Information
Landmark: State Street Historic DistrictCity: Albany
Country: USA New York
Continent: North America
State Street Historic District, Albany, USA New York, North America
Overview
This is a closer look at State Street in Albany, New York-one of the city’s oldest and most storied roads-stretching east to west through downtown, past brick facades and landmarks that speak to its rich history.Since the 17th century, back when the city was just a Dutch settlement, it’s pulsed as a commercial, cultural, and civic artery-like a street where merchants once called out over crates of spice.Back in 1614, the Dutch set up Fort Orange where Albany now stands, its wooden walls rising along the Hudson’s edge.Early on, State Street grew into a busy route that linked the river’s edge to the neighborhoods farther inland.Over the centuries, State Street filled with grand brick storefronts, quiet churches, busy government offices, and homes whose windows caught the afternoon sun.The street shows its history in layers, from colonial stonework to the brick and ironwork of the 19th and early 20th centuries.State Street 1 is home to several key historic districts and buildings, their brick facades glowing warm in the late afternoon sun.The Downtown Albany Historic District holds much of the city’s original colonial and early American heart, where brick facades and worn cobblestones still line the streets.State Street is lined with 19th- and early 20th-century shops and offices, their façades dressed in Italianate flourishes, Renaissance Revival arches, and the grand stonework of Beaux-Arts design.St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 107 State Street stands as a striking Gothic Revival landmark, finished in 1860 and crafted by Richard Upjohn with his son, its dark stone spire rising sharply against the sky.At 35 State Street, the Albany Trust Company Building rises in graceful Renaissance Revival style, a Marcus T. design with carved stone arches catching the afternoon light.In 1904, Reynolds stood as a clear sign of Albany’s rising prosperity, its brass lettering catching the afternoon sun.The Old Post Office, standing at the corner of State and Broadway, was built between 1879 and 1883 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, its stone façade still one of Albany’s grand federal landmarks.Number two.Perched along the northern edge of Washington Park, the Historic District showcases State Street homes built in the late 1800s, their brick facades still catching the afternoon sun.Developers turned the area into an upscale neighborhood, drawing Albany’s rising upper‑middle class and professionals with tree‑lined streets and stately homes.You’ll find brick and brownstone townhouses touched with Romanesque arches and the ornate curves of Queen Anne design.Architects like Henry Hobson Richardson and Stanford White left their mark, from massive stone arches to intricate carved details.You can’t miss the First Presbyterian Church at State and Willett Streets, its design crafted by J. Designed by Cleaveland Cady in 1882, the building boasts Tiffany stained-glass windows that catch the light in a warm, jeweled glow.At 465 State Street, the Benjamin Walworth Arnold House-designed by Stanford White-shows off the kind of graceful residential architecture that turns heads, from its tall arched windows to the carved stone trim.Three.The Center Square–Hudson Park Historic District includes stately late-19th-century homes along State Street, their brick facades and ornate trim showing off the era’s craftsmanship.Marcus T. designed the buildings at 385–389 State Street, their brick facades catching the late-afternoon sun.Around 1896–1897, Reynolds displayed fine craftsmanship, with designs in styles like Renaissance Revival, their carved wood gleaming in the light.The Italianate style stands out with bracketed cornices, tall, narrow windows, and ornate crowns that catch the light like polished brass.Renaissance Revival showcases perfect symmetry, graceful classical columns, and intricate detailing that catches the light.Gothic Revival features pointed arches, steep roofs that seem to slice the sky, and delicate tracery, most often found in old stone churches.Queen Anne and Romanesque styles bring a mix of steep rooflines, off-balance shapes, rough stone under your fingertips, and solid masonry that anchors homes to the street.Significance Street shows how Albany grew from a colonial trading post into a lively 19th‑century hub of commerce and civic life, where shop windows gleamed and streetcars rattled past.Shops, temples, and old brick houses line the street, their mix of styles showing how tastes shifted and prosperity grew over the centuries.It’s still a vital thread in Albany’s story, lined with striking old facades that hold onto the city’s history and keep its place at the heart of urban life.
