USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 32
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with readings by Mrs. Seott Siddons, under the name of Rand's opera house. Other changes made in 1888 made the theatre practically what it has since remained.
The structure known as the Congress street bridge, crossing the Hudson river between the foot of Congress street, Troy, and West Troy, was completed and opened to traffic October 2, 1874. It was erected at a cost of. $350,000 by the Troy & West Troy Bridge com- pany, organized April 23, 1872, the work having been begun in the fall of that year.
April 15, 1874, the Episcopal church home, on the northeast corner of Broadway and Seventh street, which had been erected the previous year at a cost of about $30,000, was dedicated. Six years after the chapel north of the home was erected by the children of Mrs. Jacob L. Lane to her memory. The home was founded November 13, 1854, by the brotherhood of St. Barnabas, its first name being the House of Mercy and its location No. 5 Harrison place. Four years later it was removed to Federal street, between Sixth and Eighth streets. It was destroyed in the great fire of 1862, but was immediately rebuilt. April 17, 1863, it was incorporated under the name which it has sinee borne, " The Church Home of the City of Troy."
Two notable events occurred in the year 1875 -- the completion of the splendid Troy Savings bank building, which ineludes Music hall, one of the finest concert auditoriums in the country; and the laying of the corner-stone of the handsome city hall, which was erected principally through the efforts of Edward Murphy, jr., then mayor of Troy, after- ward United States Senator. These two structures are among the handsomest and most substantial in the city.
The foundation of the massive and imposing building of the Troy Savings bank was begin July 8, 1871, on the northeast corner of State and Second streets. The ereetion of the building occupied nearly four years, and its entire cost, including the land on which it stands, was about $135,000. The building was first occupied by the bank March 24, 1875, and the dedication of Music hall, which occupies its entire upper portion, occurred on the evening of Monday, April 19, of that year, when Theodore Thomas's famous orchestra, assisted by noted vocalists, gave a concert. The structure has a frontage of one hundred feet on Second street, and extends one hundred and thirty feet east- ward on State street. Music hall is one hundred and six feet deep and sixty-nine feet wide, exclusive of the boxes, twenty-four in number,
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Ochward Murphy
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and the corridors, twelve feet in width; and has a maximum height of sixty feet. The hall has a seating capacity of 1,250 persons. In 1890 the great concert organ, one of the finest and most powerful in the country, forty two feet wide and thirty feet high, was placed in posi- tion.
The first effort to seeure a city hall was made May 7, 1869, when the Legislature passed an act incorporating "The City Hall Company of the City of Troy." This law authorized the incorporators to purchase a site and erect thereon a public building to be used as a city hall and for other purposes. The original intention of the promotors of the projeet was that the Troy Savings bank should oceupy part of the building, which by the new law was permitted to contribute a portion of its surplus funds to provide quarters for itself in the building in contem- plation, and to own the building jointly with the City Hall company ; but when the bank decided to erect a home of its own the plans of the company were abandoned. For five years after this the plans for a city hall languished. Finally, in 1865, Mayor Edward Murphy, jr., ealled the attention of the Common Couneil to the necessity of the erection of a building for the exclusive use of the officers of the various depart- ments of the municipal government, and urged upon them the foolish- ness of temporizing by purchasing the old Athenaeum building for the purpose. Despite his opposition, however, the Common Council, on April 1, directed a committee to purchase the Athenaeum building, which the city officers had oceupied for several years, at a cost of $60,000. Mayor Murphy promptly vetoed the resolution and set to work to promote his cherished plan for a new and appropriate home for the city, So well did he and other progressive citizens succeed that the Legislature, on May 21, 1815, passed an act authorizing the city to purchase a site and erect a city hall at a cost not to exceed the sum of $120,000. June 8 a committee of the Common Council selected the . site on the southeast corner of State and Third streets, then owned by the heirs to the Vanderheyden estate and occupied as the Third Street Burial-ground, and paid therefore $10,000. The work of removing the bodies was begun soon after and November 15, 1875, the plans of Architect M. F. Cummings having been accepted, the corner stone was laid by George M. Tibbits. The building was occupied for the first time in October, 1876, its total cost having been $119,761.61, a little less than the total amount allowed by law. The clock in the tower was purchased in 1885 and began running August 21 of that year; and
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the fire alarm bell, which was cast at the Jones bell foundry, was put in position April 21, 1887. The building is one hundred and fifty feet long and eighty-three feet wide.
