Downtown Albany Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Downtown Albany Historic District is a 19-block, 66 acres (26.7 ha) area of Albany
, New York, United States, centered around the junction of State (NY 5
) and North and South Pearl streets (NY 32
). It is the oldest settled area of the city, originally planned and settled in the 17th century, and the nucleus of its later development and expansion. In 1980 it was designated a historic district
by the city and then listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Its 160 buildings are a mix of tall commercial buildings on the main streets and small houses on the side. Most were built between 1880 and 1930, the district's period of significance, with some dating to the 1810s. All major streets have a major building as their focal point. Several contributing properties
have been listed on the Register in their own right, and one designated a National Historic Landmark
. Albany's earliest skyscraper
s were built here, including one that was the city's tallest at the time of its completion. The current mix of buildings reflects the city's peak of industrial prosperity in the Gilded Age
, with many built by banks, as well as the city's status as New York's state capital.
It has been displaced in the city's skyline by later construction, particular Empire State Plaza
, the modernist home of New York
's state government
. Urban renewal
programs of the late 20th century largely bypassed the district for political reasons. As a result its historic buildings are mostly intact, although some have been compromised through neglect.
. It is centered along the axes of North and South Pearl (NY 32
) and State (NY 5
west of Pearl) streets. A combination of natural features, streets, and legal boundaries serves to delineate it. Downtown is located to the northeast of and downhill from the modernist
towers of Empire State Plaza
, and east of the state capitol
.
On the east it is bounded by the Hudson River
and Interstate 787
, with Eagle Street its western side (excluding City Hall
, the state Court of Appeals and the county courthouse). To the north, the boundary follows Columbia Street to Chapel Street, then north to Sheridan Street. It continues east to North Pearl and then follows rear lot
lines along the north side of Columbia to Broadway and out to I-787, then turns south.
At the district's southern tip, it comes inland again to Pruyn Street, which it follows for a block to Liberty Street and then turns north to Hudson Avenue, where it follows an irregular route along property lines to Norton Street. Here it continues west to South Pearl, and after a short twist to the north it follows Howard Street west. At William Street it turns south again, and then follows some property lines west to Beaver Street across from the Times Union Center. At Wendell Street it turns north to Howard and follows Howard west back to Eagle.
This area takes in 19 blocks
and parts of several others. James and Steuben streets, as well as Maiden Lane, are included in their entirety along with some narrow alley
s within blocks. The area is totally developed, with many multistory buildings used as office space with storefronts at street level. Open space between them and on the edges is used for parking lot
s. There are no significant parks or squares within it.
buildings facing demolition pressure as part of redevelopment efforts.
in the 17th century north of Fort Orange, a high area between two ravines that have since been filled in. It became British in 1664 and was renamed Albany, in honor of King James II
, Duke of Albany prior to his coronation.
The grid plan
of the area's streets was laid out at this time, although it was mostly unbuilt as the city was within a stockade
. Most commercial buildings at the time, primarily warehouses, were located on what is now Broadway. The 1815 Coulson Building at 420 Broadway, the oldest building in the district, is typical of that kind of construction. The inland blocks were residential.
Albany was a point of contention during both the French and Indian
and Revolutionary
wars, and the New York State Legislature met there in 1780 after British occupation ended. In 1797 it was designated the state capital.
surrounding land to handle its growth. The opening of the Erie Canal
in the 1820s and the development of railroads in later decades made the city a transportation hub, and as its commercial power and the state's grew it assumed more political importance. Smaller buildings remained the norm along the side streets, with churches springing up next to them. Richard Upjohn
's French Gothic St. Peter's Episcopal Church
on State, finished in 1860, is considered one of his best churches. Another church, St. Mary's
, by the local firm of Nicholls and Brown, became the focal point of a neighborhbood of small houses on and near Lodge Street. Richard Upjohn
's French Gothic St. Peter's Episcopal Church
on State, finished in 1860, is considered one of his best churches.
