ornate bargeboards, window tracery,hood molds, bay windows and foliat-ed ornaments. Characteristic ofGothic Revival is the asymmetricalplan and façade as well as pointedarch windows.

Classic RevivalGreek Roman temples were the

models for this style. Low pitchedgable roods with eave returns andpedimented gables were common.Classical columns or pilasters werealso employed on the porch and frontof the house. Six-over-six pane dou-ble-hung windows are usually foundon the Classic Revival home popularin Oregon from the 1840s until the1860s.

French Second EmpireSecond Empire architecture was

developed in France during the ruleof Napoleon III (1852-1870) and waspopular in Europe throughout the lat-ter half of the 19th century. In theUnited States it was adopted formuseums, hotels, colleges and hous-es. Perhaps the most distinguishingfeature of this style is the Mansardroof, straight, concave or convex,usually with decorative shingles.Other features include classical orna-mentation (belt courses. cornices.moldings. etc.), tall chimneys withdecorative caps, dormer windows,and deep cornices supported bybrackets. This style was popular inOregon in the 1870s and 1880s.Albany has the largest concentrationof French Second Empire structuresin the state.

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Architectural Styles

FederalThis symmetrical, box-like style

was very popular on the East Coastfrom 1776 to 1820 and was com-monly used by early settlers here onthe West Coast. The internal struc-ture of these buildings was general-ly made of hand-hewn beams whileexterior siding was often of locallymilled lumber. Typical of this styleare interior chimneys and symmetri-cally placed six over six pane double-hung windows.

Gothic RevivalA revival of medieval styles began

in the 18th century and was verypopular in Britain in the early 19thcentury. America saw its first GothicRevival structures in the 1830’s andthe style was used widely forchurches and schools as well ashomes, until the 1890s. Most ofAlbany’s gothic houses were built inthe 1870’s

The first use of this particular stylefound few builders who could affordthe elaborately carves decorativedetailing which was so much a partof these structures. But with theinvention of the jigsaw came the

ItalianateItalianate is an umbrella term that is

used to describe the type of building,both residential and commercial, thatwas inspired by Italian Renaissancepalaces and modest Italian Farmhouses of the 16th and 17th cen-turies. Its most characteristic ele-ment is the low-hipped roof (flat oncommercial buildings) with overhang-ing eaves that are supported by deco-rative scroll-like brackets. Italianatestyles were popular in Oregon in the1880s and 1890s. They usually have avertical emphasis and often have therounded or segmental "Roman" arch.

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Top Left Photo Courtesy of the Albany RegionalMuseum, from the Robert Potts Collection, RememberingWhen Vol II #48. Albany Street Car on the SW corner ofFirst and Ellsworth. The building still stands with the upperfloor removed.

Middle Left Photo Courtesy of the Albany RegionalMuseum, from the Robert Potts Collection, RememberingWhen Vol II #68. This building still stands as restored onthe NE corner of First and Broadalbin. The theater wasopened as the “Bligh” in 1913. It was renamed the“Rolfe”,:later the “Globe” and lastly the “Venetian.” Inthis photo the corner was occupied by Billy Eagles’ CigarStore. Eagles manufactured his own cigars for many years,c. 1924.

Bottom Left Photo Courtesy of the Albany RegionalMuseum, from the Robert Potts Collection, RememberingWhen Vol I #67. 1887 Italianate that houses the AlbanyRegional Museum, 136 Lyon St. (Stop No. 16). The build-ing was designed by Warren H. Williams, one of the bestknown Oregon architects of the Victorian era. Originallylocated at the corner of First and Broadalbin, the structurewas moved to Second and Lyon in 1912.

Below Photo Courtesy of the Albany RegionalMuseum, from the Robert Potts Collection, RememberingWhen Vol IV #118. The lower end of the old covered bridgec. 1930 leading from the west end of Third Ave to BryantPark during the 1946 flood.

Rural VernacularThe Rural Vernacular or Western

Farmhouse style was widely usedthroughout the Mid-Willamette Valleyfrom 1875 to 1910. These homeswere built with thrift in mind and uti-lized materials, which were easilyavailable. The Rural Vernacular floorplan was "T" or "L" shaped with rec-tangular rooms placed at right angles.These structures often began as onewing, with other areas being added asthe family grew. Typical of thesebuildings are the gable roofs, cornerboards, freeze boards at rooflines andshiplap siding. Variations built in the1870’s have Classic Revival andGothic Revival elements, whileQueen Anne and Stick features arecommon on homes built in the 1880sand 1890s. Variations in 1900 and1910 combine Colonial Revival andBungalow elements with the basicRural Vernacular style.

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CraftsmanOften referred to as Classic Box,

American Foursquare, Decorated orDormered Box. This style is identi-fied by its prominent entry, hippedroof and its box-like shape.Craftsman structures often havedormer windows facing the street.

BungalowThis truly American style evolved

around 1890 and was used untilabout 1930. These small, well-builthomes have trace elements ofSpanish, Swiss, Japanese, Indianand English architecture. They fea-ture low pitched gable or hippedroofs with wide overhanging eavesand exposed rafters as well astapered porch posts. Porches,verandas, sunrooms and sleepingporches add to the Bungalow’s "cot-tage" effect.

The name Bungalow comes fromthe word Bangla, which meansbelonging to Bengal. The style waspopularized by the Craftsman, amonthly magazine published byGustav Stickley from 1901 to 1916.Bungalow pattern books were pub-lished all over the United States andready cut timber and patterns couldbe ordered and sent by rail and thenconstructed by local carpenters uponarrival.

