W. & L. E. Gurley Building

The W. & L. E. Gurley Building is a manufacturing facility in Troy built with red brick and a U-shaped layout, featuring cast-iron columns and semicircular brick arches at its entryways. The interior now hosts research laboratories and educational spaces operated by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Built in 1862 after the Great Troy Fire, the building served as a center for making precision measuring instruments and military parts during the Civil War. Its construction marked the city's recovery and rise as a leader in precision manufacturing.

The building embodies the spirit of American craftsmanship and technical expertise that built the nation's industrial reputation. Walking through, you sense how local manufacturing traditions shaped tools and instruments that served surveyors and engineers worldwide.

The building sits on Fulton Street between 5th and Union Streets and houses research centers and laboratories that can be visited with prior arrangements. The surrounding streets provide straightforward access, and parking is readily available in the area.

The first all-aluminum surveying transit for the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition was produced here and set new standards for measurement instrument manufacturing. This innovation helped the company gain recognition for creating dependable tools used by engineers worldwide.

Location: New York

GPS coordinates: 42.73237,-73.68831

Latest update: December 12, 2025 14:25