In the years after the Civil War
commercial interests started building taller and more massive edifices along North Pearl and State streets. Albany native Edward Ogden designed the 1873 Kenmore Hotel
on North Pearl, and expanded it in 1891 with Queen Anne
touches. His 1889 Albany Business College building opposite the Kenmore likewise uses the Richardsonian Romanesque
style. Another local architect, Albert Puller, had given downtown the YMCA building at 60 North Pearl, in that style three years earlier
for the Delaware and Hudson Railway
on the east side of Broadway. A copy of the Cloth Hall
in the Belgian city of Ypres
, it has become an icon of the city, often mistaken by first-time visitors for the state capitol.
It serves as a focal point when looking east down State Street. Two of Gilbert's other buildings in the district, the 1897 First Trust Company Building
at State and Broadway, and the 1902 United Traction Company Building
at Broadway and Columbia, similarly guide the eye down Broadway as it bends.
Architects from New York City also built in Albany. In 1875, Russell Sturgis
had designed the Victorian Gothic bank building at 63 State Street, and it was paired with a neoclassical
bank building by York and Sawyer
a quarter-century later at 60 State. Henry Ives Cobb
incorporated the 1803 facade of Philip Hooker
's State Bank of Albany building into a 16-story office building at North Pearl and State. Near the end of the period of significance, Dennison and Hiron's Art Deco
Home Savings Bank Building
was the tallest in Albany at the time of its 1927 completion. It was quickly displaced from that title by the state government's Alfred E. Smith Building
the next year.
No major building took place downtown in the 1930s due to the combination of it being built out and the slowdown in construction occasioned by the onset of the Great Depression
. When the economy regained its footing after World War II
, the focus of new development had shifted to outlying areas and then the suburbs. Downtown remained a popular place for politicians and those who associated with them to patronize, but otherwise began to decline in a similar fashion as other old Northeastern cities.
A 1969 redevelopment plan identified the "obsolete street plan" and lack of quality parking as a source of downtown's problems. It proposed reconfiguring the streets to coordinate better with the expressways proposed for the area at the time. A large pedestrian mall
was proposed for the area between Chapel and Broadway, with the intervening blocks of Steuben, Pearl and Pine to be closed off to vehicles. A platform was to cross the interstate and provide a pedestrian link to marina
s and apartments along the river. To make up for the lost streets, Chapel would have become North Pearl, and a bridge would be built to extend Eagle Street to Clinton Avenue
at Ten Broeck Street. Eventually, it was hoped, a people mover
system would be built to link Empire Plaza and downtown, with new parking garages on the fringes, one of which would have required rerouting Liberty Street and Hudson Avenue.
The old buildings were spared the fate of demolition through urban renewal
as the city's political machine
under Daniel P. O'Connell
mostly eschewed the federal funding for such projects since the federal government would award contracts, limiting the city machine's patronage. New development in the center of Albany instead took the form of what was originally known as the "South Mall Project" proposed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller
. This cleared 98 acres (39.7 ha) southwest of downtown for a complex centered around five tall state office buildings in high modernist
style. When completed in the late 1970s, Empire State Plaza
became the new centerpiece of the city's skyline, and Erastus Corning Tower
its tallest building. The Delaware and Hudson moved out of its building following the decline in its industry, and after a few years of vacancy it was purchased by the state to become the main headquarters of the State University of New York
.
objected, but the city granted permission. The project was later canceled when Sebba failed to find tenants for the property. A decade later, it put forth a similar expanded proposal, which would have demolished not only the original properties but the long-vacant Wellington Row
which includes the Wellington and Berkshire hotels, as well as the former Albany Elks lodge.
This time the preservationists sued the city to stop the demolition. The buildings continued to deteriorate, and in 2004 a section of State Street was closed since part of the Wellington's cornice
was in danger of falling into it. A new owner, Columbia Development Companies, bought the properties and finally reached a compromise that preserved the facade
s of the Wellington and the other State Street buildings, with the new office building to rise behind them. Demolition began in 2009.
