Nipper's Future Uncertain as Albany Warehouse Crumbles

0:00Albany's got this massive 28-foot tall nipper statue, a white dog with black ears perched on a warehouse roof for nearly 70 years. It's a nod to the old RCA ads with a terrier listens to a phonograph, and it's become the city's unofficial mascot overlooking the Hudson River. Back in the late 1950s, they cramed it up there to hype an RCA appliance spot. Nipper comes from a real 19th century English dog, painted by his owner's brother, turning into the famous, his master's voice logo, that RCA snapped up in 1929. Locals adore the guy parents point him out to kids on the highway, and his cocked head image pops up on key chains, hoodies, socks, even shot glasses. That fly off shells downtown. Folks say thinking Albany means thinking nipper, like he's woven into the city's soul. But now the empty warehouse below him is crumbling, unused for over a decade with chipped paint and foreclosure fights dragging on. City slapped a red caution placard on it last March, warning first responders, it's risky,

1:03and that spells trouble since nipper is bolted right to the building. The good news is the mayor is pushing to landmark nipper officially, and a state board just nominated the whole warehouse district for historic. Registers opening doors to tax credits for fixes. No one's seriously talking relocation for this four-ton beast. Too tough and pricey, but preservationists are rallying to keep him safe, where he belongs. From your city, powered by AI, this is Durham News Today.