around the building. To its north are two smaller buildings, dating to around 1910, the newest buildings in the district. To the south of the large warehouses are smaller buildings. At 403 River Street is a three-story building dating to the same period as the warehouses, but 405-407, originally built as the Gaiety Theatre in 1888 and rebuilt with Dutch Colonial Revival stepped gables after a fire twenty years later. The west side is dominated by three large three-story brick warehouses all built around 1885. To their north, at 428-430 River Street, is a two-story brick building from ten years later. History The neighborhood was isolated from downtown by the construction of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad in the 1830s, which ran into Troy on a route paralleling Federal Street from a now-demolished bridge. This, and the river's nearby water power, made it a more desirable location for the commercial detachable-collar factories and warehouses that were opening up as what had been a local cottage industry became the mainstay of the local economy and the product that gave the city an enduring nickname. Space in the area was limited, and later expansions and additions to the industry found even better facilities available in the city's long northern extension. The railroad tracks were eventually removed when that industry declined along with the collar factories in the 20th century, but the road was expanded to include their right of way. Some of the properties were expanded for different purposes in the 1950s. Local urban renewal efforts in the next two decades also further isolated the area from downtown, but left the remaining River Street buildings intact, preserving them as a transitional block between commercial Troy to the south and industrial Troy to the north. Today it is not only on the Register, but included as part of the city's Riverfront Historic District. Special zoning ordinances are in place to protect its historic character. It has been redeveloped with small retail outlets and restaurants, such as the River Street Café, upstairs in 429 River Street overlooking the river. References Hudson River Troy, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Historic districts in Rensselaer County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Troy, New York