Shay's Warehouse and Stable
Encyclopedia
Shay's Warehouse and Stable is in the rear of a lot on Point Street in New Hamburg
, New York
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1987.
William Shay, a local rag merchant, built the structure behind his house around 1865. It is a brick building in the Gothic Revival style's Picturesque
mode, an unusually decorative
touch for an industrial building of that time and region. It has seen a number of uses over the years, and today is primarily a storage facility.
tin hipped roof
with an unusual brick-corbel
ed cornice
and a few arched dormer windows.
Inside, both sections are almost intact. The warehouse's floors are both open, with its upper floor supported by randomly-spaced joist
s supported by heavy beams at the center. In the stable, the tack room and stalls
have been removed to make space for contemporary automotive uses but other than that there have been no changes.
There are no outbuildings related to its original use surviving. Shay's house is also on the parcel, but it has undergone considerable change since it was built and is not considered contributing
.
of the time to show outbuildings. He used it for storage and transshipment
of rags and cotton waste from the mills in Wappingers Falls
.
In later years it would see other uses as New Hamburg changed due to the decline in commercial traffic along the Hudson River
and the later rise and fall of the railroad over the 20th century. It would be a cooperage
for apple barrels and a brass foundry
. The stable was modified as cars replaced horses. At the time of its listing on the National Register it was a boat-repair shop, reflecting the nearby marina
s that now dominate the hamlet's economy.
More recently it has been used just for storage. It is today the only intact surviving commercial or industrial building from New Hamburg's days as a river port.
Shay built, the warehouse (stable) is very ornamented
for a vernacular
industrial or related building from that period in the Poughkeepsie
area. Unlike the duplex, built five years later, its basic style is Italianate
, as evidenced by the blocky forms and arched windows. But the decoration, particularly the corbeled brick, suggests an attempt to interpret the Picturesque
mode popularized in mid-century.
New Hamburg, New York
New Hamburg is a small hamlet along the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, best known as home of a popular marina and a busy Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line station. It is located in the southern corner of the Wappingers Falls....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1987.
William Shay, a local rag merchant, built the structure behind his house around 1865. It is a brick building in the Gothic Revival style's Picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
mode, an unusually decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
touch for an industrial building of that time and region. It has seen a number of uses over the years, and today is primarily a storage facility.
Building
The building consists of two connected two-story sections: a square warehouse and rectangular stable. They are built into a slight slope and only the west (main) elevation is fully exposed. It has a stone foundation giving way to brick laid in common bond rising to a low-pitchedRoof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
tin hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
with an unusual brick-corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
ed cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and a few arched dormer windows.
Inside, both sections are almost intact. The warehouse's floors are both open, with its upper floor supported by randomly-spaced joist
Joist
A joist, in architecture and engineering, is one of the horizontal supporting members that run from wall to wall, wall to beam, or beam to beam to support a ceiling, roof, or floor. It may be made of wood, steel, or concrete. Typically, a beam is bigger than, and is thus distinguished from, a joist...
s supported by heavy beams at the center. In the stable, the tack room and stalls
Stall (enclosure)
A stall is a small enclosure of some kind, usually less enclosed than a room.-Market stall:A market stall is usually an immobile temporary structure erected by merchants to display and shelter their merchandise...
have been removed to make space for contemporary automotive uses but other than that there have been no changes.
There are no outbuildings related to its original use surviving. Shay's house is also on the parcel, but it has undergone considerable change since it was built and is not considered contributing
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
History
Shay bought the Main Street-Point Street corner property around 1863. His house is shown on maps of the village from the next decade, but not the warehouse. It probably existed as it was not the custom of mapmakersCartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
of the time to show outbuildings. He used it for storage and transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
of rags and cotton waste from the mills in Wappingers Falls
Wappingers Falls, New York
Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The name is derived from the local Wappinger Indians. One half of the village is in the town of Wappinger and the other half is in the town of Poughkeepsie, with Wappinger Creek forming the dividing line between the...
.
In later years it would see other uses as New Hamburg changed due to the decline in commercial traffic along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and the later rise and fall of the railroad over the 20th century. It would be a cooperage
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
for apple barrels and a brass foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
. The stable was modified as cars replaced horses. At the time of its listing on the National Register it was a boat-repair shop, reflecting the nearby marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s that now dominate the hamlet's economy.
More recently it has been used just for storage. It is today the only intact surviving commercial or industrial building from New Hamburg's days as a river port.
Aesthetics
Like the nearby duplexWilliam Shay Double House
The William Shay Double House is a residential duplex at Point Street and River Road in New Hamburg, New York, United States. It was built around 1870 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982....
Shay built, the warehouse (stable) is very ornamented
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
for a vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
industrial or related building from that period in the Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
area. Unlike the duplex, built five years later, its basic style is Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, as evidenced by the blocky forms and arched windows. But the decoration, particularly the corbeled brick, suggests an attempt to interpret the Picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
mode popularized in mid-century.