Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building
Encyclopedia
The Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building (originally the Harlem State Office Building) is a nineteen story high-rise office building located at the intersection of 125th Street
and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard the Harlem
neighborhood of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. It is named after Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African-American elected to Congress from New York, and was designed by the African-American architecture
firm of Ifill, Johnson & Hanchard in a brutalist
style. It is the tallest building in Harlem.
The building was proposed in 1966 by then-governor Nelson Rockefeller
as the beginning of a surge of development to turn Harlem into a "truly viable community". Ground was broken in 1967 with the demolition of a Corn Exchange Bank building by Rockefeller personally, who accidentally struck an occupied building when attempting the demolition. In 1969 work was halted on the project as a result of demonstrators objecting to the racial makeup of the construction workforce and the intended purpose of the facility. By mid-1970 the dispute was resolved and work resumed on the site.
The building was completed in 1974 and was known as the Harlem State Office Building. While the initial occupancy of the building was criticized for lacking basic requirements such as a building manager and fire equipment, eventually things settled down to the point that in 1978 the location hosted Harlem's first giant Christmas tree
. In 1983 the building was renamed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building after the former U.S. Representative
, the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who had died in 1972. In 1994 the building was threatened with closure due to budget cuts; however, it remained open.
Over the years, the building has been criticized as a "killer building" from the urban renewal
movement of the 1960s that "disfigured" the neighborhood, and as an example of mediocre government architecture. However, others have embraced it as causing the community to focus its efforts for future development battles. In 2006, the Harlem Community Development Corporation partnered with the New York State Office of General Services to propose a redesign of the African Square that the building occupies.
125th Street (Manhattan)
125th Street is a two-way street that runs east-west in the New York City borough of Manhattan, considered the "Main Street" of Harlem; It is also called Martin Luther King, Jr...
and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard the Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
neighborhood of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It is named after Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African-American elected to Congress from New York, and was designed by the African-American architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm of Ifill, Johnson & Hanchard in a brutalist
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
style. It is the tallest building in Harlem.
The building was proposed in 1966 by then-governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
as the beginning of a surge of development to turn Harlem into a "truly viable community". Ground was broken in 1967 with the demolition of a Corn Exchange Bank building by Rockefeller personally, who accidentally struck an occupied building when attempting the demolition. In 1969 work was halted on the project as a result of demonstrators objecting to the racial makeup of the construction workforce and the intended purpose of the facility. By mid-1970 the dispute was resolved and work resumed on the site.
The building was completed in 1974 and was known as the Harlem State Office Building. While the initial occupancy of the building was criticized for lacking basic requirements such as a building manager and fire equipment, eventually things settled down to the point that in 1978 the location hosted Harlem's first giant Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
. In 1983 the building was renamed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building after the former U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who had died in 1972. In 1994 the building was threatened with closure due to budget cuts; however, it remained open.
Over the years, the building has been criticized as a "killer building" from the urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
movement of the 1960s that "disfigured" the neighborhood, and as an example of mediocre government architecture. However, others have embraced it as causing the community to focus its efforts for future development battles. In 2006, the Harlem Community Development Corporation partnered with the New York State Office of General Services to propose a redesign of the African Square that the building occupies.