The Union Triangle Neighborhood

The Schenectady Two-Family

Schenectady, New York is known for its abundance of two-family buildings. The Union Triangle Neighborhood offers some of the oldest and best-preserved examples of the style.

1083 Wendell Avenue
Patterned shingles, Grecian columns, and a Palladian
window dress up this working class two-family home.
Originally, the porch was probably not enclosed.

The earliest two-family buildings in the Neighborhood are remarkable for their fine woodwork, spacious rooms, and ornate mantles. The 1900 census suggests that Irish and Swedish "serving girls" occupied attic rooms in several of the larger two-family houses.

The Union Triangle Neighborhood's more modest two-family buildings are among the oldest in Schenectady and became models for working class homes elsewhere in the country. Indeed, this type of construction was so popular that it became known as the "Schenectady Two-Family."

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