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Site preparation for new a Broad Street fire station in Glens Falls, as seen in June 1972. Houses in the background are on Hudson Avenue.
An apartment module for the new Henry Hudson Townhouses complex is lowered into place in Glens Falls in May 1972.
“After several delays, a 100-foot, 50-ton crane dropped the first module of the Henry Hudson Townhouses into place on its foundation yesterday,” The Post-Star reported on May 31.
It was novel construction technology at the time, which put the city’s Urban Renewal Agency program in the national limelight.
Each townhouse unit was delivered in three sections, about 90% complete.
“The only work required is for the boxes, about 12 feet by 30 feet, to be connected, inside stairs erected, and wiring and plumbing hooked up.”
Four members of Local 229, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, picketed the construction site because the contractor employed non—union labor.
The federal government paid 75% of the cost of the project, the first prefabricated, federally subsidized housing complex in the nation.
In retrospect, many today view the project as more of a stumble than a step forward.
The townhouse units, designed originally for a project in Florida, were expensive to heat and the condition of the structures deteriorated quickly.
The townhouses were replaced in 2008 with the Village Green Apartments.
In another city Urban Renewal Agency project around that time, land was cleared to construct the new Broad Street fire station, The Post-Star reported on June 2.
Crandall Library: In recognition of Dairy Month, Crandall Library exhibited South Glens Falls resident Herbert Doetsch’s collection of local milk bottles. — June 7
PTA: The Lake George Parent Teacher Association presented a lifetime honorary membership to Martha Starche, librarian at Caldwell-Lake George Public Library. — June 9
SPAC: The Chuck Mangione Quartet was set to open the Saratoga Performing Arts Center summer concert season on June 9. “The program is billed as a ‘sound collage,’ mixing improvisational jazz, folk songs, guitar and symphony orchestration.” Dave Mason, formerly with the band Traffic, and Todd Rundgren were scheduled to perform at SPAC on June 11. Kathy Loudon and Andrea Bolinder of Queensbury along with Nancy and Sally Hadley of Lake George, students at Glens Falls Ballet Center, were selected to dance in six New York City Ballet performances of “The Nutcracker” July 5-8 at SPAC. The Julliard Acting Company was added as a new third arts company in residence for the season, performing a series of four plays, with eight performances each week, at the SPA Summer Theatre. The series was set to open July 3 with the comedy “School for Scandal.” — June 8, 10, 12
Washington County: Jane Connor represented the Sugar and Spice 4-H Club of Easton in the 25-mile Washington County Walkathon to raise money for a new horse barn. — June 8
Editorial: “Hmmmm, now. How’s that again? If you want to vote in favor of fluoridating Glens Falls’ water supply, you cast a ‘No’ vote. But if you are against the idea, you mark your ballot ‘Yes.’ Sounds much like a modern take on the old comedy routine about ‘Who’s on first?’ Sorry if it’s all very confusing, but that’s the way it is. ‘Yes’ really means ‘No,’ and ‘No’ is interpreted as ‘Yes’ in the Nov. 7 balloting. It’s all because of the way the proposition will read on the referendum. Actually, the voters will be asked to decide if they want to prohibit fluoridation of water. … Pros and cons of the matter already are being widely debated, five months before the referendum. … The enlightened citizen will ponder the issue with an open mind. He will listen to the arguments, consider the sources, and then make up his own mind to vote. Separating truth from propaganda will be the most difficult chore of all.” — June 10 (A majority did vote to prohibit fluoridation, and language was added to the city charter, and is still in the charter.)
Quotable: “We certainly hope our involvement in the arts will perhaps make people want to use our airlines, but we know, too, that business support of the arts creates a better atmosphere for our workers, for communities where they live and work.” — Robert Walsh, director of community affairs for American Airlines, speaking at a “Business and the Arts” symposium at Red Coach Grill (now Johnny Rockets) on Route 9 in Queensbury. — June 12
Maury Thompson was a Post-Star reporter for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He now is a freelance history writer and documentary film producer who routinely researches historic newspapers of the region.
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A speeding motorcycle crashed into a group of six pedestrians on Sunday afternoon, killing a man and a boy who were standing on a bike path in Lake George.
Community members are grieving after the death of an 8-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man who were killed by a speeding motorcycle as they stood along the Warren County Bikeway near Route 9 in Lake George on Sunday.
Police on Sunday released the name of the motorcycle operator hurt in a Route 9 crash just north of the intersection of Route 9 and Route 149 on Saturday.
A GoFundMe page has raised over $28,000 for the family affected by the fatal motorcycle-pedestrian crash on Sunday in Lake George.
A 51-year-old man was slashed in the neck on Friday afternoon in Saratoga Springs in what police are describing as a road rage incident.
A Fort Ann man was arrested and charged with stealing more than $4,000 worth of items from a local business in Fort Edward.
A Granville man was arrested on June 7 after police said he stole property from a building.
An Argyle man is expected to get 1 to 3 years in prison after admitting to firing a gun at a woman during a domestic incident.
An electrical fire at 1164 Dix Ave. in Kingsbury displaced one adult on Saturday afternoon.
Police on Sunday released the name of the man who died in the Hudson River on Saturday.
Site preparation for new a Broad Street fire station in Glens Falls, as seen in June 1972. Houses in the background are on Hudson Avenue.
An apartment module for the new Henry Hudson Townhouses complex is lowered into place in Glens Falls in May 1972.
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