{"nrhp_refnum":"04000351","name":"Fonda House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Western Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cohoes","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.76915833100003,"lon":-73.72749808099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-04-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one and one-half story brick house at 55 Western Avenue on the western edge of Cohoes, Albany County, New York, built around 1727 and probably constructed by Douw J. Fonda.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a rare surviving early-eighteenth-century residence in the region, illustrating the shift from Dutch to English-influenced rural house design. It is one of few surviving examples built of brick rather than rubblestone. It retains much of its original form, floor plan and materials, including a rare Dutch timber window frame, despite later renovations.","narrative":"Built around 1727 on the western edge of Cohoes, this one and one-half story brick house sits on a one-acre lot along Western Avenue. Its walls are laid in English cross bond over a coursed stone foundation and are topped by a steeply pitched gambrel roof with end-wall chimneys. The façade is symmetrical, with three bays and a central entrance. The house is attributed, on circumstantial evidence, to Douw J. Fonda, whose marriage in 1727 matches the architectural date. It represents a transition from the older Dutch rubblestone farmhouse toward English-influenced design, and brick construction makes it unusual among surviving examples in the region. Inside, massive second-floor beams with corbels, Federal-era fireplaces, evidence of earlier jambless fireplaces and reused early balusters survive. A Dutch timber window frame found in the attic is a rare find. Early twentieth-century Colonial Revival renovations altered the house, yet it retains a high degree of integrity and is regarded as a local landmark.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1727","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"COLONIAL/Dutch","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Current function is a single-family dwelling; a modern garage is a non-contributing building on the property.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.749999-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04000351.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316231","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonda_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5464976"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/fonda-house-04000351/"}