Poughkeepsie, NY
circa 1900
More than 100 years ago, Italian immigrants traveled north from New York City to work for a little more than $1 per day building the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge and, later, the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Those men and their families lived in an area beneath the railroad bridge, also known as the Mount Carmel district, which was named for the church there. Italians built the church and opened small businesses, while women worked as seamstresses for local clothing manufacturers. ...poughkeepsie journal
19th and 20th centuries -- the place for the new immigrants was usually the area of the city near the river.
Smith Brothers Restaurant was very popular for dining and meetings. 1900 - Governor Theodore Roosevelt declared the Governor Clinton office house an historic site. 1901 -- the Young family purchased Locust Grove (former home of Samuel F. B. Morse) near the golf course. The Youngs helped start the up-scale residential movement south of the city. 1903 -- the Polish-Americans established St. Joseph's Church on Lafayette Place. 1904 -- an Italianate-type courthouse designed by William Beardsley completed. (It still stands.) 1904 -- the Luckey-Platt store had become a five-story building. (It was torn down in 1920.) 1904 -- the Fitchett Brothers Cross Road Farms dairy business was started. 1905 -- Edmund Platt published his History of Poughkeepsie. 1905 -- construction of the Ebenezer Baptist Church near Clinton Square. 1905 -- the Marist brothers acquired the Edward Bech estate. It became St. Ann's Hermitage. 1909 -- the 1909 Hudson Fulton Celebration. 1911 -- the AME Zion Church built. It was designed by DuBois Carpenter. 1911 -- Mrs. Bowne built the Bowne Memorial Hospital for tuberculosis patients in memory of her husband. (Today it is part of the Dutchess Community College.) shortly after 1912 -- the Robert Sanford house at 29 North Hamilton Street was torn down to build Poughkeepsie High School. 1914 -- formation of the Dutchess County Historical Society. 1914 -- the Smith Brothers cough drop factory moved to North Hamilton Street. 1915-1946 -- Henry Noble MacCracken president of Vassar College. 1917 -- a spectacular fire burned the Collegiate Hill School/Hotel Building. It was replaced by the Dudley Memorial. 1918 -- opening of the Poughkeepsie Railroad Station, designed by Warren and Wetmore, who also did Grand Central Terminal. 1920s photo -- of the Nelson House inn (with roots back to 1777). It was close to the courthouse and the Bardavon. 1920s -- the Pomfret House Hotel and Arcade was located at the intersection of Main and Market. 1920s -- the Riverview Military Academy closed and Lincoln Center took it over in order to present neighborhood services and programs. 1920s -- the swimming pool at Woodcliff Pleasure Park was the largest pool in the East. It could handle 3,000 people at one time. The park was built on land that once was the estate of John L. Winslow. (Today it is the site of the Marist College townhouses.) 1923 -- the Collingwood Opera House became the Bardavon, a movie house with vaudeville acts. 1923 -- opening of a the Adriance Children's Room in the Adriance library. 1924 -- a new Luckey-Platt store opened. c. 1925-1930 -- construction of the Mid-Hudson vehicular bridge. 1929 -- the Marist Normal Training School, in conjunction with Fordham University, granted B.A. degrees. 1930 -- dedication of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Future President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor were present. 1930 (June) -- Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated a statue of Irishman Thomas Dongan, Governor of New York 1683-1687, at the intersection of Delafield and Mill Streets. 1932 -- erection of the Polish-American Citizens' Hall at 19 North Bridge Street. 1934 -- founding of the Poughkeepsie Day School for young children. 1935 -- the end of trolley service. 1937 -- the WPA built a Parthenon-designed memorial on the top of College Hill and presented it to the city. 1937 -- President FDR dedicated the new post office. by 1937 -- the Woodcliff Pleasure Park had become the city's principle playground. 1938 -- College Hill had greenhouses and a beautiful rock garden. 1940 -- Marian Anderson performed at the auditorium of Poughkeepsie High School. 1940 -- dedication of the American Colonial Revival type Violet Avenue School that reflected the architectural ideas of Franklin D. Roosevelt. early 1940s -- ferries disappeared after the toll on the Mid-Hudson Bridge finished. 1941-1990s -- IBM was the dominant economic force in Dutchess County. 1943 -- new processing plant for the Fitchett Brothers' dairy business. (The business continued until 1987.) 1944 -- the Windsor Hotel burned down. 1944 -- the Dudley Memorial burned. It was later rebuilt. 1946 -- Marian College became a four-year college. 1947 -- Sarah Gibson Blanding became the first woman president of Vassar. late 1940s and 1950s -- Poughkeepsie had become a vast traffic jam. 1955 -- flood on Smith Street. 1958 -- opening of the Poughkeepsie Plaza. 1960 -- Marian College became Marist College with 250 students. 1960s -- Marlon Brando played at the Hyde Park Playhouse and would haunt Happy Jack's bar on North Bridge Street. 1960s -- the Vassar Brothers Institute (given to the city by Matthew Vassar Jr. and John Guy Vassar) revitalized and serves as a place for arte exhibits, concerts and theatrical performances. 1960s -- Urban Renewal money poured into Poughkeepsie and some neighborhoods were razed. 1964 -- development of a strong arts coalition in Poughkeepsie. 1968 -- Matthew Vassar's old Springside Downing-designed estate was threatened by condominium development. Activists saved the area while allowing some condominiums. 1968 -- opening of the Rip Van Winkle House. It was hoped that mixed income housing would "phase out poverty and unwanted misery." 1970 -- Dutchess Plaza on Dutchess Turnpike opens. 1970s -- public campaign to save the Bardavon from demolition. 1971 -- the Union Street area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 1974 -- the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge no longer used. A fire had damaged much of the bridge. early 1970s -- land that later became the Bowdoin Park became available. Thanks to Gretchen Leak, Anita Liguori, Liz Jermyn and Dan Hannigan for saving the land for a park. 1973 -- the pedestrian mall Main Mall dedicated. 1975 -- opening of the city civic center. 1975 -- creation of Bowdoin Park. The park land was once river estates, then the Children's Aid Society's summer camp. 1975 -- the Wallace Company Department Store closed; shopping centers were taking the place of department stores. 1980s -- teaching students environmental studies takes place on the sloop Clearwater. 1982 -- discontinuation of the Maybrook Line freight service between Poughkeepsie and Hopewell Junction. 1983 -- opening of Metro-North railway service to Poughkeepsie. early 1990s -- dramatic downsizing of IBM hurts the Dutchess County economy. nearing 2000 -- the Bardavon renamed the Bardavon 1869 Opera House and given new life. 2012 - Mural shows proud, vibrant history of Little Italy by local artist Franc Palaia. The mural will be placed on architect Carlo Mazzarelli’s building on the corner of North Clover and Mill streets, facing north towards the intersection at Dongan Square. |
Source:
Joyce Ghee and Joan Spence. 1997. Images of America: Poughkeepsie, Halfway up the Hudson. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.
Joyce C. Ghee and Joan Spence. 1999. Images of America: Poughkeepsie: 1898-1998, A Century of Change. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.
Joyce Ghee and Joan Spence. 1997. Images of America: Poughkeepsie, Halfway up the Hudson. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.
Joyce C. Ghee and Joan Spence. 1999. Images of America: Poughkeepsie: 1898-1998, A Century of Change. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.