Schenectady City Hall, Neoclassical municipal building in Schenectady, US
Schenectady City Hall is a neoclassical municipal building topped by a square clock tower with a gold-leaf dome that rises prominently above the street. An Ionic portico frames the entrance, and a semicircular wing shelters a rotunda at its center.
The building was designed by the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White in 1931. Its completion came during the Great Depression, when economic hardship shaped the region's development.
Brass doorknobs bearing the city seal, marble floors, and intricate plaster cornices shape the interior spaces that visitors encounter. These details reflect the building's roots in the Colonial architectural tradition.
The building sits at the intersection of Clinton, Franklin, Jay, and Liberty streets, making it accessible from multiple sides. Its original interior layout from 1933 remains intact, giving visitors a sense of the spaces as they were when first completed.
Local residents mockingly called the building 'Fagal's Folly' after Mayor Henry C. Fagal because of its hefty construction costs during the Depression. This nickname reveals how the community viewed the ambitious project amid economic struggle.
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