page_title: Pine Hills, Albany, New York
section_title: 1869–1980
hierarchical_section_title: Pine Hills, Albany, New York / History / 1869–1980
caption_attribution_description: English: 1891 photo of Steamer 10 in Albany, New York
context_page_description: Pine Hills is a neighborhood in Albany, New York, generally defined as the area from Manning Boulevard to the west, Woodlawn Avenue to the south, Lake Avenue to the east, and Washington Avenue to the north. The neighborhood consists mainly of freestanding multi-unit, duplex, and semi-detached houses and is home to Albany High School, the LaSalle school, the College of St. Rose, and the Alumni Quad of the University at Albany. Though mostly residential due to historical reasons from its founding, Pine Hills is home to two neighborhood commercial districts; Middle Madison, from Partridge to Quail streets was designated first, and then a latter designated district, Upper Madison, from Main Avenue to North Allen Street. The area of Pine Hills east of Main Avenue and north of Myrtle Avenue is commonly referred to as the student ghetto due to its predominant population of college-age students. The area of Pine Hills west of Main Avenue features many large Queen Anne, Folk Victorian, and Colonial Revival homes. Upper Madison, where it meets Western Avenue near St.
context_section_description: Gaylord Logan and Lewis Pratt, two Albany lawyers, using a $100,000 bank loan in 1869 to buy the area which later gave birth to the name of Pine Hills. They named the area Pine Hills for the pine forests on hilltops along Western Avenue. The hills were sculptured into terraced lawns, which can still be seen on South Allen Street, where in 1889 tax records describe a "Pine Grove" between 88 and 112 South Allen. The area they had purchased was from Allen Street west to Manning Boulevard and from Cortland Street north to Washington Avenue. Logan and Pratt formed the Albany Land Improvement Company and began selling 50 feet (15 m) by 200 feet (61 m) lots in 1881 after having laid out and paved tree-lined streets along with flagstone sidewalks, and laying water, sewer, and gas mains as well. Homes in the area were constructed by the Sano-Rubin Construction Company and the West End Building Company. These two companies also constructed many other homes throughout the city. Covenants in the deeds "forever prevent the use of the property for business
  purposes or the sale of intoxicating liquors" which predate the use of zoning in the city of Albany. Originally the lots sold for $1,200, but by 1891 reduced to $840, after the Depression of 1893 the bank foreclosed on the land and sold the lots even cheaper. Beginning in 1886, the West End Building Company constructed 200 homes, and in the early 20th century, the Sano-Rubin Construction Company constructed another 400.
  Even though the original plan for Pine Hills was a fiscal failure for Logan and Pratt, their lots continued to be sold and the area quickly became a fashionable "semi-suburb" with the city beginning to build more infrastructure to service the growing population. The Roman Catholic population of the area established St. Vincent's Church in 1887, and the St Andrew's Episcopal Church was established in 1897. The Point, the site of the first successful railroad in the nation (site abandoned in 1841), became the site of Engine #10 of the Albany Fire Department (AFD) in 1891, and Public School #4 (PS 4) was built on the corner of Madison Avenue and Ontario Street soon after. Starting in 1899 and for the next two decades the Orphan Asylum began an ambitious construction program, resulting in four new buildings that are still used today. Public School #16 (PS 16) was established on North Allen Street near the Point in 1906.
  Logan and Pratt's covenants to keep out commercial activities had a lasting effect on Pine Hills and in the spirit of those who later lived there. In 1900 the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association and in 1902 the Aurania Club (Aurania being the Latin name for Fort Orange, an early name for Albany) were formed to continue in the tradition of keeping Pine Hills a residential area with strong community spirit. The opposition to commercial activity in the neighborhood successfully derailed attempts to build a school for the deaf and dumb in the 1890s and a "hospital for the incurables" in 1902. In 1925 the streetcars began to be replaced by buses, first The United Traction Company, and later in 1970 the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA). Meanwhile, some commercial activities were allowed such as the Pine Hills Pharmacy at 1116 Madison Avenue and Johnston and Linsley's Grocery a few years later. In 1929 the Madison Theater was opened in Pine Hills, with Mayor John Boyd Thacher II giving the dedicatory address and Al Jolson as the master of ceremonies.
  The Vincentian Institute, a Catholic high school was dedicated in 1917 on the corner of Madison Avenue and Ontario Street, as an elementary school, and opened in 1921 as a high school; in 1920 the College of Saint Rose opened at 979 Madison Avenue, which was also a Catholic institution. In 1928 the Catholic Church opened the Vincentian Institute Child Culture Division, a Kindergarten through 8 school in former greenhouses on Morris Street between Main and Partridge Streets. PS 4 burned down in 1922, but was rebuilt designed by Marcus Reynolds. In 1923 the Orphan Asylum was renamed the La Salle School
caption: Steamer #10 at the Point in 1891
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