Peter Watson discusses Oliver Bronson House 

New York State History Month was established by an act of the Legislature in 1997. But for many years, people lamented the lack of programming to mark History Month. In 2014, the University Club hosted a series of events celebrating the history of New York State, and continues the tradition in 2016.

ALBANY, NY – October 20, 2016 – As part of its Celebration of New York State History Month, the University Club and Society of Architectural Historians, Turpin-Bannister Chapter, will co-host a presentation on the National Historic Landmark Oliver Bronson House in Hudson on Tuesday, November 15 at the National Register-listed University Club of Albany, 141 Washington Avenue. The public is invited to a meet-the-speaker reception with cash bar at 5:30, the presentation commencing at 6:00 p.m., and optional dinner following.

Peter Watson, historic preservation consultant and architectural historian, will present an illustrated lecture on the Oliver Bronson House in Hudson. Also known as the Plumb-Bronson House, it is an early example of the Hudson River Bracketed Style.

Samuel Plumb, owner and operator of a fleet of tow boats on the Hudson River, purchased this property and built his home here in 1811. In 1838, when Dr. Oliver Bronson purchased the house from Plumb, Bronson retained the services of Alexander Jackson Davis to embellish the house, to which Davis returned in 1849 in order to reorient the house to the Hudson River, with an Italianate-style addition. The grounds may be an early example of the work of landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing.

The not-for-profit Historic Hudson has secured a 30-year lease on this long-neglected site on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility and owned by the NYS Office of General Services and is working to determine a new use and plans for site stewardship.

Peter Watson, a board member of Historic Hudson, served as the project manager for Phase I of the restoration of the Bronson House, and is also a board member of the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon. He grew up with old houses in Connecticut and has a lifelong interest in historic buildings and landscapes, and in the way people actually lived and worked in them.

After twenty years working as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies, including serving as Principal at Towers Perrin and later cofounding Venture Pay Group LLC, Peter decided to return to school. He received his Master of Science in Historic Preservation at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), Columbia University in May of 2012. His Master’s Thesis, entitled “Picturesque Transformations: A.J. Davis in the Hudson Valley and Beyond,” was awarded the Ali Malik Jawad Memorial Prize in Architectural History/Theory. He is currently preparing a scholarly article on Davis for publication.

There is no cost to attend the presentation, but reservations are required and may be made by calling the Club at 518-463-1151; by sending an email to ellen@universityclubalbany.com; or on the Club’s website at www.universityclubalbany.com. The event is sponsored by the University Club Foundation and Society of Architectural Historians and one need not be a member of either organization to attend.

The lecture is one of a number of events comprising a Celebration of New York State History Month in November, 2016. Presented by the University Club of Albany Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, the events will be open to the public. The month-long celebration will include luncheons and evening lectures featuring experts in a variety of disciplines discussing the history of New York State and the region. 

New York State History Month at the University Club is sponsored by AT&T, which has long supported the Foundation’s educational programming.

For more information about the University Club’s celebration of New York State History Month, including program updates, please visit www.universityclubalbany.com .