A new era in navigation on the Hudson river was inaugurated in 1876 when, on April 1, the handsome and fast steamer City of Troy was launched at Greenpoint, L. I., for the Citizens' Steamboat com- pany of Troy. This company was organized in the winter of 1871-12 with a capital stock of $250,000 and these directors: Norman B. Squires, Charles Eddy, Charles W. Farnam, Robert Robinson, Robert Green, Harry 11. Darling, Charles L MacArthur, E. D. Beach, James R. Fonda, William Kemp, Thomas D. Abrams, George W. Horton and Joseph Cornell. The next spring the steamboats Sunnyside and Thomas Powell, which had been purchased of Cornell, Horton & Co. of Catskill, began making regular trips at night. The former boat was lost Decem- ber 1, 1875, and the company at once contracted for the construction of a new steamer, which they named City of Troy. Soon afterward a contract for her sister boat was made, and she was launched from the same shipyard March 26, 1877, and named Saratoga. Both boats have been running regularly between Troy and New York ever since, in the season of navigation, making alternate trips in each direction.
With the acceptance by the city of Beman park October 1, 1828, a sightly lot of ground given by John Sherry, a wealthy and public- spirited citizen, the park area of Troy was greatly enhanced Beman park contains about six acres of land and occupies a splendid location on the summit of a hill in the eastern part of the city, its southern and eastern boundaries being, in 1896, farm lands. From time to time im- provements have been made and the park, with possible additions, is destined to remain, as it now is, the most popular and in many ways the most desirable in Troy. The two other parks are Seminary park and Washington park. The former is little more than a good-sized lawn and the latter cannot be called public property. Seminary park occupies the northern half of the block bounded by First, Ferry, Second and Congress streets, north of the First Presbyterian church and the buildings of the Emma Willard Female Seminary. It was established in 1802, when the trustees of the village of Troy appropriated $300, which was expended in grading the grounds, planting trees, laying walks, fencing in the grounds, etc. Washington park since 1840 has been " devoted to the purpose of a private, ornamental park for the use and recreation of the owners of lots" fronting on it. It is bounded by
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Second street, Washington place, Third street and Washington street and since its establishment has been maintained, within an iron fence and locked gates, for the exclusive use of residents of those portions of the streets fronting on it.
The facilities of the Day home for children, on the east side of Seventh street between Congress and State streets, were greatly im- proved in 1879 when E. Thompson Gale erected the Day home chapel and school building on the north side of the lot, as a memorial to his son, Alfred De Forest Gale. The institution was established in the fall of 1858 by a number of women as an industrial school for poor chil- dren, its first home being the rooms of the Ladies' Home Missionary society on Seventh street. It was incorporated as the Children's Home society April 10, 1861, and May 1 of that year the Tibbits mansion, on the present site, was purchased for $7,000, its dedication taking place June 27. The name was changed to its present one March 5, 1866. Between eighty and one hundred children there receive free daily in- struction in the elementary studies and in domestic handiwork.
The Grand Central theatre, on the west side of Fourth street just be- low Broadway, was opened June 7, 1875; was burned December 24, 1881; reconstructed the following year, and was again burned March 21, 1882. The original theatre was formerly the First Unitarian church edifice.
The Troy club was incorporated November 27, 1867. December 14 of that year the club rented the house on the northwest corner of Con- gress and Second streets and occupied it in the following January. In 1886 and 1888 the club erected a handsome home of its own on the southwest corner of First and Congress streets and occupied it for the first time November 29 of the latter year.
