{"nrhp_refnum":"10000361","name":"Niagara Hudson Building, The","other_names":["The Niagara Mohawk Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 Erie Blvd W","address_restricted":false,"city":"Syracuse","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.05309678500004,"lon":-76.15644880699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story Art Deco steel-frame office building (Building A) and an adjacent three-story Art Moderne service/office building (Building B) at 300 Erie Boulevard West, Syracuse, built 1930-1932 as headquarters of the Niagara Hudson utility company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an outstanding example of American Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity. It served as headquarters of the nation's largest electric utility and expressed electricity through its design, materials and dramatic exterior lighting. It also served as a corporate model for other company facilities and as a symbol of optimism during the Great Depression.","narrative":"Two linked buildings on Erie Boulevard West in Syracuse, built between 1930 and 1932, once housed the headquarters of the largest electric utility in the United States. Building A is a seven-story steel-frame Art Deco tower with a stepped, ziggurat form, black Vitrolite glass at street level, chrome strips that conceal lighting, and light brick piers above. A 28-foot stainless steel sculpture called \"The Spirit of Light\" sits near the top of the tower. Inside, the entry vestibule, elevator lobby, stair hall and former sales space keep original stainless steel, marble and glass details. Building B, a three-story structure in a more Art Moderne style, emphasizes horizontal lines and originally held service bays. The property is significant for its distinctive Art Deco design and its lighting program, which presented electricity as modern and forward-looking. Completed during the Great Depression, it also served as a corporate image for the newly consolidated company and a symbol of progress.","period_of_significance":"1930-1932","architect_builder":"Bley & Lyman, consulting architects; Melvin L. King, architect","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Both buildings are currently used as office buildings; Building B's windows were replaced and its garage bays filled in, and the first-floor Sales Space of Building A was converted to an auditorium in 1999.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.875696-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/10000361.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000361/0332bc39d6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000361/0332bc39d6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Peter Dutton from Forest Hills, Queens, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_Mohawk_Bldg_(Syracuse,_NY)a.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter Dutton from Forest Hills, Queens, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_Mohawk_Bldg_(Syracuse,_NY)a.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320400","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Mohawk_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14707102"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/niagara-hudson-building-the-10000361/"}