"Various Deteriorating Conditions": WWII-Era Photos of Schenectady by Glenn B. Warren



Photograph of abandoned building plastered with advertisements, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.


Photographs can capture the majesty and beauty of landscapes and buildings; they also can also document the grit, blight, and humdrum aspects of urban life. Below are just a few of the photographs that capture aspects and views of Schenectady in the mid-1940s not often seen -- junkyards, gas stations, newsstands, vacant buildings, garbage heaps, ragged advertisements, the back sides of run-down houses, and the areas around sections of railroad tracks. These photographs serve as interesting records of Schenectady's past. Additionally, in the passage of time, some of the photos appear downright artistic -- such as a lonely view of an abandoned building papered with advertisements.



Scene on Broadway near the Mica Insulator Company, visible in the center background, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.


This group of photographs were taken around 1944 by Glenn B. Warren, who was at that time an engineer working for General Electric. He would later go on to serve as a vice president and general manager for the company. He took approximately 50 snapshots of various parts of Schenectady, mostly clustered around the area around the General Electric works and Broadway, Edison Avenue, Erie Boulevard, Duane Avenue, and Altamont Avenue. Warren's wife donated the images to the Schenectady County Historical Society in 1979 and recalled that her husband took the photographs to document "various deteriorating conditions" in the city and perhaps planned to present them to city officials to stimulate remediation of such conditions.

Bert's Esso Station at 121 Edison Avenue, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

414 Duane Avenue in Schenectady, home and business of James Laden, grocer, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

Junkyard, possibly Lew's Auto Wreckers at 1067 Altamont Avenue, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.



Backyards and backs of buildings along east Front Street and River Street, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.



Broadway and Lower Broadway, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

Ice cream lovers gather at the Green's Ice Cream stand at 1109 Erie Boulevard, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

Advertisements and pedestrians on unidentified street, ca. 1944. Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.