Plat maps

The information from 1884 through 1925 comes from Sandborn plat maps. You might want to compare these historical floor plans with the floor plans today.

	May, 1884 Plat Map close-up of Allen house. Note the small, detached shed in back. At this time, Albany's population was 2,500.
	1890 Plat Map close-up of Allen house. By 1890, the house had expanded so it was attached to the shed in back. This shed and the breezeway connecting it to the house disappeared in later plat maps.
	1890 Plat Map. This map shows the Allen house at the upper-left corner of 6th and Baker. In the center of each block was a stable area. On Sandborn plat maps, stable buildings were drawn with a large X through them.
	1908 Plat Map close-up of Allen house. Sometime around 1900, the Allen house was jacked up about 8 feet and a daylight basement was created by laying two-courses of brick under the first floor all around the house. This explains why the house has such a narrow stairway to the basement -- it was added when the house was raised. The anecdotal story behind this change is that Allen's wife wanted to have the tallest house in Albany.
	1925 Plat Map close-up of Allen house. Curiously, the back part of the house appears to have disappeared in this drawing. A small shed has appeared on the back property line.
	Plat map today Note that the earlier plat maps were better in that they showed the location and size of homes and other buildings.