{"nrhp_refnum":"85002277","name":"Hotel Van Curler","other_names":["Elston Hall of Schenectady County Community College"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"78 Washington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Schenectady","county":"Schenectady County","state":"NY","lat":42.81497254400006,"lon":-73.94911653099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story, H-shaped brick hotel at 78 Washington Avenue in Schenectady, New York, built in 1925 and designed by H.L. Stevens and Company. It is now Elston Hall of Schenectady County Community College.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a representative early twentieth century Georgian Revival hotel, with restrained Georgian and Federal motifs typical of the Stevens firm's work. It was also the first of five major Neoclassical public buildings erected in Schenectady between 1925 and 1933. It was financed by local industries, the Chamber of Commerce and over 1,000 citizens, which makes it a symbol of the city's civic pride and prosperity.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of State Street and Washington Avenue beside the Mohawk River, this six-story hotel opened in 1925 and now serves as Elston Hall of Schenectady County Community College. H.L. Stevens and Company designed the H-shaped building in red brick with limestone trim, slate roofing and a portico of six Corinthian columns. Its restrained Georgian and Federal detailing was typical of that firm's small hotels. The hotel grew out of a civic pride campaign during Schenectady's most prosperous years. The American Locomotive Company, General Electric, the Chamber of Commerce and more than 1,000 residents paid for it, and it was the first of five major Neoclassical public buildings erected in the city between 1925 and 1933. Later additions from 1948, 1954 and 1956, plus exit towers built after the 1968 college conversion, do not add to its significance. The upper floors were rebuilt, but the lobby, lounge, reception room and ballroom survive for community use.","period_of_significance":"1925","architect_builder":"H.L. Stevens and Company","architectural_style":"Georgian Revival; early twentieth century Neoclassical with Georgian and Federal motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and used as an educational building by Schenectady County Community College since its 1968 acquisition; upper floors were gutted and rebuilt, while the first-floor public rooms were retained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.802343-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/85002277.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002277/9b864b24df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002277/9b864b24df-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Van_Curler,_Schenectady,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Van_Curler,_Schenectady,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321681","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elston_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5367757"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/schenectady-county/hotel-van-curler-85002277/"}