New York Court of Appeals Building

New York Court of Appeals Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
West (front) elevation, 2009
Location within Albany
Location	Albany, NY
Coordinates	42°39′8″N 73°45′13″W / 42.65222°N 73.75361°W / 42.65222; -73.75361
Built	1842[2]
Architect	Henry Rector
Architectural style	Greek Revival
Part of	Lafayette Park Historic District (ID78001837)
NRHP reference No.	71000520[1]
Added to NRHP	February 18, 1971

The New York Court of Appeals Building, officially referred to as Court of Appeals Hall, is located at the corner of Eagle and Pine streets in central Albany, New York, United States. It is a stone Greek Revival building built in 1842 from a design by Henry Rector. In 1971 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of seven buildings housing a state's highest court currently so recognized.^[a] Seven years later it was included as a contributing property when the Lafayette Park Historic District was listed on the Register.

When built it was known as the State Hall, housing not the court (which sat in the state capitol) but its clerks. In addition to them, it was the offices of several other officials of the state's executive branch. Four years after its completion, a new state constitution was adopted, uniting two separate court hierarchies into one with the Court of Appeals as the highest court in the state.

Rector's design incorporates all three classical orders in the building's rotunda and uses stone arches to support the ceilings in an early attempt at fireproofing. It is one of only two extant buildings known to have been designed by him. Other architects were involved in later work on the building. Henry Hobson Richardson designed the courtroom, originally located in the nearby state capitol in the 1880s and described by a visiting Lord Coleridge as "the finest ... in the world".

Lewis Pilcher oversaw a rear addition in the early 20th century when the courtroom was moved^[9] as it had outgrown its traditional space in the capitol,^[10] taking Richardson's courtroom along with it except for the ceiling. The building has been through two more renovations since. In the late 1950s it was refaced and the original foundation replaced. An early 21st-century project removed the cupola, added small wings on both sides and completely overhauled the building's internal infrastructure as well as restoring much of the original interior decoration.

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