Powers Home
Also known as: Davenport Homestead
Why it's listed
Built around 1846 for leather merchant John Morey, this Greek Revival house in the Lansingburgh section of Troy has a full-height portico with four fluted Ionic columns. In 1883 Deborah Powers, who had run a successful oil cloth factory after her husband's death in 1829, bought the house to serve as a home for aged women. She was ninety-three at the time and was concerned for women of means who had no family to look after them. Wings added in 1883-1884 and a rear block give the building a T-shaped plan, and they repeat the original design so closely that old and new read as one classical composition. Inside, the 1846 fabric survives, including molded doorways, black marble fireplaces and a straight staircase. The home operated until the 1960s, when it was passed to a hospital that closed it and sold the property. At the time of listing it held offices and apartments and faced a threat of demolition.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is a rare link in Lansingburgh's architectural progression, which runs unbroken back to the 18th century. It is also an early New York example of providing gracious housing for older women of some means who had no family to care for them. The 1880s wings were added with unusual sensitivity to the original Greek Revival design.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 74001298, listed April 16, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 819 3rd Ave., Troy |
|---|---|
| County | Rensselaer County |
| Listed | April 16, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74001298 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival (temple-form residence) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied at the time of nomination: doctors' offices on the first floor and apartments on the second. Condition is marked good and altered. It had recently been threatened with demolition in connection with a housing project. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 42.78396, -73.67235 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 74001298.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7236818
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.