{"nrhp_refnum":"80002577","name":"Abrams Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55-57 S. Pearl St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albany","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.64821722200003,"lon":-73.75381534199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story red brick commercial building at 55-57 South Pearl Street, on the northwest corner of South Pearl Street and Hudson Avenue in Albany, New York, built in 1885 for John M. Bigelow.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine, largely unaltered example of late nineteenth century commercial architecture with Romanesque style detailing. It is one of very few buildings in downtown Albany that keep an original first floor storefront. It also reflects the prosperity of downtown merchants and the social life of the period, shown by its second floor lodge hall.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of South Pearl Street and Hudson Avenue on the southern edge of Albany's central business district, this four-story red brick building dates from 1885. Physician and Albany Medical College professor John M. Bigelow had it built to replace a smaller family building. Its first floor keeps the original storefront with cast-iron trim, two commercial spaces with original cabinets and tin ceilings, and a second-floor meeting hall once used by groups such as the Grand Army of the Republic and the Elks Club. Apartments occupy the third and fourth floors. Arched windows, brick stringcourses, a small pediment and carved brickwork give the facade Romanesque character. The architect is unknown, though the design closely resembles the Old Albany Business College of 1887. Once part of a row, the building now stands alone after neighboring structures were demolished. It is valued as one of the few unaltered commercial buildings of its era in downtown Albany, and it was vacant at the time of the nomination.","period_of_significance":"1885","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Romanesque style detailing; late nineteenth century commercial architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as now vacant; the building is freestanding after neighboring structures were demolished, and the owner hopes to restore it.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.547389-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002577.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316146","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrams_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4669409"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/abrams-building-80002577/"}