Houses at 37-47 North Fifth St.

Six nearly identical, attached wood frame rowhouses stand at 37-47 North Fifth Street in Hudson, New York. Built between 1869 and 1871 by builder Freeman Coons, the row was developed by a family of lumber merchants, the Travers, as an investment in rental housing. Each building is two stories and three bays wide, with a continuous gable roof, bracketed cornices, two-over-two windows and side-hall entries; the corner building at #47 has a wraparound storefront. Census records point to working families, including carpenters and printers, living in the flats. The row is considered significant as an intact example of modest working class housing in a neighborhood on Hudson's north side, where plain two-story frame buildings were typical. It reflects the city's nineteenth-century industry and commerce and the demand for affordable homes. After years of poor maintenance, the buildings were rehabilitated and now serve as apartments and counseling offices, with exteriors largely unchanged.