{"nrhp_refnum":"02001714","name":"Fire Alarm, Telegraph and Police Signaling Building","other_names":["Signaling Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"67 State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Troy","county":"Rensselaer County","state":"NY","lat":42.72985999800005,"lon":-73.68609888599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-01-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Other"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick municipal building at 67 State Street in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, built in 1920-22 to house the city's fire alarm, telegraph and police signaling system. A small brick workshop at the rear is also counted as contributing.","why_significant":"It is argued to be a good representative example of civic architecture in Rensselaer County, with eclectic classical and Jacobean ornamentation. It is also significant in public safety, marking a turning point from bell-based alarms to a modern wired signaling system in 1922. Its fireproof construction and place in a developing cluster of municipal buildings add to its importance.","narrative":"Built in 1920-22 at 67 State Street in Troy, this symmetrical red brick building was the nerve center of the city's fire alarm and police signaling system. Two stories tall on a raised basement, it has a steel frame, fireproof metal windows and cast stone trim in an eclectic mix of classical and Jacobean details. A small brick workshop stands behind it. The building replaced an older practice of ringing church and city bells to report fires. Its system relied on about 80 miles of overhead wire and twelve miles of underground cable linking street boxes to a main switchboard, and it went into service on January 23, 1922, at a cost of $235,000. It stood near a growing group of municipal buildings, including the Public Health Building. As telephones spread, it became redundant and closed in 1968. Since then it has served only for storage. It is recognized for its civic architecture and its role in public safety.","period_of_significance":"1920-52","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Jacobean Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed in 1968 after telephones made it redundant; used only for storage since, with some deterioration from lack of use and all original equipment removed.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.939618-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/02001714.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001714/77f16ba548-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001714/77f16ba548-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"UpstateNYer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FireAlarmTelegraphAndPoliceSignalingBuilding.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">UpstateNYer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FireAlarmTelegraphAndPoliceSignalingBuilding.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321226","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Alarm,_Telegraph_and_Police_Signaling_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5451314"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/rensselaer-county/fire-alarm-telegraph-and-police-signaling-building-02001714/"}