Woman’s Club building to see improvements

New foundation, accessibility ramp among the repairs

The Woman’s Club of Albany broke ground Wednesday to mark the start of reconstruction of the front porch of its historic home at 725 Madison Ave. and creation of an accessible entrance to the first floor of the building.

The club fondly calls it “the best view on Madison Avenue,” and the work caps a fundraising campaign that included the awarding of two state grants.

According to the club, the reconstruction will be broken into two projects.

Project 1 includes new foundations, repairs to the stone front steps and adjacent walls and rebuilding the porch floor. The work will be done by PCC Contracting of Schenectady.

Project 2 includes completion of the building of the masonry walls and construction of the accessibility ramp.

The buildings are part of the Washington Park Historic District, a local historic district listed in

the state and national registers of historic places.

Some history

Here’s more information provided by the club:

The building itself was constructed in 1895 as the home of Albany merchant Joseph Steefel and his wife Hattie. The Woman’s Club of Albany purchased it in 1919 and uses it for club functions and public events. It is also available as a rental venue.

Many of the house’s original details on the first floor, including fireplaces, chandeliers and woodwork, remain intact. The second floor previously housed bedrooms but now contains a ballroom whose design reflects the rest of the house.

The twin house next

door was built for Steefel’s brother, Barnard. Both houses were designed by Nolan, Nolan and Stern of Rochester, where the Steefel family settled after immigrating to the United States from Germany in the 1850s. Joseph and Barnard moved to Albany in the late 1880s to open their store. It remained in business until the 1970s.

The Woman’s Club of Albany was founded in 1910 as a civic organization to help women and children and to improve conditions in the city of Albany. It continues that mission today throughout the Capital Region by providing financial and hands-on volunteer support to many agencies that offer direct services to the community.

Photos by Lori Van Buren / Times Union The Woman’s Club of Albany President Patti Kopach, second from left, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the front porch, including a ramp, at the historic The Woman’s Club of Albany on Wednesday on 725 Madison Avenue.

This is the porch area at the Woman’s Club of Albany which will be the focus of much of the improvements planned.