New construction or expansion within the district is reviewed by the city's Historic Resources Commission (HRC), a group of nine citizens with an interest in architecture, history or historic preservation
appointed by the mayor. The HRC also considers new city landmark designations. The area also comes under the purview of several of Albany's neighborhood associations.
. There are several others that are notable.
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York, United States, centered around the junction of State (NY 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
) and North and South Pearl streets (NY 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...
). It is the oldest settled area of the city, originally planned and settled in the 17th century, and the nucleus of its later development and expansion. In 1980 it was designated a historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
by the city and then listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Its 160 buildings are a mix of tall commercial buildings on the main streets and small houses on the side. Most were built between 1880 and 1930, the district's period of significance, with some dating to the 1810s. All major streets have a major building as their focal point. Several contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
have been listed on the Register in their own right, and one designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. Albany's earliest skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s were built here, including one that was the city's tallest at the time of its completion. The current mix of buildings reflects the city's peak of industrial prosperity in the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
, with many built by banks, as well as the city's status as New York's state capital.
It has been displaced in the city's skyline by later construction, particular Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
, the modernist home of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's state government
Government of New York
As in all 50 states, the head of the executive branch of the government of New York is a Governor. The legislative branch is called the Legislature and consists of a Senate and an Assembly. Unlike most states, New York electoral law permits electoral fusion; thus New York ballots tend to show a...
. 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...
programs of the late 20th century largely bypassed the district for political reasons. As a result its historic buildings are mostly intact, although some have been compromised through neglect.
Geography
The district is an irregular area, shaped like a rough crescentCrescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
. It is centered along the axes of North and South Pearl (NY 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...
) and State (NY 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
west of Pearl) streets. A combination of natural features, streets, and legal boundaries serves to delineate it. Downtown is located to the northeast of and downhill from the modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
towers of Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
, and east of the state capitol
New York State Capitol
The New York State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York State Legislature, it is located in the state capital city Albany, on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million , was the most expensive government...
.
On the east it is bounded by the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and Interstate 787
Interstate 787
Interstate 787 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is at the Interstate 87/New York State Thruway exit 23 toll plaza southwest of downtown Albany...
, with Eagle Street its western side (excluding City Hall
Albany City Hall
Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The current building was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in his particular Romanesque style and...
, the state Court of Appeals and the county courthouse). To the north, the boundary follows Columbia Street to Chapel Street, then north to Sheridan Street. It continues east to North Pearl and then follows rear lot
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
lines along the north side of Columbia to Broadway and out to I-787, then turns south.
At the district's southern tip, it comes inland again to Pruyn Street, which it follows for a block to Liberty Street and then turns north to Hudson Avenue, where it follows an irregular route along property lines to Norton Street. Here it continues west to South Pearl, and after a short twist to the north it follows Howard Street west. At William Street it turns south again, and then follows some property lines west to Beaver Street across from the Times Union Center. At Wendell Street it turns north to Howard and follows Howard west back to Eagle.
This area takes in 19 blocks
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
and parts of several others. James and Steuben streets, as well as Maiden Lane, are included in their entirety along with some narrow alley
Alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...
s within blocks. The area is totally developed, with many multistory buildings used as office space with storefronts at street level. Open space between them and on the edges is used for parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
s. There are no significant parks or squares within it.
History
Downtown has always been the center of Albany from its founding in the 17th century. Its built environment did not take its present form until the late 19th. Since then it has remained relatively stable, with some decayingUrban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
buildings facing demolition pressure as part of redevelopment efforts.
Colonial and Revolutionary period
The area within the district was the same as that originally settled by the DutchDutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
in the 17th century north of Fort Orange, a high area between two ravines that have since been filled in. It became British in 1664 and was renamed Albany, in honor of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, Duke of Albany prior to his coronation.
