Old Post Office (Albany, New York)

Last updated
Old Post Office
Old Post Office Albany Pano 2.jpg
West profile and south elevation, 2011
Old Post Office (Albany, New York)
Interactive map showing the Old Post Office in Albany’s location
LocationNortheast corner of State Street and Broadway, Albany, NY
Coordinates 42°38′56″N73°45′1″W / 42.64889°N 73.75028°W / 42.64889; -73.75028 Coordinates: 42°38′56″N73°45′1″W / 42.64889°N 73.75028°W / 42.64889; -73.75028
Built1879
ArchitectEdward Ogden
James G. Hill
Architectural style Renaissance Revival
Part of Downtown Albany Historic District
NRHP reference No. 72000814 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 20, 1972

The Old Post Office, also known as the United States Government Building, is located at the intersection of State Street and Broadway in Albany, New York, United States. It was built from 1879 to 1883 at a cost of $627,148.

Contents

Plans for the building had been made two decades prior to its construction. Originally it was to be a larger Gothic Revival structure, but the time and the costs of acquiring the land exceeded the original budget, and a smaller post office in the Italian Renaissance Revival style was erected instead. [2] Since 1977 it has been part of SUNY Plaza, and is used as offices by the central administration of the State University of New York (SUNY). [3] Postal operations moved to larger facilities prior to 1972, but the building continued to house federal government offices for a few years.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. [1] It is also a contributing property to the Downtown Albany Historic District, listed on the Register in 1980.

Building

The post office building is located on the east side of the three-way intersection of Broadway and State Street. An open, grassy plaza is located to the south; otherwise the surrounding neighborhood is densely developed with commercial buildings of a comparable or greater size. [4] Many date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are, like the post office, contributing properties to the Downtown Albany Historic District. [5] Some of its neighbors are also listed on the Register themselves. [6]

To the south a driveway curves around the plaza, around the front of the SUNY System Administration Building, listed on the Register as the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building. [6] Across Broadway, on the northwest corner, is the 1902 First Trust Company Building, also listed. The Home Savings Bank Building, Albany's first skyscraper, is a block further west. [4]

On the north is another federal government office building; a parking garage serving the area is to the northwest. It is complemented by several small parking lots to the southwest and northwest. There is also open space in the form of small parks nearby, such as Maiden Lane Park a block to the north. [4]

The terrain is level, reflecting the proximity of the Hudson River, 500 feet (150 m) to the east. Interstate 787 and U.S. Route 9 are between the neighborhood and the river. To the west the land begins to slope up towards the state capitol and other state-government buildings around Lafayette Park a quarter-mile (500 m) in that direction. [7]

The building itself is faced in load-bearing granite walls. Its main block is three stories high and seven bays along Broadway by nine along State. At all four corners are towers, five stories on the northwest and four on the southwest. [2]

Restrained ornamentation on the facades, includes shields and stars representing the United States, the building's first owner. [3] Most of the doors and windows are within round arches, some recessed. On the west, the main entrance pavilion has clustered columns and pilasters supporting its slightly projecting balustraded roof. [2]

At the third and (on the towers) fourth stories are belt courses of carved stone. The same material is also used on the cornices at the rooflines. All the roofs are clad in slate shingles. Between the towers, on the main block, are mansard roofs pierced by small lunette dormer windows and topped with an iron balustrade. The towers have peaked roofs with one small oculus and the same balustrade. with peaked roofs clad in slate shingles. [2] Inside, the building has been extensively renovated for its current use. It contains 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) of office space. [8]

History

As the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal, an upper port on the Hudson River and a major rail junction, Albany had grown considerably over the course of the 19th century. Its economic activity required a significant presence of federal government agencies, and their needs had outgrown the city's available space. After the Civil War, the Treasury Department turned its attention and resources to upgrading its facilities in cities that, like Albany, had grown rapidly due to industrialization. [2] [3]

In 1872, Congress passed legislation authorizing the construction of the new building. It was to be primarily a post office, but large enough for other government agencies to have offices in it. The city was required to acquire the land; the total cost of the project was limited to $350,000 ($7.92 million in modern dollars [9] ). [2]

Acquiring the site of the Exchange Building took more than half the available money. William A. Potter, then Supervising Architect of the Treasury, had designed a large, elaborate building in the High Victorian Gothic mode, with polychromatic stone siding. The lot turned out to be too small for the building, so the property of an adjacent bank was purchased for $150,000. [2]

With more money now spent for the land than had been budgeted for the entire building, and nothing built, Congress appropriated an additional $5,000. Construction did not begin until 1879. By then, James G. Hill had become the Supervising Architect. To save money, he changed the design to the Renaissance Revival style, which he supposedly preferred, complementing its use on the state capitol up the hill to the west. [3]

