197 River Street – A Storied Part of Downtown Troy
The buildings we pass almost every day have stories to tell. Here's one of the best:
(Photo by Suzanne Spellen)
In the city of Troy, few streets have more history than River Street. From end to end, the history of this Hudson River city can be gauged by the growth, improvement, successes and failures that took place along its length. 197 River Street in downtown Troy is but one building to have its story told. There are many, many more.
Today, 197 River is known primarily as home to River Street Beat Shop, one of the few remaining music stores around where one can still buy vintage vinyl records, all kinds of cd’s and even 8-track tapes sometimes. If you happen to be inside, rocking to bands you may not have heard since you were a teenager, you might be surprised to learn that this is not the first-time music has been enjoyed at this location. But I’m getting way ahead of the story here…
Troy’s downtown River Street area was home to a variety of merchants almost from the beginning of the city’s history. They were able to ship their goods from their storehouses facing the river, and unload and load into those storage rooms from River Street. Many a fortune was made on the street, as Troy was a nexus point for people and goods in all directions. New England, Canada, Western NY, as well as New York City - a wealth of potential customers awaited, carried by the new roads and the Hudson River.
After Troy’s disastrous fire which destroyed much of this young, growing city in 1820, the merchants of River Street spent no time crying over lost businesses. They rebuilt as quickly as they could, and by the beginning of the 1830s, many of River Street’s warehouses were back in business, bigger and better in sturdy brick, this time.
The owner of this property, 197 River Street, was blessed with an extra-wide lot. It enabled him to build a 31-foot-wide building with separate North and South ground floor entrances. The 80-foot deep, four-story building was built in the early 1830s, and by 1834, this address appears in the Troy papers. The façade of this building did not look like what we see today. It was much plainer, probably in the Greek Revival style, just like its neighbors next door.
This building was not built as a warehouse as were its neighbors but was always designed to be retail outlets with other businesses upstairs. The first retail tenant was a jeweler named Abraham Fellows. A year later, he was replaced by another jewelry dealer called Dennis & Fitch. Their establishment carried watches, clocks, ladies’ jewelry, silverware and cutlery.
(Troy Daily Whig, 1845)
Most notably, the forerunner of the Troy Public Library had its start here at 197 River Street. The Young Men’s Association was established in 1834 as a gathering place and reading room for young men interested in bettering themselves through learning. Such clubs were commonplace in American cities at that time, as public libraries were all but unknown. Troy’s Young Men’s Association rented the second floor of 197 as their headquarters between 1835 and 1851. Among the activities the group took part in was establishing growing library of books. They had a librarian on hand, and lent books to members. This collection of 1,200 books eventually became the Troy Public Library.
(1848 ad in the Oneida Morning Herald, Utica, NY)
Rockwood’s Alhambra
By 1838, a new tenant had moved in – A. Salisbury & Son. They were dry-goods merchants, the first of several dry goods and clothing merchants to occupy the address in the next few years. Other dry goods dealers attached to the property between 1838 and 1840 were the F. Morgan Company and the A. B. Carpenter Company. All three advertised in the Troy papers while at this address. Sometime in 1840, a Mr. Moore opened a restaurant in the south end of the building. Two years later, Elihu R. Rockwood took over the building and the restaurant and expanded it to the entire ground floor. He created a business that was hailed as one of the best restaurants outside of New York City.
As we all know, location is key, and Rockwood had picked the ideal location for a large busy restaurant. The back of his building faced the river. More importantly, two doors down, on the corner of River and State Street, was a railroad office, and behind it was one of Troy’s busy steamboat docks. Every day, several times a day, day trippers and businessmen from New York City to Albany, and points between, disembarked to see Troy’s sights and conduct business. One couldn’t ask for a better site for a restaurant.
By all accounts, Rockwood was a great restauranteur and a genial host. It was he who began calling the building and his restaurant “the Alhambra,” around 1845, and the name soon accompanied advertising associated with 197 River Street. For the next ten years, Rockwood’s was the most popular restaurant in Troy. The reputation spread throughout the state, with endorsements for Rockwood’s appearing in newspapers in Utica and other upstate cities.