The grid plan
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
of the area's streets was laid out at this time, although it was mostly unbuilt as the city was within a stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
. Most commercial buildings at the time, primarily warehouses, were located on what is now Broadway. The 1815 Coulson Building at 420 Broadway, the oldest building in the district, is typical of that kind of construction. The inland blocks were residential.
Albany was a point of contention during both the French and Indian
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and Revolutionary
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
wars, and the New York State Legislature met there in 1780 after British occupation ended. In 1797 it was designated the state capital.
19th century
More residences were built, primarily to be rented to lawyers and legislators working in the capitol and the courts. The city began to expand and annexAnnexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
surrounding land to handle its growth. The opening of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
in the 1820s and the development of railroads in later decades made the city a transportation hub, and as its commercial power and the state's grew it assumed more political importance. Smaller buildings remained the norm along the side streets, with churches springing up next to them. Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
's French Gothic St. Peter's Episcopal Church
St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Albany, New York)
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, also known as St. Peter's Church, in Albany, New York, is a church built in 1859 that was designed by Richard Upjohn and his son Richard M. Upjohn. The architecture is French-style decorated Gothic....
on State, finished in 1860, is considered one of his best churches. Another church, St. Mary's
St. Mary's Church (Albany, New York)
St. Mary's Church is a historic Catholic church on Lodge Street in downtown Albany, New York. It was built in 1867 in an Italian Romanesque Revival style. Its tower, completed in 1894, rises 175 feet and is topped with an angel of judgment....
, by the local firm of Nicholls and Brown, became the focal point of a neighborhbood of small houses on and near Lodge Street. Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
's French Gothic St. Peter's Episcopal Church
St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Albany, New York)
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, also known as St. Peter's Church, in Albany, New York, is a church built in 1859 that was designed by Richard Upjohn and his son Richard M. Upjohn. The architecture is French-style decorated Gothic....
on State, finished in 1860, is considered one of his best churches.
In the years after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
commercial interests started building taller and more massive edifices along North Pearl and State streets. Albany native Edward Ogden designed the 1873 Kenmore Hotel
Kenmore Hotel
The Kenmore Hotel is a historic building at 74 North Pearl Street in the city of Albany, New York. It was built in 1878 by an African-American, Adam Blake , and owned by him until his death, at which time it was taken over by his widow Catherine, who continued until 1887.Adam Blake was named for...
on North Pearl, and expanded it in 1891 with Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
touches. His 1889 Albany Business College building opposite the Kenmore likewise uses the Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style. Another local architect, Albert Puller, had given downtown the YMCA building at 60 North Pearl, in that style three years earlier
20th century
The Albany architect who had the greatest impact on the district was Marcus F. Gilbert, with six buildings, most of them from the early 20th century. The most prominent is his 1914 headquartersSUNY System Administration Building
The SUNY System Administration Building, formerly the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Building, is a public office building located at the intersection of Broadway and State Street in downtown Albany, New York. Locally the building and land it sits on is referred to as State University Plaza, or the D&H...
for the Delaware and Hudson Railway
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives or rolling stock.It was formerly an important...
on the east side of Broadway. A copy of the Cloth Hall
Cloth Hall, Ypres
The Cloth Hall , of Ypres, Belgium, was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. The original structure, erected mainly in the 13th century and completed 1304, lay in ruins after...
in the Belgian city of Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, it has become an icon of the city, often mistaken by first-time visitors for the state capitol.
First Trust Company Building
First Trust Company Building is a historic commercial building located at Albany, Albany County, New York. It was designed by noted architect Marcus T. Reynolds and built in 1904....
at State and Broadway, and the 1902 United Traction Company Building
United Traction Company Building
The United Traction Company Building is located on Broadway in Albany, New York, United States. It is a brick building by local architect Marcus T. Reynolds in the Renaissance Revival architectural style, constructed at the end of the 19th century. In 1976 it was added to the National Register of...
at Broadway and Columbia, similarly guide the eye down Broadway as it bends.