Hill kept Potter's basic forms and massing, although he changed the exterior to the simpler, cheaper gray granite. Inside, he made similar cost-driven modifications to the layout. Despite these changes, the building's final construction cost upon its 1883 completion was around $620,000 ($18 million in modern dollars [9] ). [2]

In 1912 the building became part of an early urban redevelopment plan. The city's leadership had become concerned about congestion and decay downtown, especially near Water Street, where many visitors got their first impression of Albany. They hired Arnold W. Brunner, an architect and urban planner from New York, to resolve what he called "the tangle of mean streets and wretched buildings" on the waterfront. [3]

View of post office down State Street before Plaza construction Stateeast1914.jpg
View of post office down State Street before Plaza construction

He observed that Albany, reflecting its origins as a 17th-century frontier outpost, had followed the pattern of European cities which had likewise developed during the Middle Ages, with long, narrow streets and densely clustered buildings. Those cities nevertheless often had at least one large open plaza. Brunner thus proposed that one be created downtown at the intersection of Broadway and State Street, through the construction of a long building angled back from the street. A small streetcar turnaround could be built around the edges. [3]

The plaza would be framed by other major private and public buildings, like the post office. It would be a small version of the "court of honor" espoused for urban centers by the contemporary City Beautiful movement. The Delaware and Hudson Railroad, a major presence in the city, built the desired building, designed by local architect Marcus T. Reynolds, in 1914. [3]

For the next 60 years the building continued to serve its original functions. In 1972 the post office and other federal agencies moved out, needing larger and newer space. The building sat empty for five years until it was acquired by SUNY, which immediately began renovating it to meet modern building codes and its own requirements. The $15 million project, which also included the more extensive renovation of the old Delaware and Hudson Building to the south, was completed the next year. The New York City architectural firm that oversaw the renovations received an energy conservation award from Owens Corning, the building insulation manufacturer. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany, New York</span> Capital city of New York, United States

Albany is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about 10 miles (16 km) south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about 135 miles (220 km) north of New York City.

SUNY Plaza Historic commercial building in New York, United States

SUNY Plaza, or the H. Carl McCall SUNY Building, formerly the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company Building, is a public office building located at 353 Broadway at the intersection with State Street in downtown Albany, New York, United States. Locally the building is sometimes referred to as "The Castle" or "D&H Plaza"; prior to the construction of the nearby Empire State Plaza it was simply "The Plaza". The central tower of the building is thirteen stories high and is capped by an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) working weathervane that is a replica of Henry Hudson's Half Moon.

Neighborhoods of Albany, New York

The neighborhoods of Albany, New York are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Troy Historic District</span> Historic district in New York, United States

The Central Troy Historic District is an irregularly shaped, 96-acre (39 ha) area of downtown Troy, New York, United States. It has been described as "one of the most perfectly preserved 19th-century downtowns in the [country]" with nearly 700 properties in a variety of architectural styles from the early 19th to mid-20th centuries. These include most of Russell Sage College, one of two privately owned urban parks in New York, and two National Historic Landmarks. Visitors ranging from the Duke de la Rochefoucauld to Philip Johnson have praised aspects of it. Martin Scorsese used parts of downtown Troy as a stand-in for 19th-century Manhattan in The Age of Innocence.

Abrams Building Historic commercial building in New York, United States

The Abrams Building was located at South Pearl Street and Hudson Avenue in Albany, New York, United States. It was a brick commercial building constructed in the 1880s. In 1980 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Church in Albany (Reformed)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

The First Reformed Church, also known as First Church in Albany or North Dutch Church, is located at North Pearl and Orange streets in Albany, New York, United States. It is a member congregation of the Reformed Church in America. The building was designed by Philip Hooker and built in the period of 1797–1799. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (Albany, New York)</span>

Union Station, also known as Albany Union Station, is a building in Albany, New York on the corner of Broadway and Steuben Street. Built during 1899–1900, it served originally as the city's railroad station but now houses credit union offices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) during 1971.

Downtown Albany Historic District Historic commercial core of Albany, New York

The Downtown Albany Historic District is a 19-block, 66.6-acre (27.0 ha) area of Albany, New York, United States, centered on the junction of State and North and South Pearl streets. 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.

Albany Pump Station United States historic place

The Albany Pump Station, originally the Quackenbush Pumping Station of the Albany Water Works, is located in Quackenbush Square on Broadway in the city of Albany, New York, United States. It is a large brick building constructed in the 1870s and expanded later in the century.

Buildings at 744–750 Broadway United States historic place

The buildings at 744–750 Broadway in Albany, New York, United States, sometimes known as Broadway Row, are four brick row houses on the northwest corner of the intersection with Wilson Street. They were built over a period of 40 years in the 19th century, using a variety of architectural styles reflecting the times they were built in. At that time the neighborhood, known as the Fifth Ward, was undergoing rapid expansion due to the Erie Canal and the city's subsequent industrialization.

