Downtown Hudson Painters — Main Street, Wood Square & the Assabet

A 2006 state heritage-landscape survey drew downtown's limits at roughly Cottage Street to the west and Grove Street to the east, with the river along the south edge and the backs of the Main Street lots on the north, bulging north to take in Bruce's Pond. According to the Hudson Historical Society, the July 4, 1894 fire destroyed more than forty buildings in the heart of town, and the survey notes that most Main Street businesses now occupy two- to four-story masonry buildings put up after it. A 1978 town survey had recorded about 40 properties, mostly downtown, on state inventory forms.

Part of this area became the Silas Felton local historic district in 1988. Its commission's rules count about 65 historically significant buildings and treat 1870 to 1955 as the guideline period, and Freedom's Way National Heritage Area says the rebuilt downtown offers Colonial, Federal, Romanesque Revival and Victorian examples. The district is local only; the survey found no National Register listing for downtown.

Census data shows how mixed the housing is. In Census Tract 3224, which includes Town Hall at 78 Main Street, 45.8% of units are single-family detached, 21.6% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 28.4% are in buildings of five or more. A third of occupied units are rented. Just beyond the commercial blocks, the 2006 survey highlighted the Pleasant/Pearl Street area to the north, home of the Apsley Mansion at 21 Pleasant Street, and the Park/Washington Street neighborhood to the southwest, a linear stretch of well-preserved late 19th-century Victorian houses on landscaped lots with large setbacks.

A new color needs a certificate

Within the Silas Felton district, repainting is on the list of exterior work requiring a Certificate of Appropriateness when visible from a public street, and the application asks for paint color samples. Ordinary maintenance that changes neither color nor outward appearance is exempt. A change of scheme can't start until the Hudson Historic District Commission signs off, so the color decision has to come early.

Wood set into brick and stone

On a masonry block, the paint scope is whatever wood it carries, such as storefront framing, window sash, cornices and trim. Brick or stone that has never been painted is best left bare: paint on raw masonry is very hard to remove later, and inside the district any change in outward appearance visible from the street goes before the commission.

Siding swaps get a closer look

The commission's rules say vinyl, aluminum or similar artificial clapboard will not be approved automatically in the district. For an owner weighing a cover-up against repair, that tilts the math toward fixing and repainting the existing wood.

Older units, shared walls

In Tract 3224, 61.8% of units were built before 1980 and 26.1% in 1939 or earlier, so lead paint is a real possibility on trim, porches and stair halls. Federal rules require certified, lead-safe methods for paid work that disturbs more than 20 square feet outside or 6 square feet per room inside a pre-1978 home. In multi-unit buildings, exterior work affects every owner on the deed or in the association.