On a winter day in 2013, photographer Susan B. Anthony drove an hour north from her home in Columbia County to Troy, New York, and unexpectedly fell in love with the city. For ten years, she visited and took photographs with her Hasselblad regularly.
Troy was a powerhouse of steel manufacturing and brickmaking in the 19th century. It is also known as “Collar City” for the removable shirt collars that were once a commonplace feature of men’s shirts and which were invented and produced here. Like many cities in the American Northeast and Midwest, its industrial power and wealth waned during the latter half of the 20th century.
Among Troy’s graffiti-covered factories stand grand houses built of Troy brick that feature stately marble fireplaces and colorful Tiffany windows. The past couple of decades have seen an influx of newcomers to Troy who are restoring homes and becoming part of the community. Anthony photographed the urban environment in various stages of dilapidation and renewal, along with taking portraits of residents—small children to elders who have lived in the city for decades. The photographs in Collar City create a portrait of a vibrant, diverse, and multigenerational community in this historic American town.