Construction Scene Reinforced Concrete Building, 1915

Photograph shows construction on the Nelson Block, a reinforced concrete building at the corner of N. Main Street and E. Albany in Herkimer, New York. The old Nelson Block burned down on March 16, 1915, and reconstruction finished in 1916.

The Nelson Block started burning in the early morning, with the first reported smoke sighting coming from a resident at 4 a.m. That resident wasn’t sure of the blaze’s origins, but he speculated that the fire started due to old papers in the basement. The fire spread through the building quickly due to the wooden frame it was built around, with residents on upper floors trapped by smoke. Firefighters struggled to put out the fire due to low water pressure, though they succeeded in rescuing all residents trapped on the upper floors. After the wooden frame burnt down, the building’s brick walls collapsed and caused additional damage to the surroundings, though no one died.

The Nelson Block started as a three-story wooden hotel named Tower Block that was built in 1830, burned down in 1875, and rebuilt in 1879 as the Tower House. John H. Nelson came to own it in 1893, and in 1905 he added a fourth story and constructed a brick building around the existing wooden frame. Prior to its incineration, the original building housed a clothing store, “Ladies’ Store,” and café on the first floor, while the second, third and fourth floors consisted of offices and apartments. The building sat next to a New York Central railroad depot, and it was one of the leading commercial houses in Herkimer. The clothing store’s owner, Patrick John Dineen, lost $30,000 in the blaze ($15,000 after insurance), yet he could still afford to reopen his store once the new Nelson block was finished. The reconstructed building still stands in Herkimer today, with the first floor still serving as a storefront and the other floors continuing to house apartments and offices.

Currently not on view