TROY – Simply known to city dwellers as “The Castle,” the Gilded Age mansion at 49 Second St. is a former fraternity house and a favorite for 19th century movie settings that needs $2 million to meet restoration and repair costs.

The four-story building that takes its nickname from its appearance was built for $800,000 between 1891 and 1893 by industrialist John W. Paine. That’s only about $24.9 million in 2021 dollars.

The Paine Castle Foundation has formed to raise the money needed to preserve the imposing Second Street limestone building. The foundation is the creation of the alumni of Pi Kappa Phi’s Alpha Tau chapter at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Link to Times Union

Join me for a look at the history and architecture of Troy's John Paine Mansion. If you love old houses, amazing craftsmanship and period detail, this story is for you.

In 2022, when visitors enter the large house at 49 Second Street in Troy, their first words are probably “Woah,” and “Wow!” The house is simply breathtaking. That same reaction was probably had by the homeowner’s first guests, fellow wealthy Trojans who attended the first social events at the mansion in the mid-1890s. Even for Troy’s most successful citizens, no strangers to wealth or opulence themselves, this was truly beyond what anyone else in the city was used to.

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Suzanne Spellen

Read more at Spellen of Troy Blog

TROY – The Hart Cluett Museum, which has served as a filming location, as well as a source of historic information for production designers, scouts and other staff, is embarking on its second round of walking tours that feature the buildings and locations in Troy that stood in for 1882 New York City in the nine-part series. Downtown Troy’s Gilded Age architecture has survived relatively intact making it a desired spot for filming.
Sheehan will kick-off planned spring and summer tours of "Gilded Age" filming locations on May 19 with a lecture at the museum followed by the first tour on May 21. There is a waiting list for the tours, but more tours will likely be added. Information about the tours is available through the museum website at hartcluett.org or by calling 518-272-7232, Ext. 18.

The Emma Willard School has scheduled five tours for its June class reunions and Russell Sage College also has planned tours that Sheehan said she will be leading.

“The Gilded Age” was filmed in Troy in May and June 2021 when people were emerging from COVID-19 isolation. The walking tours will focus on the first season's shooting locations.

Link to Times Union

Series heavily shot in Troy will be streamed on HBO Max starting Jan. 24. Paine Castle supported the story with exterior and interior scenes.

The nine-episode series begins in 1882 with young Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon). Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon).
Link to HBO's Website

2022-05-21 ‘The Gilded Age’ returning to film season 2 in Troy https://www.news10.com/news/rensselaer-county/the-gilded-age-returning-to-film-season-2-in-troy

2021-11-18 Link to HBO’s Trailer 1

2022-01-24 Link to House Beautiful Article about all the homes used in the series
2022-01-24 Link to Conde Nast Article
2021-11-19 Link to Times Union Article

Link to our YouTube Playlist for The Gilded Age

TROY – The 2021 Troy Victorian Stroll Season kicked off on Sunday, with more merriment to come throughout the month.

Now in its 39th year, the Stroll is a popular Collar City tradition that welcomes residents and visitors to the streets of downtown Troy each holiday season, featuring festive pop-up entertainment for all to enjoy.

Many eventgoers dress in old-fashioned garb for the occasion, and streets are closed to vehicle traffic so attendees can stroll through the downtown district as it was in the Victorian era.

“We’re thrilled to kick off the 39th annual Stroll Season presented by the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce,” chamber president Kate Manley said on Sunday afternoon in a lively Monument Square. “It’s a great chance for us to support local, our restaurants and eateries in Troy, as well as our unique boutiques and really pay homage to our Victorian city.”

Downtown Troy will be filled with special holiday attractions on Sunday, Dec. 5 as well as Saturday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 18.

See pictures in Media / Activity Archives

Link to SEEN: 39th Annual Troy Victorian Stroll

Link to Troy Record Dec 5th 2021 article

Link to Troy Record Nov 21st 2021 event preview

City of Troy Victorian Stroll Website

TROY – If you follow Troy and Rensselaer County Historian Kathy Sheehan down Second Street from Monument Square south to Washington Park, you won't just see the springtime filming of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” unfold.

You'll also understand why Troy’s look makes it the stand-in for 19th century New York City.

Link to Times Union

TROY – This 125-year old mansion, located at 49 Second St. in downtown Troy, has seen a lot since it was built in 1896 as the “Grandest House in Troy.”

