William J. Dickey House

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William J. Dickey House

William Dickey House, Cohoes, NY.jpg

Front (west) elevation and south profile, 2008
Location Cohoes, NY
Coordinates 42°46′17″N73°42′21″W / 42.77139°N 73.70583°W / 42.77139; -73.70583 Coordinates: 42°46′17″N73°42′21″W / 42.77139°N 73.70583°W / 42.77139; -73.70583
Built 1890 [1]
Architectural style Stick-Eastlake
NRHP reference # 98000138 [2]
Added to NRHP 1998

The William J. Dickey House is located on Imperial Avenue in Cohoes, New York, United States. It was built for Dickey, the superintendent of a local textile mill, in 1890, by an unknown architect.

Cohoes, New York City in New York, United States

Cohoes is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's factories processed cotton from the Deep South, produced on plantations in the slave states.

New York (state) State of the United States of America

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.54 million residents in 2018, it is the fourth most populous state. In order to distinguish the state from the city with the same name, it is sometimes referred to as New York State.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Contents

It is a well-preserved example of local Queen Anne-style residential architecture. In 1998 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Queen Anne style architecture architectural style

The Queen Anne style in Britain refers to either the English Baroque architectural style approximately of the reign of Queen Anne, or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century. In British architecture the term is mostly used of domestic buildings up to the size of a manor house, and usually designed elegantly but simply by local builders or architects, rather than the grand palaces of noble magnates. Contrary to the American usage of the term, it is characterised by strongly bilateral symmetry with an Italianate or Palladian-derived pediment on the front formal elevation.

Architectural style specific method of construction, characterized by the features that make it notable

An architectural style is characterized by the features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture related closely to the wider contemporary artistic style. A style may include such elements as form, method of construction, building materials, and regional character. Most architecture can be classified within a chronology of styles which changes over time reflecting changing fashions, beliefs and religions, or the emergence of new ideas, technology, or materials which make new styles possible.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Property

The house is a frame two-story three-bay home with a cross-gabled roof that comes to a jerkin shape in the front (west) side. A porch wraps around the first story to the south elevation. The south bay on the front side is projecting, with Stick-style decoration between the second-story window and roofline. On the south side is another projecting two-story bay with similarly tall bay window. The north profile features a round-arched stained glass window that illuminates a staircase. [1]

Framing (construction) in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape

Framing, in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. Framing materials are usually wood, engineered wood, or structural steel. The alternative to framed construction is generally called mass wall construction, where horizontal layers of stacked materials such as log building, masonry, rammed earth, adobe, etc. are used without framing.

Bay (architecture) space defined by the vertical piers, in a building

In architecture, a bay is the space between architectural elements, or a recess or compartment. Bay comes from Old French baee, meaning an opening or hole.

Gable Generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns. A gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it.

The interior retains much of the original finishing. Most noteworthy among it is the wall plaster, architraves and door surrounds. [1]

Plaster general term for a broad range of building materials

Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. Another imprecise term used for the material is stucco, which is also often used for plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.

Architrave Lintel beam element in Classical architecture

An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.

In the rear of the property is a small barn with clapboard siding and a gabled roof. It is considered a contributing resource and is now the house's garage. [1]

Clapboard (architecture) wooden siding on a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping

Clapboard or clabbard, also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.

Contributing property key component of a place listed on the National Register of Historic Places

In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant. Government agencies, at the state, national, and local level in the United States, have differing definitions of what constitutes a contributing property but there are common characteristics. Local laws often regulate the changes that can be made to contributing structures within designated historic districts. The first local ordinances dealing with the alteration of buildings within historic districts was in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931.

History

Imperial Avenue was one of the first streets laid out after Cohoes reincorporated as a city in 1869 and extended the municipal boundary to the west, opening up possibilities for new homes for the city's managerial class. [1] It runs across the top of a sharp rise a mile west of downtown. Dickey's house is at the highest point on the street.

Downtown Cohoes Historic District

The Downtown Cohoes Historic District takes up 35 acres (14 ha) of the city of Cohoes, New York, United States. Many of the 165 contributing properties date from the 1820-1930 period when the Erie Canal and Harmony Mills were the mainstay of the city's economy. It was recognized as a historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. After years of neglect and decline, it has recently started to see an upswing in business activity due to its historic character and the city's efforts to protect it.

The Cohoes Daily News of March 1, 1890, reported on Dickey's move into his new house. He and his wife, having taken up residence a few days previously, received a surprise visit from their friends, who gave them a hanging lamp as a housewarming gift. [1]

Ten years later, in the early 20th century, the stained glass window was put in. There have been no other significant alterations to the house since then. It remains a private residence today. [1]

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