216 1/2 Union ST

216 1/2 Union Street is located in the Historic Stockade district of Schenectady, New York. A Victorian style home, it was built some point during the 19th century, but presumably during the mid-19th century based on the architectural design of the building. It demonstrates the Victorian Era style. Various other buildings on Union Street demonstrate the Greek Revival Style: One such building is the old court house, at 108 Union Street. Today, the old court house is an apartment building. During the early half of the 19th century, business began to develop rapidly in Schenectady, in part due to the construction of the Erie Canal. According to the National Register form on the Stockade Historic District, the business boom along the Mohawk River could have proved devestating for the Stockade if a fire hadn't broken out and destroyed multiple businesses along the canal. "We owe the preservation of the historic structures of the Stockade in part to the accident of this fire [1819] which caused the merchants to move their businesses westward to State Street. Had the merchants remained on Washington Avenue, most of the area would have been demolished to make way for commercial enterprises long before modern times." This great fire of 1819 shaped the development of the neighborhood until the middle of the 19th century, around when 216 1/2 Union Street was constructed. The neighboring building, 216, known as the Abraham Groot House, was consturcted circa 1800.

During the later half of the 19th Century, Schenectady underwent a series of social and economic changes that impacted the city through the 21st century. During the 1880s and 1890, Schenectady became home to businesses like General Electric, founded in 1892. The Schenectady Locomotive Works, founded in 1848, was a booming business during the 19th century; in 1902, Schenectady Locomotive Works merged with the American Locomotive Company. The ALCO was headquartered in Schenectady until 1969. By the end of the 19th Century, General Electric alone employed over 10,000 people that lived in and around Schenectady. To accommodate the influx of people living and working in Schenecatdy, other businesses involved with housing construction and public transportation (street railroads) exploded as well. 

216 ½ Union Street is a Victorian style row-house that was built some point in the mid 19th century. Some Victorian qualities of the brick row-house are the highly detailed cornice, that invokes the Greek revival style, and the elaborate white trim that frames the windows.

Yates, Austin A. Schenectady County, New York: Its History to the Close of the Nineteenth Century. S.l.: New York History Co., 1902. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008733627.

Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (3/2/1934 - ) New York SP Stockade Historic District. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, 1964 - 2013 Series: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017 Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006. April 3, 1973.National Archives Identifier: 75321703.

New York State Historic Trust Statewide Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. Abraham Groot House. CRIS Entry 09340.000034.