Lafayette Park Historic District is 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....

 in Albany, New York

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...

 that was 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...

 (NRHP) in 1978. It includes "monumentally scaled" government buildings and also includes at least one residential area.

It includes multiple structures separately listed on the NRHP, including:

• New York State Court of Appeals Building
  New York Court of Appeals
  The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
  
  
• Albany 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...
  
  
• New York 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...
  
  
• New York State Department of Education Building
  New York State Department of Education Building
  The New York State Education Department Building is a state office building in Albany, New York. It currently houses offices of the New York State Education Department and was formerly home to the New York State Museum and New York State Library...
  
  
• Cathedral of All Saints
  Cathedral of All Saints
  The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York is the central church of the Episcopal See of the Albany and the seat of the Episcopal Bishop of Albany...
  
  
• The Albany Academy
  The Albany Academy
  The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer and the city council of Albany...
  
   also known as Joseph Henry Memorial within Lafayette Park

The National Register's information system miss-identifies this district as simply "Lafayette Park Historic" and the error is echoed in the New York State historic documents system, as well.

Lafayette Park and Academy Park

Lafayette and Academy parks are two contigious parks taking up an entire block bounded by Washington Avenue to the south, and Hawk Street to the west, Eagle Street to the east, and Elk Street to the north. The western part is named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited in Albany in 1778. The eastern part takes its name from the original The Albany Academy building built in 1815. The Albany Academy has since moved to a large campus on Hackett Boulevard and the building is now referred to as the Joseph Henry Memorial. It is currently the main offices of the Albany City School District

Albany City School District

The City School District of Albany is the public school district of Albany, New York. The district is an independent public entity. It is governed by the City School District of Albany Board of Education, whose members are elected in non-partisan elections for staggered, four-year terms...

. The two-story structure, designed by 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...

 is of formal post-Colonial architecture, constructed of brownstone, with Ionic pilasters, balustraded parapet, and a tall and graceful classical cupola. It was in this building that Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...

 succeeded in ringing a bell over a circuit of wire strung around one of the rooms before Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. A statue of Henry stands in front of the building. The interior was remodeled in 1935 as a Public Works Administration

Public Works Administration

The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...

project with Marcus T. Reynolds as architect.