Elihu Rockwood died on March 3, 1853. His son George kept the restaurant going under the Rockwood name for another couple of years. They expanded their menu and added a “Ladies Saloon” on the second floor. This was not a Wild West-style saloon, but an elegant dining room and "salon" for ladies to lunch, take tea and refreshments, and see and be seen while out shopping.
(Ad for printing services as printed in the Troy Daily Budget, 1848)
The Budget Building
While Rockwood’s was bustling downstairs, there was plenty going on in the rest of 197 River Street. In 1847, the Troy Daily Budget, one of the city’s many daily newspapers, moved from down the block into one of the upper floors of the building. Like most newspaper printers of their day, the Budget not only published their paper, they also were general printers. Their printing presses produced business and calling cards, checks and checkbooks, circulars and pamphlets for their clients. They were one of at least three printing companies on this block, with several others in the neighborhood.
Because it was important to establish a presence in the city, they referred to the building as the “Budget Building.” It’s one of the joys of research, finding conflicting names, (not!) but the Alhambra name appears at least five years earlier than the “Budget Building.” Both are in use at the same time. The four-story large building also had other tenants. The Young Men’s Association was still here in 1844, and they were joined by A. Smith’s Literary Depot and General Newspaper and Periodical Office. His ads start to appear around 1844, and he was here for several years. In addition to periodicals and newspapers, he also carried books and magazines, ranging in title and interest from Shakespeare to popular fiction.
Thomas Harris’ Billiards Parlor opened in 1847. His ad notes that his establishment was large, open and airy, and opened onto that fine thoroughfare: River Street. The back of his parlor opened onto the river, or as he put it, “the noble Hudson,” and received its pleasant breezes as they wafted over the waters. What floor was he on? It could have been the top floor, as Harris’ ad extols the expansion of the chest during the invigoration of exercise. Yeah, sounds like the top floor.
(1856 ad, Troy Daily Times)
Foster’s New Alhambra Saloon and Hotel
In 1856, the Alhambra passed on to a new owner. Frank Foster, who came to the business from his previous endeavor, Foster’s Varieties and Museum, in Providence, Rhode Island. He notes in an ad that he hopes that the establishment’s patrons would continue to be customers. Another ad notes that he had refurbished and enlarged the place, and now offered it as a complete hotel. One can only surmise that most, if not all the previous tenants were gone.
Foster sold the business only three years later, in 1859. The Rockwood glory days had faded, and business was down, as this part of River Street was being eclipsed by newer buildings going up further up the street, towards the center of downtown. The buyer was a Troy grocer named Alexander Lutzelberger. He had big plans for 197 River Street. What faded glory? He was going to remake the building and create the grandest establishment in Troy. He gave us the building we know today.
(1860 ad, Troy Daily Times)
The Lutzelberger Years
Alexander Lutzelberger was born in 1826 in Saxony. He and his wife Christiana immigrated to America as Germany was going through its own civil war in 1848. Lutzelberger joined thousands of educated, middle-class Germans who came to North America for a new life. He is listed as the owner of a billiard parlor and saloon at 104 Congress Street in 1858, a building that is long gone. The family lived in the apartment above the storefront. Lutzelberger appears in Troy’s business directories every year thereafter, until his death.
According to the Troy Daily Times, Alexander Lutzelberger was a short, jolly rotund man. He was well known about town, and other sources note that he was a leader in Troy’s growing German Catholic community. In 1859, he leased, and soon bought, 197 River Street, still known locally as the Alhambra Building. Although this part of River Street was still popular and had many prosperous businesses along both sides of the street, the gleam was off the silver. Lutzelberger knew that if his investment was to pay off, he would have to spend some money and re-invent the Alhambra. He ended up changing it forever, inside and out.
(197 River St, date unknown, showing many of the Lutzelberger changes, some no longer there today. Photo from an article about “Old Troy” published in the Troy Record in 1948)
The New Alhambra Gardens
The façade of 197 River Street that we enjoy today is his doing. He had the entire front of the building redone in the newly popular Italianate architectural style. Tall columns line the ground floor, which housed an elegant restaurant. Four pairs of tall, arched double doors line the street, allowing maximum light, and the opportunity to open them out in warm weather.
