Four brick row houses at 744–750 Broadway, sometimes called Broadway Row, line the corner ahead of you. These are four brick row houses on the northwest corner of the intersection with Wilson Street. They were built over a period of 40 years in the 19th century, each reflecting the architectural fashions of its time.
Back then this neighborhood, known as the Fifth Ward, was swelling from the Erie Canal and the city's subsequent industrialization, and many rowhouses once lined this stretch of Broadway. Today only these four remain after years of demolition and urban renewal, and in 1987 they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Notice how all four share the same basic form: three stories tall, three bays wide, with a raised basement, their main entrances opening to main hallways on the side.
Where they differ is in their ornamentation — a visible timeline of changing tastes across decades. You are just north of downtown Albany; the Edward O'Neill Federal Building sits opposite them to the south, and the Broadway-Livingston Avenue Historic District lies a block to the north. Many lots along Broadway north of this row are vacant.
Notice the federal building nearby, along with the vacant lots and historic district framing this surviving row.