Architects from New York City also built in Albany. In 1875, Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis was an American architect and art criticof the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870.-Early life and marriage:...
had designed the Victorian Gothic bank building at 63 State Street, and it was paired with a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
bank building by York and Sawyer
York and Sawyer
The architectural firm of York and Sawyer produced many outstanding structures, exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York and Philip Sawyer had both trained in the office of McKim, Mead, and White...
a quarter-century later at 60 State. Henry Ives Cobb
Henry Ives Cobb
Henry Ives Cobb , born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Albert Adams and Mary Russell Candler Cobb, was a Chicago-based architect in the last decades of the 19th century, known for his designs in the Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles...
incorporated the 1803 facade of Philip Hooker
Philip Hooker
Philip Hooker was at one time the leading architect of New York State outside of New York City. He designed Hyde Hall, the facade of the Hamilton College Chapel, The Albany Academy, Albany City Hall, Hart-Cluett Mansion and the original New York State Capitol building. He is believed to have...
's State Bank of Albany building into a 16-story office building at North Pearl and State. Near the end of the period of significance, Dennison and Hiron's Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Home Savings Bank Building
Home Savings Bank Building
The Home Savings Bank Building is an office building located in downtown Albany, New York at 11 North Pearl Street . At 19 stories and tall, it is the tenth tallest building in the city. When it was completed in 1927, the Home Savings Bank Building was the tallest structure in Albany. However, the...
was the tallest in Albany at the time of its 1927 completion. It was quickly displaced from that title by the state government's Alfred E. Smith Building
Alfred E. Smith Building
The Alfred E. Smith Building, known officially as the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building and sometimes called simply the Smith Building, is a structure located in downtown Albany, New York across the street from the New York State Capitol and One Commerce Plaza...
the next year.
No major building took place downtown in the 1930s due to the combination of it being built out and the slowdown in construction occasioned by the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. When the economy regained its footing after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the focus of new development had shifted to outlying areas and then the suburbs. Downtown remained a popular place for politicians and those who associated with them to patronize, but otherwise began to decline in a similar fashion as other old Northeastern cities.
A 1969 redevelopment plan identified the "obsolete street plan" and lack of quality parking as a source of downtown's problems. It proposed reconfiguring the streets to coordinate better with the expressways proposed for the area at the time. A large pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
was proposed for the area between Chapel and Broadway, with the intervening blocks of Steuben, Pearl and Pine to be closed off to vehicles. A platform was to cross the interstate and provide a pedestrian link to marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s and apartments along the river. To make up for the lost streets, Chapel would have become North Pearl, and a bridge would be built to extend Eagle Street to Clinton Avenue
Clinton Avenue Historic District (Albany, New York)
The Clinton Avenue Historic District in Albany, New York, United States, is a area along that street between North Pearl and Quail streets. It also includes some blocks along neighboring streets such as Lark and Lexington....
at Ten Broeck Street. Eventually, it was hoped, a people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
system would be built to link Empire Plaza and downtown, with new parking garages on the fringes, one of which would have required rerouting Liberty Street and Hudson Avenue.
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...
as the city's political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...
under Daniel P. O'Connell
Daniel P. O'Connell
Daniel Patrick O'Connell was the leader of the Democratic Party political machine in Albany County, New York, from about 1919 until his death....
mostly eschewed the federal funding for such projects since the federal government would award contracts, limiting the city machine's patronage. New development in the center of Albany instead took the form of what was originally known as the "South Mall Project" proposed by 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...
. This cleared 98 acres (39.7 ha) southwest of downtown for a complex centered around five tall state office buildings in high modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
style. When completed in the late 1970s, Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
became the new centerpiece of the city's skyline, and Erastus Corning Tower
Erastus Corning Tower
The Erastus Corning Tower, also known as the Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd Tower or simply the Corning Tower, is a skyscraper located in downtown Albany, New York. Completed in 1966 and sided with Vermont Pearl marble and glass, the state office building is part of the Empire State Plaza...
its tallest building. The Delaware and Hudson moved out of its building following the decline in its industry, and after a few years of vacancy it was purchased by the state to become the main headquarters of the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
.
