Washington Park

Introduction[edit]

Washington Park is 1.8-acre green space located in the Downtown Troy, NY. It is one of the two private owned parks in New York State, the other being Gramercy Park in NYC. You must live in the houses surrounding the park to receive a key to have access to the space.

History[edit]

In 1840, the park was created when the city of Troy was becoming a popular industrial hub, on the rise to becoming the fourth wealthiest city in the country. The area for the park was chosen as it was a short walk to the main downtown area, yet private and secluded. The surrounding residents were mostly made up of business leaders and their families that were apart of the industrial sprawl. Some of these include, “Russell Sage, financier; Joseph Fuller, stove manufacturer; James M. Ide, collar maker; John Griswold, iron manager, Uri Gilbert, maker of railroad cars; and John Stanton, brewer.” By 1865, the remaining areas of the neighborhood surrounding the park were filled. Between 1916 and 1946, the homes were converted to apartments with the rise of suburbia and in turn, many students and retirees moved in. Today, families have returned to the area with the increased popularity of urban living, especially with the private access to green space.

Surrounding Area[edit]

The area around the perimeter of the park consists of 52 properties that each receive a key to open the gates of the park. The owner of each property becomes a member of the Washington Park Association that helps to maintain the park. Today the area is relatively high end where in 2019 one apartment sold $1.055 million. The streets that boarder the park are Washington Street, Second Street, Washington Place, and Washington Street. Other neighborhoods that surround the park include Osgood, Little Italy, Riverside and Historic Sage.

Architecture[edit]

The architecture surrounding the park was inspired by “old New York” style like Gramercy Park. Most of the buildings are masonry row houses in Victorian styles. These remain at a constant three-story height, side entrances, and three-bay-wide façade.

Within the bounds of the Wahington Square Park "residences" lie Washington Place. Washington Place is a row of ten houses. These 10 houses still exist today and are all designed in the Greek Revival architecture style. Each of these houses was built for and housed some of the most prominent and influential residents of Troy. Each has a plaque outside of the front doorstep today, denoting its original owner and/or design. One example is, the family of Henry B. Nason, who was an RPI professor in 1884 and their property at 10 Washington Place, also known as 'Nason House'.