New York State Court of Appeals Building
National Register of Historic Places

New York State Court of Appeals Building

Albany, Albany County, New York
Listed
February 17, 1971
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
71000520

About this property

The New York Court of Appeals Building, officially referred to as Court of Appeals Hall, is located at the corner of Eagle and Pine streets in central Albany, New York, United States. It is a stone Greek Revival building built in 1842 from a design by Henry Rector. In 1971 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of seven buildings housing a state's highest court currently so recognized. Seven years later it was included as a contributing property when the Lafayette Park Historic District was listed on the Register. When built it was known as the State Hall, housing not the court (which sat in the state capitol) but its clerks. In addition to them, it was the offices of several other officials of the state's executive branch. Four years after its completion, a new state constitution was adopted, uniting two separate court hierarchies into one with the Court of Appeals as the highest court in the state. Rector's design incorporates all three classical orders in the building's rotunda and uses stone arches to support the ceilings in an early attempt at fireproofing. It is one of only two extant buildings known to have been designed by him. Other architects were involved in later work on the building. Henry Hobson Richardson designed the courtroom, originally located in the nearby state capitol in the 1880s and described by a visiting Lord Coleridge as "the finest ... in the world". Lewis Pilcher oversaw a rear addition in the early 20th century when the courtroom was moved as it had outgrown its traditional space in the capitol, taking Richardson's courtroom along with it except for the ceiling. The building has been through two more renovations since. In the late 1950s it was refaced and the original foundation replaced. An early 21st-century project removed the cupola, added small wings on both sides and completely overhauled the building's internal infrastructure as well as restoring much of the original interior decoration.

Location

Albany, Albany County, New York
42.65218, -73.75398

Categories

POLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Albany City Hall
Industrial
0 mi
St. Mary's Church
Industrial
0 mi
Young Men's Christian Association Building
Pre Contact
0.1 mi
Albany Academy
Industrial
0.1 mi
St. Peter's Church
Industrial
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was New York State Court of Appeals Building listed on the National Register?

New York State Court of Appeals Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1971.

What type of historic resource is New York State Court of Appeals Building?

New York State Court of Appeals Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for New York State Court of Appeals Building?

The period of significance for New York State Court of Appeals Building is recorded as the industrial era.

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