The building that currently houses Basilica Hudson was originally built in the 1880s as a
foundry that produced railroad car wheels. Later, it was converted into a
glue factory that closed in the 1980s. In 1999, the site was slated for inclusion in a redevelopment proposal by the Americlean corporation to build a processing facility for the dry cleaning solvent
perchloroethylene. The successful campaign to defeat this proposal was led by the newly formed Friends of Hudson environmental organization. After the defeat of the Americlean proposal, the property was acquired by a Florida developer who sought unsuccessfully to establish an arts center. In 2001, developers and civic activists Patrick Doyle and Catherine Dodge Smith acquired the property and opened it as a community arts center under the name Basilica Industria. The venue was the site of a 2003
Patti Smith concert benefiting the Friends of Hudson campaign to stop development of a 1,800-acre cement plant in neighboring town of
Greenport. By 2008, musician Melissa Auf der Maur and filmmaker Tony Stone, then newcomers to Hudson, began curating events, filming, and holding band practice in the space. In 2012, the Albany, NY-based publication
Metroland named Basilica Hudson the "best new venue" in the Capital Region. In 2012,
The Guardian named Basilica Hudson one of the ten best industrial-chic spaces worldwide. == Operation of venue ==