Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building

Last updated

Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
State Office Building
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building from east.jpg
(2013)
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeGovernment Offices
Architectural style Brutalism
Location163 West 125th Street, Manhattan, New York, U.S. 10027
Coordinates 40°48′33″N73°56′51″W / 40.80923°N 73.94746°W / 40.80923; -73.94746
Construction started1967
Completed1973 [1]
Opening1974
Renovated2014–2016
Cost$36 million (1974)
Owner State of New York
Management Office of General Services
Technical details
Floor count19 [2]
Floor area260,000 square feet (24,000 m2)
Lifts/elevators9
Design and construction
Architect(s)Ifill Johnson Hanchard [1]
Main contractorTrans Urban Construction Co. Inc, and Lasker-Goldman Corporation
Awards and prizesNew York State Award for Excellence

The Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, originally the Harlem State Office Building, is a nineteen-story, high-rise office building located at 163 West 125th Street at the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named after Adam Clayton Powell Jr, the first African-American elected to Congress from New York. It was designed by the African-American architecture firm of Ifill Johnson Hanchard in the shape of an African mask in the Brutalist style. It is the tallest building in Harlem, overtaking the nearby Hotel Theresa. [3]

Contents

History

The building was proposed in 1966 by then-Governor of New York State, Nelson Rockefeller, as the beginning of development to turn Harlem into a "truly viable community". [4] Ground was broken in 1967 with the demolition of a Corn Exchange Bank building. [5] 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. [6] [7] By mid-1970 the dispute was resolved and work resumed on the site. [8]

The building was completed in 1973 [1] and was initially known as the Harlem State Office Building. [9] While the building was criticized for lacking basic requirements such as a building manager and fire equipment, in 1978 the location hosted Harlem's first giant Christmas tree. [10] [11] [12]

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. [13] The building was threatened with closure in 1994 due to budget cuts, but it remained open. [14]

Over the years, the building has been criticized as a "killer building" from the urban renewal movement of the 1960s that "disfigured" the neighborhood, [15] and as an example of mediocre government architecture. [16] However, others have embraced it as helping to focus the community's efforts in future development battles. [17]

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. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress from New York, as well as the first from any state in the Northeast. Re-elected for nearly three decades, Powell became a powerful national politician of the Democratic Party, and served as a national spokesman on civil rights and social issues. He also urged United States presidents to support emerging nations in Africa and Asia as they gained independence after colonialism.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fannie Pennington</span>

Fannie Emma Pennington was an American activist, organizer, and fundraising coordinator for U.S. Congressional Representative (Harlem) Adam Clayton Powell Jr.'s Isaac Democratic Club and the Abyssinian Baptist Church A.C.P. Overseas Club. She was also a member of the New York City Board of Elections and the Frederick E. Samuel Community Democratic Club, the Satellite Club, the Courtesy Guild, the Progressive Ladies Usher Board of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the ABC Welcome and Hospitality Committee. She was an official representative of the Barmaid Charity Organization. She was a New York leader of the bus organizing efforts in 1963 for the March on Washington.

<i>The Peoples Voice</i> (newspaper) Newspaper from Harlem, New York City

The People's Voice, also known as Voice, was a newspaper based in Harlem, New York City to serve the African American community. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a New York politician and pastor, founded the newspaper in 1942. Voice mainly focused on racial issues, local events and investigative news, but it also covered entertainment and sports. Many activists and writers contributed to Voice, including Ann Petry, Fredi Washington, and Marvel Cooke. The paper stopped publication in 1948 partly due to accusations that Voice was circulating Communist propaganda.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19538-386-7. p.529
  2. ↑ "Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ Garland, Phyl (March 1990). "I remember Adam". Ebony. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  4. ↑ Hofmann, Paul (December 7, 1966). "State Office Site Picked in Harlem". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  5. ↑ Gasberg, Martin (June 8, 1967). "Governor Flunks Test as Wrecker". The New York Times. p. 50. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Thomas A. (December 15, 1969). "Harlem Rejects 2 Building Plans". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  7. ↑ Kihss, Peter (September 22, 1969). "Governor Calls for Start On Harlem Office Building". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  8. ↑ Hunter, Charlayne (April 16, 1970). "Harlem Building Fight Ebbs". The New York Times. p. 43. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  9. ↑ Hunter, Charlayne (May 21, 1974). "State Office B building in Harlem Is Dedicated". The New York Times. p. 85. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  10. ↑ Hunter, Charlayne (September 19, 1974). "New State Edifice is all but Empty". The New York Times. p. 40. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  11. ↑ Hunter, Charlayne (April 21, 1975). "Harlem Office Building Still in Chaos". The New York Times. p. 33. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  12. ↑ Asbury, Edith Evans (December 15, 1978). "A Tree Comes to Harlem; Harlem Gets Its First Giant Christmas Tree Lights Burning All Over". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  13. ↑ Johnston, Laurie; Susan Heller Anderson (July 20, 1983). "Name Change to Honor A Harlem Hero". The New York Times. p. B3. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  14. ↑ Connors, Cathy (December 31, 1994). "Powell State Office Building to be Sold or Closed?". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved June 21, 2009.[ dead link ]
  15. ↑ "Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building". Hall of Shame. Project for Public Spaces. 2009. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  16. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (November 5, 2008). "History Finally Finds the State Office Building on 125th Street". The New York Times. p. A28. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  17. ↑ Taylor, Monique M. (2002). Harlem between heaven and hell . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p.  29. ISBN   978-0-8166-4052-2. Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building.
  18. ↑ Columbia University Urban Technical Assistance Project (Fall 2006). "African Square at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building". Harlem Community Development Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
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