Why did Albany developed rowhouses and Syr/Roc/Buff didn't? (New York: home builders, neighborhood)
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Does anyone know why Albany and Troy developed dense Philly style rowhouses, but Syr/Roc/Buffalo have more of the mid-western SFHs type development. I know Albany is an older city, but are the rowhouses in Albany really that much older than the detached homes built in Buffalo/Rochester? By 1880, Buffalo was already bigger than Albany and Rochester was about the same size.
Does anyone know why Albany and Troy developed dense Philly style rowhouses, but Syr/Roc/Buffalo have more of the mid-western SFHs type development. I know Albany is an older city, but are the rowhouses in Albany really that much older than the detached homes built in Buffalo/Rochester? By 1880, Buffalo was already bigger than Albany and Rochester was about the same size.
This is only a guess but I'm wondering if its because Albany was settled by the Dutch. Brooklyn was also settled by the Dutch and Troy reminds me a lot of a small Brooklyn.
Does anyone know why Albany and Troy developed dense Philly style rowhouses, but Syr/Roc/Buffalo have more of the mid-western SFHs type development. I know Albany is an older city, but are the rowhouses in Albany really that much older than the detached homes built in Buffalo/Rochester? By 1880, Buffalo was already bigger than Albany and Rochester was about the same size.
Albany is one of the oldest cities in the United States, actually(1664). So, it is an older city that developed earlier than most.
This is only a guess but I'm wondering if its because Albany was settled by the Dutch. Brooklyn was also settled by the Dutch and Troy reminds me a lot of a small Brooklyn.
When I moved to the Albany area in 1987, this contrast was one of the first things I noticed, too, and since I have a strong interest in history and architecture I've thought a lot about this.
Since the original city of Albany was right down by the Hudson River and has since been obliterated, it's not a left over from the Dutch. The same is true of NYC. Moreover, other East Coast cities, notably Baltimore, Philly, and Boston have rowhouses, too, and they don't have Dutch origins.
Almost all of the rowhouses that exist today in both Albany and NYC date from the Civil War era or later. My guess is that the rowhouses started in NYC as that city exploded in population after the war from a combination of in-migration from the rest of the country and from immigration. Because Albany was the state capital and a short train or steamboat ride up the Hudson, there was a lot more travel between the two cities than there was between NYC and the cities further west, so Albany home builders and buyers would have been more familiar with rowhouses than most of the people living in the Upstate cities.
When I moved to the Albany area in 1987, this contrast was one of the first things I noticed, too, and since I have a strong interest in history and architecture I've thought a lot about this.
Since the original city of Albany was right down by the Hudson River and has since been obliterated, it's not a left over from the Dutch. The same is true of NYC. Moreover, other East Coast cities, notably Baltimore, Philly, and Boston have rowhouses, too, and they don't have Dutch origins.
Almost all of the rowhouses that exist today in both Albany and NYC date from the Civil War era or later. My guess is that the rowhouses started in NYC as that city exploded in population after the war from a combination of in-migration from the rest of the country and from immigration. Because Albany was the state capital and a short train or steamboat ride up the Hudson, there was a lot more travel between the two cities than there was between NYC and the cities further west, so Albany home builders and buyers would have been more familiar with rowhouses than most of the people living in the Upstate cities.
Great points and the Hudson River was used as a transport route before the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Even decades later, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse were only about 2 or 3 decades old as cities around the time of the Civil War and were likely still in the early stages of development.
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I believe the row houses presence is due to the city growing during the Federal Period (1780 and 1830) where this type of home was predominate. The other cities although founded didn't have significant growth till later in the century after styles had changed.
You answered part of your question, Albany and Troy are both much older and where chartered as cities long before Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo came into existence. In fact Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are relatively young cities when compared to Albany, Hartford, Boston, New York City, Jersey City, and Philadelphia. The further west you venture the less dense the cities become along with larger city land areas.
Albany, and nearby Schenectady, date back to the colonial era. Albany is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US and received its city charter from the English monarch (James I think in 1686). Nearby Schenectady has a few houses dating back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries in the "Stockade" district. So my point, as well as that of others here, is that Albany has more in common with the other colonial eastern seaboard cities than the "newbies' like Buffalo and Rochester which were, for the most part, settled after the American revolution. I can't say much in regard to Troy except Washington Square is surrounded by rowhouses (townhouses).
Elmira also has rowhouses in its Near West End neighborhood, maybe a blocks' worth. So basically, in the same vein as the other Upstate cities besides Albany...
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