A Gilded Age masterpiece, it has served as a private residence, a college administrative building, a movie set and most recently a fraternity house for the Alpha Tau chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

As the building enters a new chapter, The Castle Alpha Tau Foundation, a 501(c)(3) foundation registered with the New York State Charities Bureau, is dedicated to its care, renovation, and preservation.

The foundation has embarked on an ambitious plan to raise $2 million for a complete renovation of Paine Castle, restoring the house to its former glory and ensuring its survival for the next 150 years.

Link to Troy Record

…. Now, eye-catching brick industrial and commercial buildings have been repurposed into chic boutiques, restaurants and galleries. Yes, Troy NY is modernizing, but still retains its Victorian glow: so much so that HBO is filming a new series, “The Gilded Age,” right downtown. (May 2021).

An independent bookstore occupies a significant corner of downtown, and above it, Warner Brothers Games NY just moved in. Artisanal bakeries and ethnic shops and restaurants (African, Moroccan) are cropping up. The annual winter “Victorian Stroll,” considered the largest free outdoor holiday festival in the country, draws thousands of people to this small city.

Link to Getaway Maven

TROY – Walking around downtown with architectural historian Diana S. Waite is to discover there’s a story for every building in a city that’s a treasure chest of architectural history.

Often, a building's historic secrets are hidden in open sight. Waite opens them to public view in “The Architecture of Downtown Troy: An Illustrated History.” (Amazon Link)

Looking up at her favorite building, the Troy Public Library, Waite points out that the lack of windows on the second story. The absence reflects the architect's plans for an art gallery with walls large enough to offer space on which paintings could be hung.

“It was built as a gift for the city. There are really good buildings downtown,” said Waite who is as entranced by the library’s interior with its unique book stacks as she is its exterior on Second Street.

Link to Times Union

TROY – … Another wealthy couple, former Bank of Troy President John Paine and his wife, Eliza, told their story. Their son, John Wells Paine, built the Paine Mansion on Second Avenue in 1896, with stained-glass windows, Italian marble and a bell tower…

“It’s my understanding it’s currently being used as a fraternity house,” said Paine, who was Oakwood Cemetery’s first president.

Link to Troy Record

…. We walked down the street to “The Castle,” … Originally built by the Paine family in 1894, it is faced with rough-surfaced limestone, which contributes to its castle-like appearance.

Link to Blog

TROY – Scores turn out in period dress as Troy celebrates the 28th annual Victorian Stroll.

Link to Times Union

Scaring people to raise money for charity has been the name of the game for three decades at his fraternity, but this year it means a bit more for Chris Jankun. For the 30th straight year, members of Pi Kappa Phi are putting on a haunted house at their building at 49 Second St. to raise money for charity. This year’s beneficiary, The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, has a special meaning for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student serving as the event’s philanthropy coordinator — Jankun’s sister was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, which affects the digestive system, when she was 12. “It’s a tough disease,” the Boston native said. “I’d do anything if she didn’t have it. All I can do is things like this, which is why I’ve been so into it.” Preparation work is almost done inside what is known as The Castle — which, from the exterior, might pass as a haunted house on any day of the year!

Link to Times Record

TROY, NY – Unlike most college students, Jay Flaherty and Michael Kaveny don't complain about where they live while they attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute here. After all, when you live in a mansion, what's there to complain about?

… Along with 23 of their fraternity brothers, they live in a 19th-century mansion in downtown Troy, about a half a mile from the school.

The mansion, known to students as The Castle, has a large oak spiral staircase, 19 stained-glass windows, a bell tower, 17 working fireplaces and a dining room with paneling made of Italian marble and a ceiling painted with gold leaf.

"I remember the first time I came here, I was awe-struck," said Mr. Flaherty, who has lived in the house for three years and is the house manager, which means he's in charge of building maintenance. "It is without parallel the most unique fraternity house in the country."

A Fraternity Trade: Sage took possession of the mansion in the 1940's, and used it as its alumni house until 1951. Then, because Russell Sage was trying to consolidate its campus and because the Pi Kappa Phi house was in the middle of the campus, the mansion was traded to the fraternity for $10,000 and the fraternity's old house, which is now used as the residence for the president of Russell Sage.

…

Ever since the fraternity moved in, it has been responsible for the upkeep of the mansion. Every Saturday from 10 A.M. to noon, a mandatory "work party" is held, during which the house is cleaned and repairs and renovations are performed.

"Each brother brings his own skill to the house, and everyone pitches in," Mr. Flaherty said. "Considering that fraternity brothers have lived here for 40 years, it's in really good shape."

Link to NY Times Archive