The John Magill Houses, Troy, NY

The John Magill Houses, Troy, NY. 1872

Moving up Second Street, north of Washington Park, we can see that the same high quality of architectural design continues in the streets around the square. These two rowhouses at 146 and 148 are fine examples of upstate design. According to one resident, "both were built built by John Magill in 1872, replacing a smaller building on the property. Magill was a masonry contractor and later became a police commissioner for Troy in 1882, the year of Troy's dueling police forces. Magill lived in 148 and died in 1911, his wife until 1920. Nine children. I am fairly sure the first floor parlor was his office. The building was designed by renowned architect Marcus Cummings, who also designed old Troy City Hall (burned 1938, now Barker Park), 33 2nd St. (Daisy Bakers), the Plum Memorial Building at Sage College, and many other prominent buildings in the city. I am aware that Magill was the contractor on City Hall and Oakwood Crematory." Magill was later indicted for taking bribes.

As architect designed houses, the buildings show a high level of refinement. They follow the row house plan, with a typical side hall entrance and a brick facing. But the real delight of these houses is the details. The brownstone details are particularly nice, consisting of crisply cut drip moldings over the segmental arched windows which work with string courses and drops to frame the windows beautifully. The rusticated base as well offers a solid foundation. The houses' woodwork on the box window over the door is exquisite, with brackets that terminate in fine Greek Revival palmettes that are emphasized by steep engaged pediments. Above the window eclectically combines traditional Italianate designs with Gothic quatrefoils (clover leaves) and Eastlake incised carving. The show stopper cornice continues the quality of the box window woodwork and resembles closely the cornice seen on the Connors-Boland house, with a row of Gothic pilasters forming a blind arcade. This seems to be a particular vernacular in Troy. I particularly like the central projection in the cornice, which counterbalances the horizontal thrust of the brownstone string courses. Both these houses retain their original details perfectly. The interior of one can be seen here.

The third house in the picture, 144 Second Street, is a bit more austere but clearly reflects the design of its taller neighbors and was most certainly built around the same time. Taking a more traditional approach, this house has a pretty cool alternation of pediments, with rounded pediments on the first floor, triangular on the second, and flat moldings on the third. The same quality of woodwork continues, though the cornice has been altered to the arched type with a row of semicircles rather than a pilastered arcade. The central projection definitely echoes the Magill houses, and I'd suspect the same architect designed all three.

The Peter Thalimer and the Burden Houses, Troy, NY

The right hand house at 224 was built in 1868 by a speculator and forms part of a pair. It was first inhabited by the Burdens, owners of an ironworks. The left hand house at 222 was built in 1857 by a different speculator and was first inhabited by Peter Thalimer, who operated the company store of a nail factory. These row house plan homes are simple but elegant. The Burden house has a plan stuccoed façade with elegant segmental arched windows with very simple moldings. The front doors are particularly notable here with arched windows and triangular windows above. The Thalimer house is brick faced with fine brownstone with alternating round headed and segmental arched windows. Notable on this house is the bay window over the front door rather than a simple box window and the fine brownstone balustrades on the first floor.

The Connors-Boland House, Troy, NY

The Connors-Boland House, Troy, NY. 1880

At 216 Third Street, this house was built by a speculator in 1880 and was subsequently occupied by the Connors, who manufactured paint, and is currently owned by the Bolands. Unlike many of the other houses on Washington Park, it is faced with brick with brownstone details. It follows the typical side hall row house plan. This house is covered with Eastlake incised carving, with segmental arched hood moldings with guttae (little triangles at the bottom of a Doric triglyph) and incised foliage. The box window over the front door similarly has a combination of Eastlake and Gothic ornament. Perhaps the coolest thing about this house is its cornice. The frieze of the cornice is formed by an arcade of blind arches with tiny Gothic columns supporting them with small brackets above.

