Lawton, George H., House
Also known as: Component No. 14
Why it's listed
Built between 1851 and 1854, this one-and-one-half story cottage at 27 Maxwell Road in Colonie is a local example of the picturesque Gothic Revival. Its walls are board and batten, its windows are paired with bracketed sills and lintels, its rafters are exposed at the eaves, and a simple one-story porch runs along the front of the ell. A small shed-roofed addition was later placed at the rear. The house is considered important as pattern book architecture of the kind popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing, whose books from 1841 promoted modest, asymmetrical cottages as ideal homes for the growing middle class. It reflects a move away from the conventional five-bay central hall plan and the side-hall plan. It is the only picturesque Gothic cottage in the town's multiple resource area. George H. Lawton, an Albany grocer and merchant, probably used it as a country residence. Modern suburban houses now surround it, and its parcel of under one acre is the remaining intact historic property associated with it.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as a distinctive example of Andrew Jackson Downing-inspired pattern book architecture and of the shift from five-bay and side-hall plans to the cottage form. It is described as the only picturesque Gothic Cottage in the Colonie Multiple Resource Area. It keeps features such as board and batten siding, paired windows with bracketed sills and lintels, exposed rafter ends and a verandah.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85002741, listed October 3, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 27 Maxwell Rd., Colonie |
|---|---|
| County | Albany County |
| Listed | October 3, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002741 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Picturesque Gothic Revival cottage |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a residence, as originally; condition rated fair, with no known threats. A small one-story shed-roofed addition was built at the rear of the ell. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.72443, -73.75620 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85002741.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5540048
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.