{"nrhp_refnum":"91000664","name":"Foster Building","other_names":["Hotel Foster"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"508 State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Schenectady","county":"Schenectady County","state":"NY","lat":42.81165006400005,"lon":-73.94036631899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story Beaux-Arts commercial and residential building at 508 State Street in downtown Schenectady, New York, built in 1907 as the Hotel Foster. It has a white glazed terra-cotta facade and steel-frame construction.","why_significant":"It is argued to be a distinguished example of early twentieth-century Beaux-Arts commercial architecture in the region, with one of the most highly decorated terra-cotta facades in the area. It reflects the City Beautiful movement and the prosperity General Electric brought to Schenectady. Its continuity of use and intact interior add to its importance.","narrative":"Rising six stories above the mostly three-story buildings around it, this structure at 508 State Street in downtown Schenectady was built in 1907 as the Hotel Foster. Architect Penn Varney of Lynn, Massachusetts, designed it for local hotel owner Charles Brown, and the Hanrahan Brothers built it for $50,000. Its steel frame is clad in white glazed terra cotta on the front, with Roman arches, engaged columns, pilasters and a bold metal cornice in the Beaux-Arts manner. Inside, the stair entrance keeps its mosaic floor, marble wainscot and coffered ceiling. The building was listed for its architecture, which reflects the City Beautiful movement and the boom that General Electric brought to the city. Its terra-cotta detail is unusually intricate for the region. Shops have occupied the lower floors since construction, while the upper floors served as a hotel and were converted to apartments in 1985.","period_of_significance":"1907","architect_builder":"Penn Varney, architect; Hanrahan Brothers, builders","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Retail space on the first two floors and apartments on the upper floors, converted from hotel rooms in 1985; the building remains substantially as built apart from c. 1920s storefront changes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:46.217335-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/91000664.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000664/ff9e4d0ef9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000664/ff9e4d0ef9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foster_Building,_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:Foster_Building,_Schenectady,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321673","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5473643"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/schenectady-county/foster-building-91000664/"}