{"nrhp_refnum":"08000921","name":"Hudson Almshouse","other_names":["Hudson Lunatic Asylum, Hudson Orphan and Relief Association","Hudson Area Association Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 State St., at the head of 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hudson","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.254585288000044,"lon":-73.78643653999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Education"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone institutional building at 400 State Street, at the head of Fourth Street in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, erected c. 1818 as the city's almshouse. It has a three-story central pavilion with two-story flanking wings and a later stone addition.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an important regional example of early 19th century masonry institutional architecture in Columbia County. Its changing uses as almshouse, lunatic asylum, female academy, private residence, orphan home and library also illustrate themes in Hudson's 19th century social and educational history.","narrative":"Built around 1818 on State Street in Hudson, New York, this limestone building began as the city's almshouse. It has a three-story center pavilion, five bays wide, flanked by two-story wings with front-facing gables and fanlights. A stone addition was added behind the west wing in the 1880s. Over the 19th century the building served as the Hudson Lunatic Asylum under Dr. Samuel White, then as the Hudson Female Academy, and from 1865 to 1881 as the home of riverboat captain and mayor George H. Power. It then housed the Hudson Orphan & Relief Association, later the Children's Home of Columbia County, until 1957. Since 1959 it has been the Hudson Area Association Library. Window sash, lintels and interior finishes were altered over time, with many Italianate details, yet the exterior still reads as the original composition. It was listed for its architecture and its ties to the social history and education of Hudson.","period_of_significance":"c. 1818-1957","architect_builder":"Building committee of Dr. John Talman, Judah Paddock and Barnabas Waterman (Waterman a builder credited with the James Vanderpoel House in Kinderhook)","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Since 1959 it has housed the Hudson Area Association Library; the pointing is badly eroded and the basement shows moisture damage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.252888-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08000921.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000921/8b8476c52e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000921/8b8476c52e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"HunnySWeaver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hudson_Almshouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">HunnySWeaver</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hudson_Almshouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317016","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Almshouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23091796"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/hudson-almshouse-08000921/"}