Schenectady City Hall
Encyclopedia
Schenectady City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Schenectady
, New York, United States. Designed by McKim, Mead, and White
, the building was constructed between 1931 and 1933. It is located on the block between Clinton, Franklin, Jay and Liberty streets. It is built in a revival of the Federal Style, the dominant style of American architecture from 1780 to 1830. Its most prominent features include the square clock tower
, with its gold-leaf dome
and weathervane, and the Ionic
neoclassical
portico
. It houses not only city government but the local office of U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko
.
The classically-inspired
architecture echoes the arched windows on the nearby post office
, built two decades earlier. Both were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978; the post office was later listed separately as part of a statewide submission of post offices.
on the front and a semicircular projecting wing on the rear enclosing a rotunda
. Its low dormer window-pierced hipped roof
is topped with a clock tower
and cupola
with golden dome. Balustrades mark the roofline; on the front portico a pediment
ed entablature
is supported by four fluted
Ionic
columns. Marble
is used for pilaster
s, quoin
s and the rusticated
raised basement.
Marble is also used extensively inside the building for stairs, flooring and wainscoting. Other decorative touches include the city's seal on brass doorknobs and intricately molded
plaster cornice
s.
architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White (MMW). The exorbitant cost of the project, which was undertaken during the Great Depression
, caused the building to be dubbed "Fagel's Folly" after Mayor Henry C. Fagel. Their building went further in evoking the historical antecedents of Colonial buildings than most Colonial Revival
buildings of the era, with enough neoclassical
elements including a cupola styled after those on the buildings of Christopher Wren
, that the building's style has been described as "neo-Georgian
or neo-Federal".
At the cornerstone
-laying ceremony, James McKellum Smith of MMW said the city government "recognize[s] that they are now erecting a building which may still be the center of civic life in the Schenectady of 100 years from today". Construction was completed in 1933. The building's interior layout has not been changed since then.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on October 11, 1978.. Shortly afterwards a fire damaged the cupola. It was recently repaired.
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, New York, United States. Designed by McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
, the building was constructed between 1931 and 1933. It is located on the block between Clinton, Franklin, Jay and Liberty streets. It is built in a revival of the Federal Style, the dominant style of American architecture from 1780 to 1830. Its most prominent features include the square clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
, with its gold-leaf dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
and weathervane, and the Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
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...
portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
. It houses not only city government but the local office of U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko
Paul Tonko
Paul David Tonko is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in the heart of the Capital District...
.
The classically-inspired
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...
architecture echoes the arched windows on the nearby post office
U.S. Post Office (Schenectady, New York)
The U.S. Post Office in Schenectady, New York, is located at Jay and Liberty streets just north of City Hall. It serves the 12305, 12307 and 12308 ZIP Codes, which covers the city. It is a brick Classical Revival building erected in 1912 and added onto extensively in 1933...
, built two decades earlier. Both were 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...
in 1978; the post office was later listed separately as part of a statewide submission of post offices.
Building
City Hall is a -story brick building with a full-height central porticoPortico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
on the front and a semicircular projecting wing on the rear enclosing a rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
. Its low dormer window-pierced hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
is topped with a clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with golden dome. Balustrades mark the roofline; on the front portico a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
is supported by four fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns. Marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
is used for pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s and the rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
raised basement.
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
plaster 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...
s.
History
When the decision was made to build a new city hall in the late 1920s, due to the city's rapid growth since the 1880s, the city held a nationwide contest, which was won by the prominent New York CityNew 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...
architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White (MMW). The exorbitant cost of the project, which was undertaken during 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...
, caused the building to be dubbed "Fagel's Folly" after Mayor Henry C. Fagel. Their building went further in evoking the historical antecedents of Colonial buildings than most Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
buildings of the era, with enough 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...
elements including a cupola styled after those on the buildings of Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, that the building's style has been described as "neo-Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
or neo-Federal".
At the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
-laying ceremony, James McKellum Smith of MMW said the city government "recognize[s] that they are now erecting a building which may still be the center of civic life in the Schenectady of 100 years from today". Construction was completed in 1933. The building's interior layout has not been changed since then.
It was added to 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...
on October 11, 1978.. Shortly afterwards a fire damaged the cupola. It was recently repaired.
External links
- Schenectady City Hall, 100 Jay Street, Schenectady, Schenectady, NY: 5 photos, 2 data pages, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Building Survey
- Schenectady City Government website