Statement on Madison Avenue Fires from HAF Executive Director Pamela Howard

Who knew that an act of senseless gun violence could directly be responsible for two buildings being demolished in a historic district? One damaged beyond saving from a raging fire and the other demolished from water damage. That’s what happened on Madison Avenue on July 4th when a youth fired a flare gun into a home, setting the property ablaze.

The property at 333 Madison,built in 1871, was a well maintained and structurally sound rental property that was fully occupied at the time. The building next door at 331 Madison Avenue, the Madison Grille, was demolished on Sunday due to extensive water damage fighting the fire next door. Built around 1900, this building served as a popular local bar for many years and was currently up for sale.

It is too early to tell the fate of 335 Madison Avenue. The building received a great deal of water damage and it shares a wall with 333. The occupants have been relocated while work is being done to secure the shared wall. Earlier this week, when HAF visited the site, 333 Madison was being demolished one floor at a time from the top down to ensure that the shared wall stays with 335, giving the building the best chance for survival. The demo crews, with oversight from Rick LaJoy of the City’s Building and Regulatory Compliance Office, are working as carefully as possible to not cause further damage to the remaining historic home.

And what are the repercussions of this fire? The owners of 331 and 333 Madison Avenue hopefully have replacement value insurance on the properties, but new construction is expensive and this may not cover all of the costs of rebuilding. There is no guarantee the owner will rebuild or be able to. Insurance also may not cover the emergency demolition expenses that will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of the renters at 333 Madison Avenue have lost their homes and now need to find new places to live. They have lost nearly everything they own as some did not have renters insurance.

We have to thank all of the first responders who entered a chaotic scene on Friday night namely the NYS Police, APD, AFD, the Buildings and Regulatory Compliance Department, among many others. They are to be commended for not allowing this quick and hot burning fire to spread any farther, preventing more widespread loss in this historic neighborhood.

Photos: Pam Howard and Rick LaJoy

Saving Albany’s stories, one brick at a time

What is Historic Albany Foundation?

Celebrating 50 years in operation, Historic Albany Foundation is a private not-for-profit membership based organization that works to preserve and protect buildings with architectural, historic, or civic value. We do this through educational and hands-on programming (tours, workshops, lectures), technical assistance, advocacy for endangered buildings, and our Tool Lending Library and Architectural Parts Warehouse.

Our Architectural Parts Warehouse saves and sells historic house parts, preventing them from ending up in the landfill. This includes vintage doors, tubs, sinks, balusters, shutters, lighting, furniture, ephemera, and so much more. You can check out our Instagram to get a first peek at our items.

The Warehouse operates by donation and salvage (email the warehouse to donate items). It is an invaluable resource for people passionate about historic buildings, items, and sustainability. You can find rare, period-appropriate parts and unique items to reuse and repurpose.

We also operate the Capital Region’s only Tool Lending Library which has over 500 tools to borrow, free workshops, and runs community volunteer days ($20 for an annual membership).

Programming: Please note that our tours and programming are typically ticketed events (even the free ones) due to limited space. We offer these first to our members (through our newsletters) and on our social media platforms. Since they tend to sell out so quickly, you may not get a chance to see them here on our website. Please check our social media or become a member for our most updated programming list.