The James T. Main House, Troy, NY

The James T. Main House, Troy, NY. 1858

At 206 Third Street, this house was built for James T. Main, a grocer, in 1858, but is also known as the Fisk-Fitzgerald House. This is perhaps one of the finest houses on Washington Park and certainly has one of the fancier facades. It follow the symmetrical plan and has a simple Anglo-Italianate façade edged with quoins, always a fancy addition. The window surrounds are simple with moldings supported on brackets, but these grow smaller and simpler the further one goes up the façade. The first floor windows have tombstone windows wedged into the rectangular window opening, a feature that's very common on the square; the upper windows are simpler. This differentiation between first floor and upper windows makes for a sophisticated balance of masses. The balance is continued by the central door with an arched opening surrounded by simple pilasters and topped by a crest with the American flag, which contrasts with the more elaborate windows to the side. The central window on the second floor is a projecting box window with Tuscan pilasters, a Renaissance balustrade, and fine closely spaced brackets; this contrasts with the simpler windows to its sides. The paneled cornice, with dentils, large brackets, and smaller brackets, completing the balances by adding the right touch to the top.

The Charles W. Thompson and Francis Thayer Houses, Troy, NY

The Thompson and Thayer Houses, Troy, NY. 1860

Stylistically related to the last house I posted are these two linked houses on the north side of the square. Both these row house plan houses were built by Charles W. Thompson, the lumber merchant, in 1860, the man who built the previous house. The right hand house (larger of course with widely spaced bays) was built for himself, while the left hand house was built for flour merchant Francis Thayer. Basically all the elements are repeated. There are the same arched openings, although it seems in this case that Thompson decided to cheap out and forego the molded surrounds and rococo carving, leaving the windows plain. The cornice is exactly the same undulating type with the same arrangement of brackets. One has to wonder why. Why would Thompson basically build a simpler version of the house he had built in 1858; the only difference is a little bit more room. It seems the facade's simplicity was a bit too austere for someone. A box window seems to have been added in the 1880s/90s on the Thayer house.

A third house at the end of the ensemble is Italianate and was built for Arba Read, a brewer, in 1853. Unfortunately, it is mostly ensconced in vines and doesn't photograph well. Nonetheless, the beautiful foliage gives the house a real charm. This house is actually brick with stone quoins at the corners and follows the symmetrical plan. I suspect it was meant to be stuccoed. The house has typical bracket and molded window and door surrounds and paired brackets. A later mansard roof holds dormers. Perhaps the most amazing feature, which I have yet to see paralleled, is the bay window to the left which has panes of actual brilliant cut glass. Cut glass, familiar as an expensive luxury item for tableware is extremely rare as a treatment for windows, and this alone is something very noteworthy. This bay is probably an addition of the 1880s.

Just for the hell of it, here are the other two houses on the block facing the park.

The S. Burt Saxton House, Troy, NY

The S. Burt Saxton House, Troy, NY. 1858

This house was built in 1858 for Charles W. Thompson, the wandering lumber merchant, but it is known as the Saxton house, named after its second occupant who owned a flour mill, because Thompson built several houses on the square and lived in each of the for a short time. This is one of the finest Anglo-Italianate examples on the square with a plain façade (indeed, while some liked showing wealth with zany ornament, it seems the wealthy urban classes always preferred restraint) and a normal row house plan without any elongated bays. This is a house dominated by arches; everything is arched including the fine paneled undulating cornice that curves around the windows. The whole sits on a rusticated base. The windows and door have simple molding surrounds, but little bits of rococo carving crown each one, relieving the facades simplicity. The brackets are paired somewhat irregularly to accommodate the undulating profile of the cornice.

The Uri Gilbert House, Troy, NY

The Uri Gilbert House, Troy, NY. 1854

This house at 189 Second Street was built in 1854 for Charles Thompson, who again only occupied it briefly; thus, it is known for its second occupant, a stagecoach manufacturer. Charles Thompson seems to have been a peripatetic figure in Washington Park, building one house, staying in it for a few years, building another, and then relocating. This is one of the largest houses on the square being a full five bay plan row house. Uri Gilbert is infamous for his coachman, an escaped slave rescued by the citizens of Troy from being sent south. The brownstone façade is perhaps the most properly Anglo-Italianate of the bunch, with iron balconies on every window, brackets supporting moldings, a lack of framing, and an arched doorway with an exaggerated bracket/molding topper. The cornice features long brackets, architrave moldings, and interrupted dentils. The really impressive element is the stone balcony that runs across the entire façade over the rusticated basement and the sweeping central staircase with its curving balustrade. That surely cost a good amount, both in conception and upkeep, especially as the structure does not seem strongly supported. One could not get away with intruding that much on a public sidewalk today!