by Deb Alter
On Monday morning, March 25, the demolition process began for The American House on Elm Street in Hoosick Falls. It was once a grand hotel with two levels of wrap-around porches just a few steps from the railroad station, and was stylish and successful. But in recent years it has been steadily deteriorating.
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A series of owners bought it with plans to restore it to its former glory, but none ever did. Lately it had become an eye sore and a safety hazard. The Village condemned it, and it had to come down. With many Hoosick residents watching, an asbestos specialist and a demolition company worked together to bring the building down in just one day. The entire process, however, is expected to take a week to ten days, as debris is sorted and loaded into different trucks and carted away.
The only part that will stay behind is the bricks. They will be pushed into the hole in the ground that was once the hotel’s basement and covered over with soil. All of the other debris will be taken to various appropriate locations for disposal. Many in Hoosick Falls will remember the good times they had there. Alas, it is the end of an era.
