After years of neglect and decline, it has recently started to see an upswing in business activity due to its historic character and the city's efforts to protect it.

Most of its buildings are contributing properties, with only a few late 20th-century intrusions; most of those are residential or commercial and in-use but they also include several churches, factories, a train station and the city hall.

The district is bounded by Oneida Street on the north and the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad (now CP Rail) tracks on the east.

[1] Directly adjacent to this northeastern corner is the separately-designated Olmstead Street Historic District, which includes the Ogden Mill and row houses built for textile workers, a short distance to the northeast.

From its settlement in the 17th century through the years after independence, Cohoes was a quiet farming community inhabited by a few families of Dutch descent.

One, the Cohoes Company, began building the smaller local canal system that would provide power to many of the early businesses.

Construction slowed after World War I, reflecting the decline of the industries that had fueled the city's growth in the previous century.

At the same time, it meant that no alterations would take place to existing buildings, leaving them intact (if often vacant and neglected) for when the district was added to the Register 50 years later.

[1] A planned revitalization in the 1970s and '80s to create an urban mall similar to those in Amsterdam and Batavia, which would have meant demolishing or altering many of the older buildings, was never fully implemented.

[1] The historic buildings have been attractive to some redevelopers as the city continues efforts to recover from the decline of its major industries and redefine itself as a bedroom community for Albany.

It recommended a $3.1 million plan to improve the streets and lighting in the district, with an emphasis on preserving or restoring its historic character.

[2] The city has made some grants available for facade restoration and improvements to the rental properties above the storefronts with the goal of promoting a mix of uses among office, residential and retail.

A Rite Aid was built on the lot at the west edge of the district known as Bush's Block, on the site of the former Victor Carrybag building.