{"nrhp_refnum":"03001518","name":"Fine Arts and Flower Building Altamont Fairground","other_names":["Exhibition Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Altamont Fairgrounds, vic. of Grand St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Village of Altamont","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.69833607400005,"lon":-74.02894173199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-01-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, cruciform wood-frame exhibition hall with a pyramidal-roofed tower, located in the northwest corner of the Altamont Fairgrounds in the Village of Altamont, Albany County, New York. It was built in 1896 by contractor Hiram Schoonmaker.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is locally significant as a highly intact example of fairground architecture in Albany County. It was modeled closely on the Domestic Pavilion at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds and has been in continuous use since completion. It is described as the most intact of the dozens of buildings remaining at the fair.","narrative":"Built in the summer of 1896, the Fine Arts and Flower Building, also called the Exhibition Hall, sits in the northwest corner of the Altamont Fairgrounds near the Grand Street entrance. It is a large one-story cruciform building of light wood frame with novelty and board-and-batten siding, a pyramidal-roofed tower at the crossing, and Palladian windows in each gable. Fair directors hired local builder Hiram Schoonmaker for $2,146 after inspecting the exhibit building at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds, which served as the model. The interior is a single open space with exposed king-post trusses. The only significant change is the replacement of the original slate roof with raised-seam metal. The hall has been used continuously by the fair since it was completed. It was listed as a locally significant, highly intact example of fairground architecture, while the surrounding fairground, with its lost grandstand and altered gatehouses, was judged to have lost too much integrity to be included.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"Schoonmaker, Hiram; builder","architectural_style":"OTHER","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Has remained in continuous use at the fairgrounds since its completion in 1896; current function listed as museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.197356-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03001518.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316223","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_Arts_and_Flower_Building,_Altamont_Fairground","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5450055"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/fine-arts-and-flower-building-altamont-fairground-03001518/"}