Public hearing opens on nomination of 10 South Clinton Street as Poughkeepsie local landmark

The Poughkeepsie Common Council opened a public hearing March 18 on the nomination of 10 South Clinton Street for designation as a local historic landmark, hearing several residents and historians urge approval and then closing public comment without taking a final vote.

Supporters told the council the house at 10 South Clinton is architecturally intact and historically tied to early local builders. “I own the property at 10 South … I’ve been there for 50 years,” said Judy Green, the property owner, who described the house as a “beautiful structure” with “double brick walls with horsehair lathing and 2 inches of plaster, ornate … moldings.”

Preservation advocates said the building reflects a broader local history of 19th-century craftsmen and small manufacturers. A resident who identified themselves as a longtime neighborhood resident said the house and surrounding block date to an era “when Poughkeepsie was older than the country,” and urged the council to preserve the neighborhood’s character. Holly Wahlberg, a local historian and Garfield Place resident, described the building as a “carpenter Gothic style cottage” with unusually high architectural integrity and said her research connects the house to a cluster of carpenters, machinists and inventors who worked in nearby foundries.

“Historic buildings are more than just old structures, they are vital threads in the fabric of a city’s identity,” said Lori Sandow of South Grand Avenue, who invoked the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 in arguing for designation. Daniel Latona, a union member and community organizer from Ward 8, called the house “one of the last long brick row houses in Poughkeepsie” and said landmark status would protect it for future generations.

Speakers also noted the local Historic Preservation Commission has reviewed the nomination; one commenter said the commission had “unanimously” recommended designation. Several speakers said they hope a local designation would be followed by state and national landmark nominations.

After public comment concluded, a council member moved to close the public participation portion of the hearing; a second was made and the council recorded a voice vote of “Aye” to close public comment. The transcript does not record any subsequent council vote on whether to designate 10 South Clinton Street as a local landmark.

The nomination packet distributed to council members, cited by public commenters, includes descriptions of the house’s materials and craftsmanship and traces of the people who built it, including Elias Sprouse, Andrew Sperbeck and Griffin Whipple, who were described as masons and carpenters active in the neighborhood in the 19th century. Commenters tied the house to nearby historic features such as Reservoir Square and the 400 blocks of Main and Mill streets, noting the area’s 19th-century industrial character.

The public hearing and the speakers’ remarks will become part of the council’s record as it considers whether to move forward with local landmark designation. No council decision on the nomination was recorded in the provided transcript.