Rice Building
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For the building in Houston, Texas see Rice Lofts
The Rice Building, originally known as the Hall Building for Benjamin Homer Hall who built it, is a triangular historic high Victorian Gothic structure with Moorish architecture window arches in Troy, New York.[1] Built in 1871 for attorney, author, and poet Benjamin Homer Hall who served as City Clerk of Troy. It is located at 216 River Street on the corner with First Street and was attributed to the firm of Vaux and Withers, the partnership between Calvert Vaux and Frederick Clarke Withers[2][3] after the death in a steamboat accident of Andrew Jackson Downing. More recent scholarship by a professor suggests George B. Post was the building's architect.[4] It is part of the Central Troy Historic District.
Originally 6 stories with 3 towers on the roof, a fire damaged the top floor and it was removed along with the towers. In more recent decades, the building eventually fell into disrepair after it was foreclosed on in the 1980s before an effort to save it was launched and it was restored in the 1990s. A nonprofit entity called Rice Building Incorporated was created to turn it into a business incubator center. With support from State Senator Joseph Bruno, New York State provided $2 million for the project. The architecture firm Lepera & Ward headed the project.[3] Ganem Contracting was also involved in the project and photograohed the work and many architectural details.[5] The origins he Rice Building name are not known.[6]
Benjamin Homer Hall
The building was originally known as the Hall Building for attorney and poet Benjamin Homer Hall[1][3] who had it built. Hall was educated at Harvard University and served as City Clerk of Troy. The building may have been an inspiration for New York City's Flatiron Building. [7]
Fire
The upper floor and roof towers were damaged by a fire in 1913[3] 1916,[4] or 1920 when a fire struck River Steet,[8] depending on the source. A plan to restore the building with its original architectural features including the towers was proposed in 2015.[4]
Other info
The building was constructed on the site of Lane's Row[9] and replaced structures on that site[10] Edgar Holloway made an etching of the building in 1974.[11] The building appears in the Martin Scorcese film, based on Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, "The Age of Innocence (1993 film)" as a law office in New York City.[12] The building was sold in 2016 for $800,000 to Tai Ventures.[8] Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was involved in saving and restoring the building.[13] The building features pointed-arch polychrome voussoirs.[14]
References
- ^ a b Mandat, Laura Christine (September 1999). "Rice Building to nourish young business". Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- ^ "Vaux & Withers - Companies". EMPORIS GMBH.
- ^ a b c d "Rice Building :: Archival Image & Media Collection". Art Institute of Chicago.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Eric (31 August 2015). "New owners may restore spires edifice lost to fire". Times Union.
- ^ "Rice Building". Ganem Contracting Corporation.
- ^ Rittner, Don (2013). Troy Revisited. Arcadia Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 9780738599342.
- ^ "Home - Tai Ventures". Tai Ventures, LLC.
- ^ a b Robarge, Mark (January 9, 2017). "Nonprofits to share in proceeds of Rice Building sale". Troy Record.
- ^ Rittner, Don (October 1998). Troy - Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 9780738557557.
- ^ "NEB&W Guide to Troy, NY Not Modeled - Rice Building - NEB&W Railroad Heritage Website".
- ^ "Rice Building, Troy, NY (etching)". New York Heritage.
- ^ "Filming In Troy – Troy, NY". City of Troy.
- ^ content://media/external/file/348569
- ^ Franco, Jim (October 11, 2014). "T-Spin: Rice Building to change hands".
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