In 1889 the Troy & Lansingburgh Railway company began the work of equipping its various lines with electricity. The work was so far progressed in August that at 11 p. M. on the 28th of that month the first electric motor car started on a trial trip. Since that time every line in the city and Lansingburgh, and those running to Waterford, Cohoes and Glen Island have been similarly equipped, the company furnishing a service equal to that of any other city in the country. In 1896 a transfer ticket system was adopted, by which patrons of any of the lines controlled by the company may be transferred from one line to another and ride to or very near any point in the city for a single fare.
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As has been related, the name of Vanderheyden, by which the settle- ment which afterward became the eity of Troy was first known, was abandoned and the name of Troy formally substituted by proclamation in the Albany Gazette beginning January 5, 1789. As the centennial anniversary of the event approached it was decided by prominent resi- dents of the city to celebrate it " in a manner worthy of its importance and creditable to the citizens." The first meeting of citizens was held in the rooms of the Troy Young Men's association December 11, ISS8. December 14 another meeting was held, at which C. E. Dudley Tibbits was elected president, Walter P. Warren, William E. Ilagan and Lewis E. Gurley vice presidents, William HI. Young, Francis N. Mann and Edward F. Murray secretaries, and Joseph J. Tillinghast treasurer. The committee to arrange for the celebration, named at that meeting, was constituted as follows:
C. E. Dudley Tibbits, Derick Lane, Walter P. Warren, Lewis E. Gurley, Edward C. Gale, William E. Ilagan, William HI. Young, Jonas S. Heartt, Walter P. Tillman, James A. Burden, Charles B. Russell, George B. Warren, Thomas W. Lock wood, John 1. Thompson, Henry B. Dauchy, Samuel M. Vail, Dr. Henry R. Lane, Benja- min II. Hall, William Kemp, William A. Thompson, E. Warren Paine, J. Wool Griswold, Francis N. Mann, Joseph Hillman, Edward Murphy, jr., William E. Gil- bert, Isaac MeComhe, William DI. Doughty, Adam R. Smith, William S. Earl, James A. Eddy, Edward M. Green, Gilbert Geer, jr., James F. Cowee, Peter Balti- more, Foster Bosworth, Charles S. Brintnall, Gardner Rand, Henry Swartont, John H. Knox, Willard Gay, Charles W. Tillinghast, William Orr, Joseph W. Fuller, Martin I. Townsend, Rev. Dr. J. Ireland Tucker, Rev. Dr. George C. Baldwin, Rev. Peter Havermans, John M. Francis, Daniel Robinson, John D. Spicer, George B. Cluett, Thomas Coleman, J. J. Gillespy, George Il. Cramer, George H. Freeman, Henry C. Lockwood, Col. Charles L. MacArthur, Norman B. Squires, Otis G. Clark, Harvey J. King, James II. Kellogg, Hemy O'R. Tucker, Dennis J. Whelan, Ed- ward Bolton, David Bastable, James W. Daley, Francis A. Fales, Samuel 11. Lasell, Chauncey D. Packard, George A. Stone, Robert Cluett, Justin Kellogg, Arthur J. Weise, M. F. Cummings. General Joseph B. Carr, Charles Cleminshaw, Michael F. Collins, Jesse B. Anthony, George 11. Mead, Henry G. Ludlow, John J. Purcell, George P. Ide, W. J. Tyner, William L. Van Alstyne, John P. Pratt, Edmund Fitz- gerald, Charles A. MeLeod, David M. Ranken, Clinton H. Meneely, Edward F. Murray, James W. Cusack, Henry B. Nims, Gilbert Robertson, jr., Emanuel Marks, Henry Kreiss, Dexter Moody, William W. Whitman, Edward Carter and William II. Frear.
