W. & L. E. Gurley Building
About this property
The W. & L. E. Gurley Building is a historic industrial building in Troy, New York, United States. Built in 1862, it is a classical revival structure that housed the W. & L. E. Gurley Company, a maker of precision measuring instruments. The Gurley Company was one of the first companies in the nation to make precision instruments. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of this in 1983. The Julius Hanks foundry was purchased by the W. & L. E. Gurley Company in 1852, and was destroyed in the Great Troy Fire of 1862. The W. & L. E. Gurley Building was built in "an amazing feat of construction" in just 8 months to replace the previous building. Originally, the first floor space was used for retail with the third and fourth floors leased to other manufacturers. Gradually, Gurley expanded to use the entire buildings. The company, run by William Gurley and his brother, Lewis Ephraim, were leaders in the field and published a regularly updated manual of instruments and their operations and were engaged in producing military products for the American Civil War, which included "brass fuse-plugs for naval projectiles and an improved type of brass trimming for saddle trees." In the 1960s, the company was acquired by Teledyne Company, and was sold again in 1993 and continues as Gurley Precision Instruments today. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1983. The building is currently rented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and houses its Lighting Research Center, which moved there in 2000, and a few acoustics labs associated with the school of architecture as well as the Human Resources department . Gurley Precision Instruments still occupies the first floor of the building and the entire building directly across the street. It is located on Fulton Street between 5th and Union Streets in Troy. The building is a four-story red brick building, U-shaped around a small courtyard. A foundry was at ground level on the north side of the courtyard. The building's foundation is made of stone with brick bearing walls and cast-iron interior columns. The building’s classical revival exterior includes arched doors and windows with semicircular brick arches and hoodmoulds. Entrances are asymmetrical with the main entrance located on Fulton Street. Originally, the first floor space was used for retail with the third and fourth floors leased to other manufacturers. Gradually, Gurley expanded to use the entire buildings. Gurley Precision, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-13, "W. & L. E. Gurley Building", 6 photos, 11 data pages
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about W. & L. E. Gurley Building
This page lists W. & L. E. Gurley Building. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was W. & L. E. Gurley Building listed on the National Register?
W. & L. E. Gurley Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 4, 1970.
What type of historic resource is W. & L. E. Gurley Building?
W. & L. E. Gurley Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is W. & L. E. Gurley Building a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. W. & L. E. Gurley Building has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for W. & L. E. Gurley Building?
The period of significance for W. & L. E. Gurley Building is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near W. & L. E. Gurley Building?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near W. & L. E. Gurley Building will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Rensselaer County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Rensselaer County.
Explore RensselaerCounty ›More historic places in New York
Browse all historic places in New York.
View New Yorkhistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near W. & L. E. Gurley Building will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.