30 Second Street
Troy, NY 12180
(518) 273-0038
Troy Savings Bank (owned by First Niagara Financial Group Incis recognized for having a music hall constructed on the second floor above the bank itself (the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall), which is renowned for its acoustics, including a huge Odell concert organ. Originally founded in 1823 as only a bank, Troy Music Hall was moved to it’s current location in 1870 where plans included incorporating a large music hall on the upper level. During a time of great risk of fire in the early 1900’s, Troy Music hall had a strange “tradition” where a Fire Marshall would come on stage before each performance and announce; “There is absolutely no smoking in the Hall. If you have to smoke, you can hit the streets at half time.” Apparently, Troy Music Hall was not up to modern building codes.
The Music Hall suffered during the post-World War II era and was close to getting shut down alltogether. With the inception of a Museum of Industrial and Folk Art and the renting of the Hall itself helped the Music Hall survive and become a National Historic Landmark in 1989. A group called the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Revitalization Committee was a big time player in helping to keep the Troy Music Hall alive. They used many different methods to generate income such as grants from the New York State Council for the Arts for an audience-potential study and from the Howard & Bush Memorial Foundation for managerial development. Since then, the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Corporation was born (A not-for-profit organization which leases the Hall from the bank). Today, the Troy Savings Bank keeps this gem of Troy alive with help from the Troy community through its ongoing restoration and renovation projects.