The celebration began on the evening of Wednesday, January 2, 1889, when a concert was given in Music hall under the direction of John II. Knox, Edmund Clnett, Justin Kellogg, William H. Hollister, jr , J. E. Schoonmaker and A. W. Harrington, jr. Those who partici-
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pated were Mrs. William B. Wilson, soprano; Miss Jeannie Lyman, contralto; the Troy Vocal society, the Troy Choral union, the Troy Männerchor, Doring's military band and Maschke's cadet band. A feature of the concert was the singing of the Centennial hymn, written especially for the occasion by Benjamin HI. Hall, by the three vocal societies.
Thursday was known as "Historical Day." In the afternoon a largely attended meeting was held in Music hall under the direction of Norman B. Squires, J. W. Alfred Cluett, Henry B. Dauchy, M. F. Cum- mings, Edward Carter and Henry Clay Bascom. Edwin A. King, a lineal descendant of Jacob D. Van der Heyden, read a paper on " The Patroon of Troy; " Benjamin 11. Hall read an original poem on " The Naming and Progress of Troy;" J. W. Alfred Cluett read an address on " The Future City Improvements of Troy; " Lewis E. Gurley read a paper on " The Manufactures of Troy; " Walter P. Warren on " The Mercantile Interests of Troy," and William E. Hagan read a poetical version of an ancient tradition of Troy, entitled " Dirk Van der Iley- den's Dream."
Thursday night was known as " Church Night," at which nearly all the pastors of Troy were present. The programme for the evening contained the subjects of the addresses to be delivered as follows: " Intro- ductory Address, " Rev. N. B. Remick of the Ninth Presbyterian church; "Presbyterian Churches of Troy," Rev. Theophilus P. Sawin of the First Presbyterian church; "Troy Pastorates," Rev. Dr. George C. Baldwin, former pastor of the First Particular Baptist church; " Bap- tist Churches of Troy," Rev. Dr. L. M. S. Haynes of the First Particu- lar Baptist church; " Past and Present," Rev. Dr. J. Ireland Tucker of the Church of the Holy Cross; " Episcopal Churches of Troy, " Rev. Edgar A. Enos of St. Paul's Episcopal church; "Methodist Churches of Troy," Rev. Dr. George W. Brown of the State Street Methodist Episcopal church; " Recollections," Rev. Peter Havermans of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church; " Roman Catholic Churches of Troy," Rev. John Walsh of St. Peter's Roman Catholic church; "Univer- salist Church of Troy," Rev. Dr. O. F. Safford of the First Uni- versalist church; "A. M. E. Zion Church," Rev. George E. Smith of the Zion Methodist Episcopal church; "United Presbyterian Church of Troy," Rev. R. D. Williamson of the United Presbyterian church ; " Liberty Street Presbyterian Church," Rev. A. S. Mays of the Liberty Street Presbyterian church; " Unitarian Church of Troy," Francis O.
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Dorr; " Jewish Synagogues of Troy," Rev. A. N. Coleman of Berith Sholom synagogue; "Churches of Christ in Troy," Rev. W. W. Wit- mer of the First Church of Christ; " Lutheran Church in Troy," Rev. A. F. Walz of Trinity German Lutheran church; " Evangelical Church of Troy," Rev. Otto Becher of St. Paul's German Evangelical church. On account of the lateness of the hour the addresses of Revs. George E. Smith, A. S. Mays, A. N. Coleman, W. W. Witmer, A. F. Walz and Otto Becher were omitted. While the meeting in Music hall was in progress the German citizens of Troy were celebrating the event at Apollo hall by singing, historical tableaux and an address by Werner Strecker.
Friday afternoon the public school festival occurred under the direc- tion of Lewis E. Gurley, Harvey J. King, Francis N. Mann, David Beat- tie and Albert Smith. Several national hyms were sung by a chorus of 500 pupils of the public schools and prizes of $20 each were awarded the writers of the best essay and the best poem on the history, progress and promise of Troy, the contest being limited to pupils of the public schools. The prize for the best essay was awarded to Charles S. Mc- Sorley and for the best poem to Warren S. Gardner. Addresses were delivered by David Beattie, superintendent of schools, on "The Publie Schools; " by Albert Smith on " The Future of our Public Schools," and by Benjamin H. Ilall on " Emma Willard and Amos Eaton."
