It's a Beauty: City Hall in Schenectady, New York

Originally the Edison Machine Works, General Electric was a powerful economic engine, bringing many to the city.  Businesses grew to support the growing population.  By the 1920s, Schenectady needed a new City Hall.

A nationwide contest was held to select the building style for this new municipal building. The architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White won the contest.

Schenectady's City Hall was

built during The Depression

 & completed in 1933.

It was referred to as Mayor

Fagel's Folly because of

its cost - 1 million dollars.

Schenectady's City Hall's architectural commission chose well with this neo-Federal architectural style is a reminder of the the city's colonial past. Many public buildings of this era are Art Deco in design.  City Hall in Buffalo, New York is a classically Art Deco.

City government is housed here and just the place to go for services.  Eric and I applied for our and received marriage license here a few weeks before we married on August 26, 1978.

It was busy then, and it's busy now.  I waited patiently to take pictures while people walked to department offices to conduct business.

The base of the ground floor
staircase.

Stars are common ornamental
focal points in government
buildings.

City Hall's ground floor

stairways are symmetrical.

Marble is used extensively throughout City Hall.  The interior lines are graceful.

Two stairways meet at 

the landing. 

One set of stairs leads

to...

... a second set of symmetrical

stairways.

Looking up, visitors see 

City Hall's rotunda.

Schenectady City Hall was added to the National Registry of Historic Places October 11, 1978. The building represents Schenectady's historic past and fits in well with the architecture of other buildings in the area.

This building is a beauty!