that ran to the west of the present-day city. The Cohoes Company, which operated a smaller, local canal system that provided water power
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
to the industry attracted to the area by the canal, took over the former route.
The company built the north and south sections of the mill first, in 1844 and 1846 respectively. The houses were built across a new street named for company agent Charles A. Olmstead, who had supervised the original power canal construction. By 1847 the Ogden Mills were the city's leading producer of woven
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
.
That changed quickly. An 1849 strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
over a 15% wage cut ended after three weeks when workers feared losing their jobs to replacements
Replacement worker
Replacement worker is a term that refers to persons employed to replace workers who are on strike, recently sacked or otherwise lost. For possible uses of this term see:* Strike action* Lockout * H-1B visa* L-1 visa* Outsourcing* Strikebreaker...
that Olmstead had advertised for, but the company failed in 1851. Harmony Mills
Harmony Mills
Harmony Mills, in Cohoes, New York, United States, is an industrial district that is bordered by the Mohawk River and the old Erie Canal. It was listed as Harmony Mills Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and it was further declared a National Historic Landmark...
bought the plant and expanded it in 1859 with the middle section. By the later years of the century it was part of one of the largest cotton-production actions in the country.
The mill continued to be used for clothing manufacture until the late 20th century. Today it has been converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
into a mixed-use
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
complex with apartments, retail and office space. The house blocks are now Section 8
Section 8 (housing)
Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 , as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income households...
affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
.