Friday night was " Lawyers' Night." The public meeting in Music hall was presided over by Supreme Court Justice Charles R. Ingalls, assisted by Judge Gilbert Robertson, jr., Charles E. Patterson, Justin Kellogg and George B. Wellington. After the introductory address by Judge Ingalls, interesting papers were read as follows: By the Hon. Edgar L. Fursman on "A Plea for My Own Profession ;" by the Hon. Franklin J. Parmenter on "The Life and Character of the Hon. George Gould; " by the Hon. Martin 1. Townsend on " The Life and Character of the Ion. David L. Seymour;" by the Hon. Roswell A. Parmenter on " The Life and Character of the Hon. William A. Beach ; " by Ben- jamin H. Hall on "The Life of the Hon. John Paine Cushman," "The Life of David Buel, jr.," and " The Life and Character of the Ilon. William Learned Marcy."
The closing features of the centennial celebration began at midnight Friday by the discharge of fireworks in profusion, the ringing of many bells, the sounding of whistles, numerous bonfires and one hundred strokes on the fire alarm bell in the city hall. At sunrise the next
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PHILIP H. HICKS.
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morning a salute of one hundred guns was fired on Centre island by a squad of artillerymen from Watervliet arsenal. The festivities in the city continued throughout the entire day and late into the night. The town was in gala attire, the national colors and other decorations being exposed everywhere. Thousands of strangers flocked to the city from all directions. The committee in charge of the day's festivities was composed of General Joseph B. Carr, Walter P. Warren, William E. Gilbert, James W. Cusack, William S. Earl, William E. Hagan, George H. Mead, Edward F. Murray and C. Whitney Tillinghast, 2nd. The parade began at 11 o'clock under General Carr as grand marshal, the six divisions being in charge respectively of Colonel Walter P. Warren, J. Lansing Lane, Cornelius F. Burns, George H. Mead, Colonel Will- iam Il. Munn and Albert Tompkins. Among the prominent men who rode in the parade was Governor David B. Hill. In the evening there was another big parade under the direction of Captain James HI. Lloyd, grand marshal. Nearly every residence and business house in the city was illuminated and at the close of the parade there were extensive displays of fireworks. This ended the celebration, which was in every particular a success. As a memento of this memorable occasion in the history of Troy a bronze medal was struck, on one side being a repre- sentation of the village at the time the name was changed from Van- derheyden to Troy, and on the other the seal of the city of Troy in 1889.
'The 100th anniversary of the inauguration of President Washington was celebrated by the citizens of Troy in a becoming manner April 30, 1889. Services were held in many of the churches. At the First Bap- tist church a historical address was delivered by Justice Charles R. Ingalls of the Supreme Court. Public buildings and many residences and business houses were decorated with the national colors, typifying the spirit of the day.
The Gardner Earl Memorial chapel and crematory was erected in 1888, beginning April 12, by William S. and Hannah M. Earl, in mem- ory of their son, Gardner Earl. The structure was completed in No- vember, 1889. The first eremations in the Earl crematory took place Monday, January 6, 1890, when the bodies of Jonas S. Heartt and Hamlin Black, the four year-old son of Hon. Frank S. Black, were incin- erated. The operation was in charge of an expert and was entirely successful.
Three lives were lost early on the morning of Saturday, March 15, 1890, by a great landslide down Warren's hill, a part of Mount Ida,
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where such disasters had occurred on several previous occasions. The killed were Mrs. Margaret Noonan; Mrs. Timothy Hogan, her daughter; and Annie Burns, aged eleven years. Several other persons were injured.
Sunday night, September 21, 1890, fire destroyed the handsome res- idenee of George N. Manchester and E. Smith Strait, known as Sye- away Villa, located on the Stone Road just east of the western limits of the town. Ralph Manchester, aged 11 years, son of George N. Manchester, beeame dazed by the flames and was burned to death, and his father was badly hurt. Several other occupants narrowly escaped with their lives.