Stick and Eastlake StyleDerived from the Gothic Revival

style, the Stick Style was made popu-lar by a British architect, GervaseWheeler. Wheeler believed thatwood-framed houses should look likewooden houses; thus the placementof "stickwork" simulating structuralframing materials for exterior orna-mentation. Porches and balconies arecommon and have many Eastlake ele-ments such as turned columns,spools, spindles and round disksapplied for decoration. Perhaps themost common Eastlake motif is thesunburst, which appears in every con-ceivable variation. Stick style homesare typically asymmetrical, verticallydesigned, and have projecting baywindows and large verandas. TheseEastlake-Stick style houses were builtin the 20 years preceding 1890.

Colonial RevivalA revival of interest in the heritage

of 18th century America began duringthe Centennial celebration of 1876.Colonial styles were studied and imi-tated by architects who disdained theeclectic, excessive decoration ofVictorian architecture and whodesired to establish a truly Americanstyle. Architects used historical build-ings as models. Incorporating modern

technology and new ideas to createa more ordered and simplisticdesign.

Queen AnneVariety is the hallmark of this style;

mixed building materials, textures,patterns and colors prevail. The moreobvious features of these housesinclude towers and turrets, combina-tions of different styles of windowsand roofs, as well as tall-decoratedchimneys and carved wooden pan-els. There is irregularity in the plan,facade and decoration of these build-ings. The style was used in churchesand commercial structures as well ashouses.

The popularity of Queen Anne canbe traced back to the CentennialExposition in 1876 and British gov-ernment buildings. Queen Anne wasthe style used in America from 1880through the first decade of the 20thcentury. The Queen Anne style canbe either very exuberant or ratherrestrained, depending on the use ofdetails.

American RenaissanceThis architectural style illustrated a

movement throughout Americawhich stated to the world that theUnited States was no longer a fron-tier society, but one which had culti-vated civic dignity and classical cul-tural ideals.

The stimulus for the AmericanRenaissance movement was theWorld's Columbian Exposition of1893 held in Chicago. Public buildinginitiating Greek, Roman, Italian,French and English architecturewere built in a vast number of citiesthroughout America until the coun-try’s entry into the First World War.

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The downtown commercial district ofAlbany began to grow soon after the found-ing of Albany in 1848. Shortly after theMonteith brothers moved into their newhouse on the edge of the present down-town, they opened a general store. Otherbusinesses soon followed. By 1878,downtown Albany boasted grocers, dry-goods stores, a wagon dealer, cigar stores,butchers, livery stables, a tailor, a "shavingsolon," shoe stores, a printer, saloons,hotels, an agricultural implement dealer,and a furniture dealer who doubled as anundertaker.

The first steamboat called at Albany in1852, and the downtown district quicklydeveloped into the mid-valley riverboatlanding. By 1866, five riverboats owned byan Albany man made regular trips betweenAlbany, Corvallis and Portland. Remnantsof this era of river travel still exist in the for-mer riverbank warehouse and steamboatlanding located at the foot of BroadalbinStreet.

Downtown Albany bears reminders ofother modes of transportation as well.Starting in 1851, E.M. Briggs’ ferry crossedthe Willamette from the foot of FerryStreet. The ferries charged 75 cents tocross the river with a wagon and team.Pack horses and mules cost 20 cents, foot-travelers paid 12.5 cents, loose cattle were10 cents, sheep and hogs 5 cents, and 100pounds of freight cost 5 cents. The ferrywas replaced by the Albany Steel Bridge in1892. The footings of the bridge are stillvisible, carrying power lines across theriver.

Street repairs sometimes uncover trolleytracks along First and Lyon streets,unearthing yet another form of turn-of-the-

century transportation in Albany. The trol-leys were at first pulled by steam engines,then horses, and were finally electrified in1908. The Straney and Moore building,321 Second Ave. SW, was originally one ofthe several livery stables in the downtowndistrict servicing the trolleys.

At the turn of the century, Albany wasknown as the "Hub City" of the Willamette

Valley, with "unrivaled shipping facilities, rail-roads radiating in nine different directions, anda passenger service with fifty trains per day."

During Albany’s early commercial buildingperiod, impressive and ornate structuressprang up downtown. When it was built in1887, the Flinn Block, 222 First Ave, boastedone of the most ornate French Second Empirefacades in the Northwest (see the drawingabove). The Straney and Moore Livery Stable isa fanciful Queen Anne structure built in 1891.The S.E. Young Building, 136 Lyon SW, wasbuilt in 1887 and moved to its present locationby teams of horses in 1914.

Architectural styles of the DowntownHistoric District include: Italianate, QueenAnne, American Renaissance, CommercialBrick, Art Modern, Twentieth Century PeriodRevivals, and a modified French SecondEmpire.

Stability marks the history of Albany’sDowntown Historic district. Many of the build-ings and businesses pictured in fading old pho-tographs still exist-evidence of the down-town’s continuing vitality and charm. Thedowntown district remains the civic, commer-cial, and social center of Albany.

Downtown District History

The Flinn Block, 222 First Ave. W. Albany, Oregon. After a period of deferred maintenance, and a fire the ornamentaliron work at the top of the building was removed because it was feared that it would fall to the sidewalk.

Left Photo Courtesy of the Albany Regional Museum, fromthe Robert Potts Collection, Remembering When Vol I #73.Paving First Ave. circa 1880. Photo taken from the vicinity ofWashington Street.