Let's start the new year becoming familiar with Troy's most endangered historic sites and see if we can't save them from the wrecking ball by bringing them to the public's attention. As you look around Troy, you see a great deal of vacant buildings, especially in a city where 13,430 of the existing 23,093 buildings left were built before 1940. More than 3000 of that total are currently vacant. So we really are looking at the top ten list of endangered commercial buildings this time around.

First I will list the Top Ten Endangered buildings:

1 Troy Bell Foundry, First and Adams
2 Quackenbush Dept Store, Third and Broadway
3 Browns Building, 207-215 Broadway
4 Rensselaer Rolling Mills, South Troy
5 Burden Horseshoe Building, south Troy
6 Albany Rolling Mill, South Troy
7 Riverside Club & Freihofer's, Burgh
8 Proctor's Theater, 4th Street
9 Woodside Presbyterian Church, South Troy
10 William H. Young Booksellers, 9 First Street.

This week we will discuss the building nearest to City Hall, the Browns Building, located at 207-215 Broadway, across from the old Hendrick Hudson hotel. The city owns the building.

Built around 1876, it's named after its builder, Samuel B. Brown of Bennington, Vermont. He acquired the land from Josephus and Margaret Brockway in 1839 but didn't develop it for another 35 years. It's unclear if any structure was put on the land until 1876.

One of the first merchants in the building was Thatcher Clark who turned 215 into a boarding house. Several other storefronts were created at 213, 211, 209, and 207 for future tenants and filled quickly. That same year, James Hatch, a confectioner and fruit dealer moved into 213, and R. P. Tunnard, a pharmaceutical retail and dry goods retailer moved into 211. By1894, it was well known as a "merchants stomping grounds," as all five stores were filled selling everything from hats to candy.

The boarding house at 215 became known as "The Clark House," under a new proprietor, Charles Batchelder. At 213, Mrs. M Brown managed a confectionary store, and 211 had Mrs. S.A. Walker who was a milliner. William Vanderburg, at 209, sold boots and shoes, and at 207, Misses Elizabeth and Sara Skene had their millinery business there. Interestingly, considering the time, this early commercial building seemed to have more women businesses than men. Many of these people were still in the building at the turn of the 20th century.

By 1902, the Clark House changed hands again with C.C. Sinsabaugh as owner and renamed it the Victoria Hotel, but it was short lived. The following year George C. Lucas bought it and renamed it back to the Clark House. In 1934, a restaurant named the Tavern opened by Albert and Alphonse Ramone and his wife Bessie at 209 211. Alphonse and Bessie purchased the Browns Building complete in 1936. By 1958, only the Tavern and Clark House were still operating in the building. Starting in 1960, the Troy Chamber of Commerce began to hold their meetings at the Tavern. I remember as a little kid seeing live lobsters in the front of their easel shaped window.

The Tavern moved in 1962 when Alphonse Ramone died, but Bessie his wife maintained ownership. By the way, there has been a newsstand in the building off and on starting before 1934. By 1967, only the Clark House and Broadway News were still in operation. After several ownership changes of the building from 1966 and several attempts to operate new businesses, even the reopening of the Tavern in 1968 (to 1979), the building seemed doomed. Even though other uses were attempted, the Clark House and Broadway News continued. Finally, in 1981 the Clark House closed after serving for more than a century. To this day there still is a newsstand in the building. The entire length of the building has an ornate cast iron façade although only about a quarter of it is showing.

Perhaps the most famous connection to the Browns Building is in 1938. It has been written that the popular songwriter and pianist Frankie Carle, penned Sunrise Serenade, the number one hit of the time, (million seller) with lyricist Jack Lawrence, while working at the hotel. The hotel had a "seedier" reputation then.

The building has been slowly deteriorating until the city stabilized it last year. It's future is still unclear but it has many possibilities, such as more retail, even housing, and hopefully will be rehabilitated.