The entire upper facade was clad in brownstone. The second and third floors are identical. The pilasters enclose pairs of tall arched windows, which replace the old fashioned rectangular 6 over 6’s. The square windows on the top floor were covered with decorative screens, which can be seen in a vintage photo of the building. Sadly, those are gone. To top it off, Lutzelberger had a large wooden cornice installed, with oversized decorative brackets.
All of this was done over time. The Troy Daily Times noted that the interior was refashioned, as well – “A great deal more successfully than any reconstruction…” “The work,” the article continues, “handsomely finished in chestnut, was executed by Charles Brownell, and is an excellent job in all respects. For lightness, cheerfulness and really elegant appearance, there is no place of the sort that surpasses the rejuvenated Alhambra.”
(Announcement in the Troy Daily Times, 1864)
A Meeting Place for Labor
It’s unclear from the notices found, but it doesn’t seem as if Lutzelberger operated the Alhambra as a hotel. Instead, he had a restaurant, a billiards parlor, a spacious performance space, and meeting rooms. He also had an apartment in the building for himself and family. 197 River Street is listed as both his business and residence in the Troy City Directory until his death in 1872.
The meeting rooms were used for several organizations over the years. Most importantly to Troy labor history, this was the site for meetings of the Troy Moulder’s Union, beginning in 1864. The Moulders were the most powerful of Troy’s ironworker’s unions. Their move to the Alhambra was noted in the Troy Daily Times on May 24, 1864. All the trade unions were invited to join them in moving their meetings there.
In 1869, Lutzelberger opened his gathering space to St. Lawrence’s German-Speaking Catholic Church. They were in the process of building a new church at the corner of 3rd and Jefferson Streets and worshipped in the Alhambra building until the new church was completed in 1870. That church, a small wooden chapel, was eventually replaced by the current church building in 1884. Some of the literature refers to “Lutzelberger’s Hall,” but it is the same building.
From ads in the papers, it’s clear the Congress Street billiards man brought that love with him to a business that was called “the Old Alhambra,” or just “Lutzelberger’s.” He touted the excellence of his billiards parlor, as well as his fine selections of food and liquors, all consumed in a classy venue.
Alexander Lutzelberger died on December 6, 1872. His funeral was held here, at his residence and business. On that rainy day, his funeral cortege made its way up to Oakwood. He was a good businessman, but he didn’t leave a will. A sale of his possessions followed, and his widow and daughters sold the building to George F. Wilson, who ran the business as the Alhambra Saloon. But Wilson died quite suddenly himself, passing away in 1875.
The Alhambra’s Last Days of Glory
By the 1890s, the Alhambra had been purchased by Emil F. Winkler. The establishment was well known now as the Alhambra Garden. It may have been the ambitious Mr. Winkler who added a summer garden in the back of the building. This was a bold and astute business move. One of the steamboat docks along Troy’s downtown working marina was right next door, Day trippers and businessmen stepping off the decks of ships that plied the Hudson from New York to Troy were presented with a large wooden deck in the back of the Alhambra that featured a garden atmosphere, musicians, tables and seating, fine dining and spirits.
(Ad, Troy Daily Times, 1897)
Inside, Winkler had an "orchestrion," a large pipe organ/calliope type instrument that could mimic all of the instruments in a small orchestra. He offered dancing and easy listening. There were also billiards, card rooms, and a bowling alley, as well as meeting rooms for business meetings. All was advertised as “first class.”
As seen in a 1904 map, the Alhambra Garden’s deck extended almost to the river’s edge and was built on wooden posts. All seemed to go well, until the spring of 1909, when after a particularly cold winter, the ice broke in Waterford, where the faster flowing Mohawk River meets the Hudson. The water levels in the Hudson rose rapidly as large chunks of ice barreled down the Hudson from Lansingburgh. As merchants downriver began moving and securing their goods, the river rose a foot an hour.
(1904 map of River Street. Alhambra Gardens at right. Yellow marks wood framed structures, pink are masonry.)
