New York State Education Building

The New York State Education Building[a] (commonly known as the State Education Building) is a state office building in Albany, New York. It houses offices of the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and was formerly home to the New York State Museum and New York State Library. Designed by Henry Hornbostel in the Beaux-Arts style and opened in 1912, the building is known for its expansive colonnade.

New York State Education Building
Facade of Beaux Arts building
New York State Education Building is located in New York
New York State Education Building
Location89 Washington Avenue
(between Hawk and Swan Streets)
Albany, New York 12234
Coordinates42°39′14″N 73°45′29″W
Built1908-11
ArchitectHenry Hornbostel
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
Part ofLafayette Park Historic District
NRHP reference No.71000521[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 18, 1971

History

The State Education Building was designed by George Carnegie Palmer and Henry Hornbostel of the New York City firm Palmer & Horbostel, and contracted and built by M. F. Dollard Construction between 1908 and 1911.[1][2] It was the "first major building constructed in the United States solely as a headquarters for the administration of education."[3]

Dr. Andrew Sloan Draper was the first Commissioner of Education of the State of New York and wanted a separate Education Building to provide more space for the growing agency. In 1906, after two years of negotiations with the New York Legislature, Draper secured a site near the New York State Capitol building. However, William Croswell Doane, the first Episcopal Bishop in Albany, was building the Cathedral of All Saints on South Swan Street, on the very block that Commissioner Draper viewed as his.

When Doane was out of Albany, Draper used his political influence to snatch up surrounding property and forever obscured the view of Doane's new building from Washington Avenue and from the skyline as seen from the Hudson River. The Education Building cost approximately $4 million. It was finished on January 1, 1911 but was not dedicated until November 1912 with the state museum and library moving into fireproof wings in the building. In March 1911 a fire in the Capitol destroyed some of the state library collection before it was moved; over 450,000 books and 270,000 manuscripts and journals were lost in this disaster.[4]

In 1959, work was finished on a ten-story addition to the northeastern side of the building along Hawk and Elk streets. The addition is called the New York State Education Building Annex.[5]

The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style.[6] It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[1]

The building housed the New York State Museum from 1912 until as late as 1976, when the museum was relocated to the Cultural Education Center (part of the Empire State Plaza). The New York State Library, also housed in the Education Building, was moved to the Cultural Education Center as well.

Architecture

The State Education Building is notable for its massive colonnade. Its NRHP application claimed that the colonnade is "one of the longest in the world."[3] According to Emporis, "The 36 Corinthian columns facing Washington Avenue form the longest colonnade in the United States."[7] The colonnade consists of "36 hollow marble columns with terra-cotta corinthian capitals and a very wide entablature."[3] The colonnade is 590 feet long and was believed to be the largest in the world at the time of its construction.[8] While at 590 feet, it may be the longest colonnade in the United States, the U.S. Treasury Department Building designed by architect Robert Mills features a length of 45 columns, but only measures 350 feet.

The building has a T-shaped layout, with the colonnade forming the top bar of the T. Its Neoclassical design reflects the renewed interest in this style that followed the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Flanking the entrance are two sculptures of seated children; these sculptures serve as lampposts. Important interior features of the building include the 94-foot-high (29 m) rotunda, with its glass-and steel-dome, and the 50-foot-high (15 m) reading room, with its large arched windows. The rotunda also contains barrel-vaulted glass skylights and a mural depicting "man's quest for education."[3]

  • Postcard, c.1900
    Postcard, c.1900
  • At night
    At night
  • Chancellors Hall
    Chancellors Hall

See also

References

Informational notes

  • a. ^ The building is referred to as the New York State Department of Education Building in its National Register of Historic Places listing,[9] however the state department is not known as the New York State Department of Education, but the New York State Education Department (NYSED).[10] NYSED refers to the building as the Education Building.[11] The actual name of the building, according to the NYSED, is the New York State Education Building.[12]

Citations

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. White, Diana S., ed. (2009). Architects in Albany. Albany, New York: Mt. Ida Press and Historic Albany Foundation. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-9625368-6-1. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Google Books.
  3. Liebs, Chester H. (July 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: New York State Department of Education Building". Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  4. "The New York State Education Building; Albany, New York". Bethlehem Central School. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  5. "New York State Department of Education Building Annex". Emporis. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  6. "Architectural Record Building Types Study: New York State Education Building". Architectural Record (the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.). Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  7. New York State Department of Education Building. Emporis. Retrieved on 2009-5-23.
  8. University of the State of New York Bulletin. University of the State of New York. 1914.
  9. Liebs (1970), p. 1
  10. "New York State Education Department Home". New York State Education Department. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  11. "Office Locations". New York State Education Department. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  12. "Celebrating 100 Years: New York State Education Building" New York State Education Department website
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