About the project
Located in High Falls, New York, the original DePuy Tavern, also known as the DePuy Canal House, was built in 1797. Now the D&H Canal Museum, the building sits immediately adjacent to and along the towpath of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which is now a National Historic Landmark.
The tavern was originally an inn and store for canal workers and later became a four-star restaurant known as the DePuy Canal House. It was restored and renovated to become the restaurant in the late 1960s. The D&H Canal Society purchased the building in 2015 and has been undertaking restoration of the property since then.
The new home of the D&H Canal Museum, founded in 1967, opened in the Canal House in June of 2022.
Alfandre Architecture has been working with the Canal Museum since 2018 on the preservation and restoration of the DePuy Canal House as it became a museum. Initially, Alfandre Architecture designed the plan to restore the north wing addition, the roof of which was leaking and rotting. The entire north-end wood structure, which was attached to the stone building, was demolished and replaced.
Subsequent work included the restoration of the windows and doors, new siding on the 1970s-era “Novi addition,” all-new electrical systems, and the installation of all-electric heating and cooling equipment.
Interior and exterior repairs, new accessible bathrooms, and the creation of a new community room—located in the former Canal House kitchen—help to support the mission of the museum.
Jablonski Conservation Services provided historic paint analysis, which informed the exterior restoration plan. All aspects of the construction work were reviewed and approved by the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
