Ossining


The Village of Ossining overlooks the broad expanse of Haverstraw Bay some 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan. It retains many architectural gems, but within the Rivertowns Ossining also fared among the worst during the times or Urban Renewal in the early 1970s, and hasn't reclaimed its main street with any distinct identity. Undoubtedly most persons will think of the infamous correction facility when they hear the original name of the village, Sing Sing, and indeed the prison occupies a significant piece of land along the Hudson River. However the prison is mostly out-of-sight, and downtown Ossining seems consistently on the verge of "making it" but never does it quite become a tourist destination like Tarrytown, or an escape from Brooklyn like Hastings. It just may be a few years behind.  

Ossining still has some historically-significant ruins while a number of sites of interest have been demolished in the last 10-15 years. A few of them are featured here among other sites examined in-depth, with a few more sites to be featured here later.


     Downtown Banks - A trio of once-vacant banks.

     Bella Vista mansion / Elk's Lodge - Demolished April 13, 2015.

     Potter Estate Underground Chambers - Revealed by a road collapse, once again sealed-up.

     Henry Gourdine's Fishing Shed - Demolished for million-dollar condominiums that were never built.

 

Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Old Croton Aqueduct




Old Croton Aqueduct


 Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

77 Water Street (demolished)
Once this was the Faure-Pryce Electrical Company. 
A great historical image is in the archive of the Museum of the City of New York.


 Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Westerly Road and Quimby Street.
This industrial building, still in use, has been home to a variety of concerns including Alert & McGuire Pickle Storage (1903), Mosher Water Tube Boiler Company (1911), and Collett Week Nibecker Vitamin Concentrates (1949).


 Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Meredith & Hitchcock Storage Warehouse Transportation (demolished)



Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Meredith & Hitchcock Storage Warehouse Transportation (demolished)



Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

LCI (L) 766 / Circle Line IX (demolished)
Built in 1944, this Landing Craft Infantry vessel served at Iwo Jima and Okinawa to ferry troops from sea to the beach.
It later served as  Day Line, and then Circle Line, sight-seeing boat. Purchased for scrap, it was relocated to the Shattemuc Yacht Club where it became part of the club's rebuilt breakwater and auxiliary clubhouse. It has since been razed to the waterline.


Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Sparta Copper Mine (sealed-up)
Mined intermittently between 1820 and 1881, the mine was recently sealed shut and closed to exploration. 
Fortunately the folks at IronMiners.com have documented this site.


Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

The ruins of the original 1825 stone cellblock of Sing Sing Prison. 
Notorious for conditions that led to prison reform in the 20th century, was reduced to ruin by a fire in the 1980s. It stands just a few feet from commuter railroad tracks, though the thousands of daily passengers will never be able to get more than a glimpse of the cellblock interior.


Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

Although  there has long been talk of creating a museum on prison property, ethical concerns exist owing to the fact that Sing Sing Correctional Facility remains an active institution. This ruin was chronicled in Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape.


 

This page copyright © 2015 by Robert J. Yasinsac. All rights reserved. 
Reproducing or copying photographs without the permission of Robert J. Yasinsac is prohibited.