{"nrhp_refnum":"72000812","name":"Albany City Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Eagle St. at Maiden Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albany","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.65182790400007,"lon":-73.75459723399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Albany City Hall is a municipal government building at Eagle Street and Maiden Lane in downtown Albany, New York, designed by Henry H. Richardson and commissioned in 1880 to replace a City Hall destroyed by fire.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine example of Richardson's mature style, dating from his architectural peak of 1878-1883. Its banded arches, rhythmic fenestration, bold expression of materials and corner tower are characteristic Richardson features later repeated by his followers. It also forms part of a distinguished group of government and institutional buildings near the State Capitol.","narrative":"Albany City Hall stands on a sloping site at the end of Washington Avenue, where its 202-foot tower is visible from blocks away. Commissioned in 1880 after fire destroyed the earlier City Hall, it was designed by Henry H. Richardson during the years 1878-1883, generally regarded as the peak of his career. The walls are rusticated granite with brownstone trim, and terra cotta flower and triangle patterns decorate the cornice, gable and archways. A three-arch entrance leads to the building, and above it the second-floor Council Chamber opens onto a loggia. The nearly windowless tower was built to hold the city archives. A planned jail and connecting bridge were never built. Its banded arches, bold use of materials and corner tower are cited as characteristic of Richardson's work. The same stone cutters who carved the nearby State Capitol worked on the sculptural details here, allowing a comparison of Richardson's style from the 1870s to the 1880s.","period_of_significance":"1881 (19th Century)","architect_builder":"Henry H. Richardson","architectural_style":"Richardson's personal style, described by Henry-Russell Hitchcock as one of his most Romanesque designs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in public ownership, in government use and in good condition; the exterior is described as unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.463813-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000812.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000812/eb99ef51f7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000812/eb99ef51f7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"UpstateNYer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AlbanyNYCityHall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">UpstateNYer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AlbanyNYCityHall.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001837","name":"Lafayette Park Historic","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/lafayette-park-historic-78001837/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316150","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_City_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3146112"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/albany-city-hall-72000812/"}