Threatened Anaconda Wire and Cable Company Buildings on the Hudson Waterfront (Stuart Cadenhead)

Dear Preservation 911,

Last month, the New York State Department of Environmental conservation issued its long-awaited "ROD" (Record of Decision) on the Hastings-on-Hudson waterfront cleanup. The DEC has stated that several buildings on the site are largely free of contaminants and need not be removed during the cleanup. However, it is likely that all historic buildings will be demolished within the next 3 years unless tenants can be found to occupy them.

The buildings of the Anaconda Wire and Cable Company originally opened in 1898 as the National Conduit and Cable Company. This company produced conduits consisting of cement-lined steel tubes, and, later electrical cable. Most buildings on the site, built during an expansion of the factory, date to the 1910s.

Two of the buildings (Buildings 51 and 52) are quite beautiful. They are brick structures, featuring dramatic 20-foot-high window openings, saw-tooth skylights, raised gable clerestory windows, and cavernous, nearly column-free, interior spaces. The buildings are comparable in size to those of the Dia:Beacon museum in Beacon, N.Y., but with higher ceilings. They are located in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, on the shores of the Hudson River, 25 minutes (by train) from Manhattan.

If anyone is interested in learning more about these buildings, please contact me.

Thanks,

Stuart Cadenhead
Friends of Hastings Historic Waterfront

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