Streets of Albany, New York Streets of Albany, New York

The streets of Albany, New York have had a long history going back almost 400 years. Many of the streets have changed names over the course of time, some have changed names many times. Some streets no longer exist, others have changed course. Some roads existed only on paper. The oldest streets were haphazardly laid out with no overall plan until Simeon De Witt's 1794 street grid plan. The plan had two grids, one west of Eagle Street and the old stockade, and another for the Pastures District south of the old stockade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York</span>

There are 75 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Albany, New York, United States. Six are additionally designated as National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), the most of any city in the state after New York City. Another 14 are historic districts, for which 20 of the listings are also contributing properties. Two properties, both buildings, that had been listed in the past but have since been demolished have been delisted; one building that is also no longer extant remains listed.

Hook and Ladder No. 4 United States historic place

Hook and Ladder No. 4, originally Truck No. 4, is a firehouse located at Delaware Avenue in Albany, New York, United States. It is an elaborate brick structure in the Dutch Colonial Revival architectural style, designed by Albany architect Marcus T. Reynolds, and completed in 1912. In 2001 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architecture of Albany, New York

The architecture of Albany, New York, embraces a variety of architectural styles ranging from the early 18th century to the present. The city's roots date from the early 17th century and few buildings survive from that era or from the 18th and early 19th century. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 triggered a building boom, which continued until the Great Depression and the suburbanization of the area afterward. This accounts for much of the construction in the city's urban core along the Hudson River. Since then most construction has been largely residential, as the city spread out to its current boundaries, although there have been some large government building complexes in the modernist style, such as Empire State Plaza, which includes the Erastus Corning Tower, the tallest building in New York outside of New York City.

Church of the Holy Innocents (Albany, New York) Historic church in New York, United States

The former Church of the Holy Innocents, later known as Church of the Nativity of our Virgin Lady, was originally an Episcopal church located on North Pearl Street in Albany, New York, United States. It and an adjacent chapel were built in the mid-19th century in an early Gothic Revival style designed by Frank Wills. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Broadway–Livingston Avenue Historic District Historic district in New York, United States

The Broadway–Livingston Avenue Historic District is located at the junction of those two streets in Albany, New York, United States. It includes seven buildings remaining from an original 20, all contributing properties, and a Warren truss railroad bridge. In 1988 the area was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Center Square/Hudson–Park Historic District Residential neighborhood in Albany, New York, USA

The Center Square/Hudson–Park Historic District is located between Empire State Plaza and Washington Park in Albany, New York, United States. It is a 27-block, 99-acre (40 ha) area taking in both the Center Square and Hudson/Park neighborhoods, and Lark Street on the west. In 1980 it was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Marcus T. Reynolds American architect

Marcus Tullius Reynolds was an American architect from the Albany, New York area. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was raised by his aunt in Albany after the death of his mother. He attended Williams College and Columbia University and began his life as an architect in 1893. He is well known for his bank designs and specifically his design of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building in downtown Albany. Many of his buildings still stand today; some are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was the brother of the Albany historian and author Cuyler Reynolds.

Old Albany Academy Building United States historic place

The old Albany Academy building, known officially as Academy Park by the City School District of Albany, its owner, and formerly known as the Joseph Henry Memorial, is located in downtown Albany, New York, United States. It is a Federal style brownstone building erected in the early 19th century. In 1971, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Later, it was included as a contributing property when the Lafayette Park Historic District was established.

Knickerbocker and Arnink Garages United States historic place

The Knickerbocker and Arnink Garages were two attached stone buildings located on Hudson Avenue in central Albany, New York, United States. Both were built in the early 20th century; the Knickerbocker garage was added to the Arnink garage 12 years after it was built. In 1980, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places; nine years later they were both demolished and delisted.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-01.Note: This includes Martha Truax and Charles Liebs (December 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Old Post Office" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-01. and Accompanying photograph
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Waite, Diana (1993). Albany Architecture: Guide to the City. Albany, NY: Mount Ida Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN   9780962536816 . Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 0.7 km SE of Albany NY (Map). Cartography by Google Maps. ACME Laboratories. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  5. ↑ John F. Harwood and Austin O'Brien (September 7, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Downtown Albany Historic District". Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Liebs, Chester (August 1970). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  7. ↑ Albany Quadrangle – New York – Albany, Rensselaer Cos (Map). 1:24,000. United States Geological Survey . Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Plaza History:Renovation". The State University of New York. 2012. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  9. 1 2 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved April 16, 2022.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Old Post Office (Albany, New York) at Wikimedia Commons


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.