'The old Schuyler mansion, situated on the bank of the Hudson river near the foot of Harrison street, with the farm was purchased of Philip S. Schuyler about 1809 by the Hoyl Farm company, which held it until 1835, when Francis N. Mann purchased it at a mortgage foreclosure sale. It remained in the possession of Mr. Mann until 1861, when it was sold to William Burden. It remained in the possession of the Burden family until 1891, when it was torn down.
The famous Columbian Liberty bell, which was on exhibition at the world's fair at Chicago in 1893, and is now in the custody of the city of Philadelphia, was cast at the bell foundry of the Meneely Bell company, Thursday, June 23, 1893. The bell weighs about 13,000 pounds, and into it was infused 17,000 pounds of material, consisting of 12,000 pounds of eopper, 3,000 pounds of tin, 1,000 pounds of bell material, 200 pounds of pennies, a quantity of gold and silver, and a piece of the famous liberty bell of Philadelphia, contributions having been received from many persons in all parts of the country. The material which was not used in the bell was made up into miniature bells.
Two disastrous fires ocenrred in Troy December 14 and 15, 1893. About 8.45 P. M. on the first-named day flames were discovered in the mammoth general store of William H. Frear, on Cannon place, known as Frear's Bazaar. The entire fire department was called into service and fought valiantly, but as the flames had originated in an upper story it was hard to get water to the spot. To increase the difficulties which confronted the firemen zero weather prevailed, and the water broke into a fine spray and froze before it reached the fire. The flames were confined mainly to the two upper stories of the building, but most of the stoek on the lower floors was more or less damaged by smoke and water, Mr. Frear's loss was not far from $100,000, which was covered
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by insurance. Other smaller concerns occupying part of the building suffered losses aggregating about $25, 000.
On the afternoon of the day following fire started in the fourth story of the big store of J. M. Warren & Co. on the southwest corner of Broadway and River street and before it could be controlled a loss of nearly $100,000 had been caused, most of which was covered by insur- ance.
During the latter months of the year 1893 the inhabitants of Troy, especially the large wage-earning class dependent upon the score or more of shirt, collar and cuff manufactories for a subsistence, raised their voice in protest against the passage by Congress of any tariff bill which should appreciably decrease the import duties on the products for which Troy is famous the world over. This opposition increased upon the introduction of the measure prepared by Representative Wil- liam L. Wilson of Virginia, called the Wilson Tariff Bill. During the early days of the session of 1893-4 hundreds of citizens besought United States Senator Edward Murphy, jr., of Troy, and Representative Charles D. Haines of Kinderhook, by letter and interview, to oppose the passage of the bill on the grounds that it would greatly injure, if not ruin, the collar and cuff industry of Troy. On the evening of Tuesday, Decem- ber 19, 1893, one of the greatest mass meetings in the history of the city was held in Music hall to protest against the enactment of the pro- posed law. Mayor Dennis J. Whelan presided over the great gather- ing and many representative men occupied seats on the stage. Speeches denunciatory of the proposed law were made by Corporation Council William J. Roche, Rev. Theophilus P. Sawin, pastor of the First Pres- byterian church; Jeremiah K. Long, a lawyer; llon. Lewis E. Griffith, county judge; James P. Hooley, ex-member of assembly from the first district of Rensselaer county, and Rev. John Walsh, pastor of St. Peter's Catholic church. A memorial presented by John Flynn and addressed to Congress, asking that body to retain the protective duties on collars and cuffs, was adopted by a unanimous vote at the close of the meeting. In addition to this meeting a petition to the same end was circulated, receiving the signatures of many thousand persons of both sexes and all political parties. As a result of the meeting and petition and the combined efforts of Senator Murphy and Representa- tive Haines, Congress left a protective duty on collars and cuffs.
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