{"nrhp_refnum":"73001163","name":"Steinheim, Alfred, Museum","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Alfred University Campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alfred","county":"Allegany County","state":"NY","lat":42.25455750800006,"lon":-77.78676634099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Science","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A castle-like stone building on a wooded hillside overlooking the Alfred University campus in Alfred, Allegany County, New York, built 1876-1880 by Jonathan Allen, second president of the university.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a one-of-a-kind structure that grew without a fixed design from more than 8,000 rock specimens and 700 wood samples. Allen conceived it as a 'geological cabinet' and museum whose walls were part of the collection. It is described as an architectural curiosity reflecting his dream of a museum whose structure was integral to its exhibits.","narrative":"Perched on a wooded hillside above the Alfred University campus, this stone building resembles a fantasy castle. Its main tower rises 66 feet and connects by a curved wall to a smaller tower, forming a stepped series of three heights. Gothic arch and round-headed windows, stepped parapets and crenellated battlements give it a distinctive look. Jonathan Allen, the university's second president, began work in 1876 on a foundation abandoned by the widow of the school's first president. Over about four years the building grew in an unplanned way. Its walls hold more than 8,000 rock specimens, including granite, quartzite, sandstone, limestone and fossil coral, while the interior framing uses over 700 samples of local and foreign woods. Allen intended it as a geological cabinet, with exhibits of shells, corals, plants and birds mirroring the building materials. It closed as a museum in the early 1950s and later housed the university's music department.","period_of_significance":"1876-1880","architect_builder":"Jonathan Allen (second president of Alfred University)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed as a museum in the early 1950s; currently used by the university Music Department, with another adaptive use being sought. Condition marked good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.495626-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001163.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001163/8287b223c3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001163/8287b223c3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steinheim_Building_at_Alfred_University.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steinheim_Building_at_Alfred_University.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85002323","name":"Alfred Village Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/alfred-village-historic-district-85002323/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316431","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Steinheim_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4731885"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/allegany-county/steinheim-alfred-museum-73001163/"}