21st century
In the late 1980s Sebba Rockaway, a British developer, proposed to demolish a row of buildings, all contributing, at 136–40 State Street and replace them with a 14-story office complex. PreservationistsHistoric preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
objected, but the city granted permission. The project was later canceled when Sebba failed to find tenants for the property. A decade later, it put forth a similar expanded proposal, which would have demolished not only the original properties but the long-vacant Wellington Row
Wellington Row
Wellington Row is a row of buildings along the south side of State Street in Albany, New York. It spans from 132 to 140 State Street and includes the Wellington Hotel, its namesake, the former Elks Lodge No. 49, former Berkshire Hotel, and a couple of row houses south of the Wellington Hotel...
which includes the Wellington and Berkshire hotels, as well as the former Albany Elks lodge.
This time the preservationists sued the city to stop the demolition. The buildings continued to deteriorate, and in 2004 a section of State Street was closed since part of the Wellington's cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
was in danger of falling into it. A new owner, Columbia Development Companies, bought the properties and finally reached a compromise that preserved the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s of the Wellington and the other State Street buildings, with the new office building to rise behind them. Demolition began in 2009.
New construction or expansion within the district is reviewed by the city's Historic Resources Commission (HRC), a group of nine citizens with an interest in architecture, history or historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
appointed by the mayor. The HRC also considers new city landmark designations. The area also comes under the purview of several of Albany's neighborhood associations.
Significant contributing properties
Six of the district's properties are listed on the National Register in their own right, and one is a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. There are several others that are notable.
National Historic Landmark
- St. Peter's Episcopal ChurchSt. Peter's Episcopal Church (Albany, New York)St. Peter's Episcopal Church, also known as St. Peter's Church, in Albany, New York, is a church built in 1859 that was designed by Richard Upjohn and his son Richard M. Upjohn. The architecture is French-style decorated Gothic....
, 107 State Street. Richard UpjohnRichard UpjohnRichard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
and his son designed this church completed in 1860, for a congregation founded in 1704. It is in French GothicFrench Gothic architectureFrench Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500.-Sequence of Gothic styles: France:The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows:* Early Gothic* High Gothic...
revival style and considered one of his best churches. The remains of Lord Howe was interred under the vestibuleVestibule (architecture)A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
; he is the only British Lord buried in the United States. It was listed on the Register in 1972 and then designated an NHL eight years later.
National Register of Historic Places
- Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building, Broadway and State Street. Currently used as the headquarters of the State University of New YorkState University of New YorkThe State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
, this is downtown Albany's best-known building. It is a copy of the 13th-century Flemish Gothic Cloth HallCloth Hall, YpresThe Cloth Hall , of Ypres, Belgium, was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. The original structure, erected mainly in the 13th century and completed 1304, lay in ruins after...
in Ypres, Belgium, built in 1913 by local architect Marcus F. Gilbert. - Old Post OfficeOld Post Office (Albany, New York)Old Post Office, also known as the United States Government Building, is a historic post office building located at Albany, Albany County, New York, United States. It was built from 1879 to 1883 at a cost of $627,148. It has a three story central section with four and five story corner towers. It...
, Broadway and State Street. - First Trust Company BuildingFirst Trust Company BuildingFirst Trust Company Building is a historic commercial building located at Albany, Albany County, New York. It was designed by noted architect Marcus T. Reynolds and built in 1904....
, Broadway and State. A 1902 Gilbert building in the classic Beaux Arts style. - St. Mary's Church (Albany, New York)St. Mary's Church (Albany, New York)St. Mary's Church is a historic Catholic church on Lodge Street in downtown Albany, New York. It was built in 1867 in an Italian Romanesque Revival style. Its tower, completed in 1894, rises 175 feet and is topped with an angel of judgment....
