Central Troy Historic District - Geography

Geography

The district boundary was drawn to include the highest concentration of historic resources. The street plan dates to 1787 and the most recent historic building dates to 1940, making those years the period of significance. While some newer buildings are inevitably located within the area, the boundary, where possible, excluded significant mid and late 20th-century buildings like the city hall, low-income housing projects, and the Uncle Sam Atrium, a large shopping mall downtown. All of the original five historic districts are included in full, along with other historic neighborhoods, for a total of 10% of the city's area.

It is centered around the axes of US 4 and NY 2, both of which divide into one-way streets (Third and Fourth and Congress and Ferry, respectively) to facilitate traffic flow through the city. Monument Square, the center of Troy since the late 19th century, along with all the buildings around it (save for the late 20th-century, brutalist City Hall) are located within its northwestern corner. At its western end it is partially bounded by the Hudson River, and the former River Street Historic District.

To the south it includes the older buildings of Russell Sage College, Washington Square Park and the houses on Adams Street, the district's southern boundary. The mostly regular southeastern boundary follows Clinton Street until it reaches Ferry. Then it becomes ragged and irregular, reaching the district's northernmost extent at the former Grand Street Historic District. This extension allows it to include as well the Gurley Building and its surrounding neighborhood, formerly the Fifth Street-Fulton Street Historic District.

To the east of the district Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy's most notable institution of higher learning, is situated on a low rise overlooking downtown. RPI has played an increasing role in the district in recent years, and now owns several notable buildings.

The entire district is densely developed, primarily residential in its northern and southern portions, with commercial use concentrated in central blocks near Monument Square. The only significant open spaces within it are the one-block Washington Park near its southern end and Seminary Park, the main quad at Russell Sage. Most of the major streets and the central area of the district are lined with multi-story dwellings that are primarily commercial but with a mix of office and residential space on their upper floors. On the side streets, there are smaller-scale residential townhouses. Institutional use is limited to Russell Sage, a few churches, RPI's buildings and governmental structures like the county courthouse and post office. No industrial use, past or present, is within the district, with the notable exception of the Gurley Building, and even that has been scaled back in recent years.