20-36 South River Street, Reed Street Historic District, Coxsackie, Greene County

The Dolan Block building in the Reed Street Historic District of Coxsackie was constructed circa 1870-1882. The imposing brick building, once considered the “finest public building in town”, is described on its application for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places as “three stories, brick, Italiante, nine-bay, hip roof, cupola, brackets, frieze, first floor storefronts, theater, apartments.” (1) The application also stated that “the street level is completely devoted to wooden storefronts with wooden columns, horizontal molded panels, and large glass windows under wooden cornices that once supported awnings.” (2) The building was once home to a popular opera house and later the New Sprout Theater. The building is currently abandoned.

The Reed Street Historic District in Coxsackie is scenically located on the west bank of the Hudson River. The historic district has been known by several different names including Reed’s Landing, Coxsackie Middle Landing, Coxsackie Landing and now simply Coxsackie. Although it is hard to see today the Coxsackie village, like its sister cities of Athens and Catskill, was once a thriving river town, home to a variety of businesses including ship building, brick manufacturer, carriage manufacturer, printing press manufacturer, iron foundry, ice harvesting and a dock area for shipping agricultural products to New York City. Although Coxsackie is not quite the thriving commercial district it once was it still offers wonderful architecture and a glimpse into the history of the Hudson River valley. The small downtown Reed Street area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1. Dunn, Mrs. Shirley W. and Ross, Claire. Reed Street Historic District. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington D.C. 1980.


2. Ibid.