Niagara Mohawk Building

Last updated
Niagara Hudson Building
Niagara Mowhawk Building.jpg
Niagara Mohawk Building, October 2021
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Location300 Erie Boulevard West, Syracuse, New York
Coordinates 43°3′4.28″N76°9′22.25″W / 43.0511889°N 76.1561806°W / 43.0511889; -76.1561806 Coordinates: 43°3′4.28″N76°9′22.25″W / 43.0511889°N 76.1561806°W / 43.0511889; -76.1561806
Area5.26 acres (2.13 ha) [1]
Built1932
ArchitectMelvin L. King,
Bley and Lyman [2]
Architectural style Art Deco
NRHP reference No. 10000361 [3]
Added to NRHPJune 14, 2010 [3]

The Niagara Mohawk Building is an art deco classic building in Syracuse, New York. The building was built in 1932 and was headquarters for the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, what was "then the nation's largest electric utility company". [4]

The Art Deco building was designed by Syracuse architect Melvin L. King in a consultation with Buffalo firm Bley and Lyman. [2]

The company has since been acquired by merger into National Grid plc. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niagara Hudson Building in 2010.

According to the National Park Service:

The Niagara Hudson Building in Syracuse is an outstanding example of Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity. Completed in 1932, the building became the headquarters for the nation’s largest electric utility company and expressed the technology of electricity through its modernistic design, material, and extraordinary program of exterior lighting. The design elements applied by architects Melvin L. King and Bley & Lyman transformed a corporate office tower into a widely admired beacon of light and belief in the future. With its central tower and figurative winged sculpture personifying electric lighting, the powerfully sculpted and decorated building offered a symbol of optimism and progress in the context of the Great Depression. [5]

The building was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in June 2010. [3] The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of June 25, 2010. [6] It was nominated by New York State's Board of Historic Preservation for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2009. The Board described the building as "'an outstanding example of Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity.'" [7]

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References

  1. Anthony Opalka and Michael A. Stanton (April 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Niagara Mohawk Building" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2010-09-01. (52 pages, with 16 historic photos and 19 photos from 2009 and 2010)
  2. 1 2 "Our History". King + King Architects. Syracuse, New York: King + King Architects. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places for June 25, 2010". Weekly Listings. National Park Service. June 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  4. Eileen Larrabee and Dan Keefe (December 8, 2009). "State Board Recommends 28 Properties for Historic Register Listing". New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation.
  5. "Weekly Highlight: The Niagara Hudson Building, Onondaga County, New York".
  6. John Mariani (2009-12-16). "National Grid building, portion of Syracuse's Strathmore area nominated for historic lists". Post Standard.