Front Street-Parade Hill-Lower Warren Street Historic District

This historic district in Hudson, New York, takes in buildings along Warren Street between Second Street and Parade Hill, North and South Front Streets, Prison Alley, part of Fleet Street, and the open spaces of Parade Hill and Franklin Square. Its structures date from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century and span many architectural styles. A common building type has a shop on the ground floor with living space above. South Front Street, which links Warren Street on the bluff to the river landing, holds several late eighteenth century commercial buildings. The area was first settled by the Proprietors when Hudson was laid out as a commercial 'New Town.' Because New Englanders settled it, its plan and architecture differ from the older Dutch-founded towns of the Hudson Valley. The original town plan survives virtually intact, and Parade Hill was set aside as public space by the Proprietors in 1785. The district keeps much of its early character, scale and land uses, and its connection to the river.