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New York Court of Appeals Building

Year
1842
Style
Greek Revival
City
Albany, NY
New York Court of Appeals Building
Photo: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0
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The New York Court of Appeals Building, officially Court of Appeals Hall, stands at the corner of Eagle and Pine streets and was built in 1842 to a design by Henry Rector in stone Greek Revival. It originally housed not the Court of Appeals itself, which sat in the state capitol, but the court's clerks and several other executive branch officials, under the name State Hall. Four years after its completion, a new state constitution merged two separate court hierarchies into one, making the Court of Appeals the state's highest court.

the building

Early fireproofing in stone. Rector's design incorporates all three classical orders within the building's rotunda and uses stone arches to support the ceilings, an early attempt at fireproof construction for a state office building.

the style

The building is a stone Greek Revival design, one of only two extant buildings known to have been designed by its architect, Henry Rector.

More on Greek Revival

the architect

Henry Rector designed the building; it is one of only two buildings still standing that are known to be his work, though other architects were also involved in the project.

significance

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, one of seven buildings nationwide recognized for housing a state's highest court. It was included as a contributing property to the Lafayette Park Historic District when that district was listed on the Register seven years later.

nearby

All 23 buildings in Albany