National State Bank Building
Why it's listed
Rising five stories at 297 River Street in Troy, this commercial building was constructed in 1904 for the National State Bank. It occupies a major intersection of the city's business district and anchors the westerly view down Fulton Street. The Troy architectural firm M.F. Cummings & Son designed it in the then-popular Beaux Arts style. Its front facade is three bays wide and the north side is nine bays wide. The first story is rusticated stone, while the upper floors are brick with stone and terra cotta trim and carved stone panels beneath the third- and fourth-floor windows. A metal frame and an elevator give it the character of early skyscraper construction, and its facade is divided into base, shaft and capital. Its windows resemble those of the Ilium Building on Fulton Street, also by the Cummings firm. It was built during a downtown building boom that also produced the Ilium, Boardman and Frear Buildings. Apart from the ground-floor storefronts, it remains little altered.
Significance in brief: It is a landmark at the major intersection of Troy's business district and the focal point of the westerly view down Fulton Street. Little altered, it was built during the early twentieth-century downtown building boom. Its Beaux Arts design and early skyscraper features, including a metal frame, elevator and base-shaft-capital facade, are noted.
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 70000431, listed December 29, 1970. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 297 River St., Troy |
|---|---|
| County | Rensselaer County |
| Listed | December 29, 1970 |
| Reference number | 70000431 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1904 |
| Architect / builder | M.F. Cummings & Son |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good; unaltered except for first-floor storefronts. Occupied and in commercial use. |
| Acreage | 10 |
| Within district | Central Troy Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 42.73252, -73.69044 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 70000431.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6978680
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.