, 10 Lodge Street. When built in 1869 by Nichols and Brown, this Catholic Church was an early application of the Romanesque Revival. Became the centerpiece of a residential neighborhood near the state capitol and government buildings. - United Traction Company BuildingUnited Traction Company BuildingThe United Traction Company Building is located on Broadway in Albany, New York, United States. It is a brick building by local architect Marcus T. Reynolds in the Renaissance Revival architectural style, constructed at the end of the 19th century. In 1976 it was added to the National Register of...
, Broadway and Columbia. 1902 Beaux Arts Gilbert building that also serves as a focal point going down Columbia Street. - Van Ostrande-Radliff House48 Hudson Avenue48 Hudson Avenue, also known as the Van Ostrande – Radliff House, is the oldest building in the city of Albany, New York. It was believed by Paul Huey in the Albany architectural guide of 1993 to have been built in 1759 by Johannes Radliff when he married Elizabeth Singleton because he believed it...
oldest building in Albany, added to register in 2008.
- YMCA BuildingYoung Men's Christian Association Building (Albany, New York)The former Young Men's Christian Association Building in Albany, New York, United States, is located on Pearl Street . It was built in the 1880s in the Romanesque Revival architectural style, with an existing neighboring structure annexed to it and a rear addition built in the 1920s. It was listed...
, 60 North Pearl. An 1886 Richardsonian Romanesque building by Albert Fuller.
Other notable buildings
- Coulson Building, 420 Broadway. This warehouse, built in 1815 and expanded later in the century.
- Home Savings Bank BuildingHome Savings Bank BuildingThe Home Savings Bank Building is an office building located in downtown Albany, New York at 11 North Pearl Street . At 19 stories and tall, it is the tenth tallest building in the city. When it was completed in 1927, the Home Savings Bank Building was the tallest structure in Albany. However, the...
. A 1927 Art Deco skyscraperSkyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
that was Albany's tallest when built by Denisson and Hirons. It is one of the newest contributing properties in the district. - Kenmore HotelKenmore HotelThe Kenmore Hotel is a historic building at 74 North Pearl Street in the city of Albany, New York. It was built in 1878 by an African-American, Adam Blake , and owned by him until his death, at which time it was taken over by his widow Catherine, who continued until 1887.Adam Blake was named for...
, Columbia and North Pearl Street. With the demolition or redevelopment of the other hotels, this Edward Ogden-designed 1873 building, renovated 13 years later, is the only one of downtown's 19th-century hotels remaining mostly intact. It has been an office building since 1986. - National State Bank Building, 60 State Street. A Classical Revival "temple of finance" designed by York and Sawyer in 1901.
- R.B. Wing Building, 384 Broadway. Local architect Walter Van Guysling's Dutch Colonial Revival building brought that style back to the district in 1913.
- Albany Masonic Temple, the oldest continuously owned Masonic property in the United States.
- James T. Foley United States CourthouseJames T. Foley United States CourthouseThe James T. Foley United States Courthouse is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, located in Albany, New York....
, 445 Broadway, built 1931-1934 in the Art Deco style.
See also
- History of Albany, New YorkHistory of Albany, New YorkThe history of Albany, New York, begins with the first interaction with native Indian tribes that originally inhabited the area. The area was originally inhabited by Algonquian Indian tribes, namely the Mohican and the Iroquois....
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New YorkNational Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New YorkThe National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York represent the history of Albany from the Dutch colonial era, through the British colonial era, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and World War II, in addition to various periods of immigration into New York's...
Further readings
- University Art Museum (2002), State Street Stories, University at Albany, SUNYUniversity at Albany, SUNYThe State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
.
External links
- Downtown Albany website
- For a look at the history of Walter Van Guysling's Third Precinct Stationhouse (1910) at 220 North Pearl Street, see http://www.lostlandmarks.org/albanythirdprecinct.htm.