The ice crashed into the piers; both the Alhambra’s and the one next door. The supports holding up the beer gardens’ roofs shook and twisted, causing damage to both roofs and the brick buildings they were bolted to. The newspapers reported that the Hudson was fourteen feet higher than normal, having risen five feet that afternoon alone.
The damage was fixed, and Mr. Winkler’s business continued until later that same year when fire almost destroyed the entire block. This blaze started right next door, in the summer garden of Samuel Goggins, whose establishment was on the corner of State and River. The fire spread through the wooden deck and porch, and consumed the Alhambra Garden’s deck, as well. It then began to spread through the buildings, almost destroying 195 River, the building in between Goggin’s corner building and the Alhambra.
It was owned by an Italian wholesale grocery company, the Battaglia Brothers, with families living inside as well. Trojans know fire well and battled to put this one out fast. When it was over, the buildings were all saved, but Emil Winkler’s apartment was destroyed, and the four buildings in that row all suffered fire and smoke damage. The Battaglia family had to relocate too. That may have been it for Emil Winkler. No more ads for the Alhambra Garden can be found.
The 20th Century and Beyond
197 River then became the long-time home of the Whitehurst Printing & Binding Company. The joined a long line of printers on this block. The company was established by brothers James and Alfred Whitehurst. They moved here around 1910. Whitehurst was one of the Capital Region’s largest printing companies, and the business flourished at this location until at least 1964, employing hundreds of people over the years. From time to time, the papers reported various activities at the plant, including a break-in in 1929, and an attempted break-in through a skylight in 1932.
(The Hudson also flooded in 1996, when the Whitehurst Printing Co. was operating here. 100 years before, the Alhambra’s deck extended out to the line of parked and flooded cars. Photo: NY’s Capital District, 1978-2003, by Tom Killips)
The Whitehurst Printing Company was a participant in many civic activities, and recruited new employees from Troy’s high schools and colleges. It is still in business today, now located outside of the heart of the city, near Forest Park Cemetery.
(River Street, State to Congress, 1960s)
But by the 1960s, downtown Troy had lost much of its luster. What was once a busy wholesale, entertainment and retail street was now a combination of small businesses, bars, and stores, many of which were failing and going out of business. Buildings were being boarded up, and the more successful businesses moved elsewhere. Since Troy was and is a college town, it shouldn’t be surprising that the area soon was bustling with bars and nightclubs catering to college students, the new hippies, as well as serious drinkers and revelers of all stripes and persuasions.
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(1968 ad in the Albany Knickerbocker News)
By 1968, the ground floor of 197 was home to a pub called E. P. Daley’s London House, Ltd. They offered food, drink and entertainment. A fancy invitation was printed in the Albany Knickerbocker News in September of ’68. It was accompanied by a photo of a couple who were performing there, in “Collegetown on the Hudson.” By 1970, it was called the “Tattler Inn, Ltd.” An ad appeared in the Troy Times in 1970.
(Albany Knickerbocker News, 1968. “College Town on the Hudson”)
The years between then and the end of the 20th century aren’t well documented, when it comes to this building, although many Trojans still remember the street and those days. By the beginning of the new century, a renewed interest in Troy’s downtown, and its wealth of historic buildings led to some much-needed attention to this area. 197 River Street became part of the Quayside Apartments; an 8-building complex of storefronts and upscale apartments created by developer Jay Schippers in the late 1980s. Quayside was purchased by developer Sam Judge in 2009, and the name was changed to The Hudson. The buildings were further upgraded and upscaled on the upper levels.
(Jim Barrett at River Street Beat Shop, 2016. Photo: Caitlin Janssen, Times Union)
In 2003, Jim Barrett opened the River Street Beat Shop on the ground floor of 197 River Street. His popular shop sells all kinds of vinyl records, as well as other forms of music. The shop is a popular gathering spot for local musicians, including Barrett’s son and partner, Liam. Local bands play out in front at almost all Troy street fairs.
Although the music and dress have changed, the old Alhambra’s long-gone owners would have appreciated the enjoyment and fun that still goes on in the building they worked so hard to preserve. Cars bring people to Troy, not steam boats these days, but fine food, drink and entertainment are still available along River Street.
(Photo via Beat Shop Facebook page)