48 Hudson Avenue (Van Ostrande-Radliff House)

The structure at 48 Hudson Avenue has been dated back to 1728 making it the oldest building still standing in Albany. Wooden beams were analyzed using dendrochronology where the year that a tree was cut down can be discovered from growth patterns of tree rings; the date for this building was 1728. Also known as the Van Ostrande-Radliff House, named for its first two owners, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It is a very rare surviving example of the Dutch colonial heritage of Albany. Many elements of the original architecture have survived. The building has been stabilized, studied and undergoing rehabilitation since 2006, and the property has undergone limited archaeological investigations. The front now represents how the building originally looked, with a combination of exposed brick and a painted facade. Historic Albany Foundation is in the process of moving its offices to the building.

The core of the building at 48 Hudson Ave. was built around 1728 by Johannes van Ostrande. Dendrochronology found a wooden beam in the building's framing from a tree that was cut down around 1728, giving the likely date of construction. Six of the eight massive wooden beams - about 14 by 8 inches each - survived intact. The building would have been about a few hundred yards from the original Fort Orange and just outside the stockade wall. There is no evidence that the house was built elsewhere and moved here, based on architectural quirks and documentary evidence. Van Ostrande was a member of the Albany Common Council.

In 1734, van Ostrande sold the property to a shoemaker named Johannes Radliff. Radliff took out a mortgage on the property and occupied the house. In 1835, Jared Holt of Albany purchased the house and moved in. He had a local wax-making business and moved it to this building in 1837; he added a two-story, rear (south) addition of brick in 1835. A massive fire tore through downtown Albany in 1848 but the building at 48 Hudson survived. The Jared Holt Company moved from the building around 1892. A series of businesses occupied the building for the next hundred years, including the Stoneman Company; G.T. Stoneman manufactured knit underwear, according to the 1909 Sanborn map (see below).

The Saul family bought the structure in 1935 for their restaurant supply company. They modernized the exterior storefront soon after. The building was vacant for about a decade after the Saul Equipment Company moved out around 1998; the rear addition had been used for retail and storage space. After the last member of the Saul family died, the property was sold. A preservationist named Brian Parker purchased the property in 2006 for around $100,000. Parker and his brother, Kevin owned a building restoration company, Orion LLC. Brian bought his first old house in Albany to restore in his twenties, back in the 1980s. The Parkers first cleaned out and stabilized the building, and then added a temporary metal roof. By 2008, they were having the building restored with help from architects John G. Waite Associates, an Albany firm that specializes in historic preservation.

The original house had a footprint of 33 by 23 feet; much of the stone foundation on the north and west sides has survived. The first floor of the Dutch colonial style building would have been all one room; upstairs were two storage lofts. The exterior of the first floor was brick, while the upper level and steeply-pitched roof were covered in pine shakes. A rare survival is a wooden molded anchor beam that spans the front of the building that is decorative and weight-bearing/ structural; it was extended in 1790 when the building was widened by removing the original east wall. They also raised the roof in 1790 and spread the rafters with roof sheathing attached to accommodate the wider building. Although long gone, the first floor of the orginal building featured a "side jambless fireplace" where the beams were cut to allow direct sunlight to reach the hearth. Some of the original wood flooring and brick walls are thought to have survived. To find these older architectural features, they had to remove a dropped ceiling, linoleum, and other add-ons. The second story was covered with asphalt brick siding when the building was remodeled in the 1930s.

Historic Albany Foundation bought the building in 2013 and received a grant late in 2021 to restore the roof. The former building next door at 50 Hudson collapsed in 2017 and has been demolished; it was owned by the Albany Convention Center Authority. There once were plans to build a convention center at the site, but they have been changed.

Fries, Amanda. "Disagreements on 48 Hudson sparks exodus of Historic Albany leaders." Times Union (Albany) March 23rd, 2018.

Grondahl, Paul. "This old house under our noses." Times Union (Albany) December 23rd, 2008, updated online August 16th, 2016.

Hornbeck, Leigh. "Historic Albany Foundation moves to city's oldest building." Times Union (Albany) December 17th, 2021.

Opalka, Anthony. Brandow, William. NRHP Nomination of Van Ostrande-Radliff House, Albany, New York. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 2007.