108 Union St Schenectady

 Old Schenectady County Court House

The land for the Old Courthouse was acquired by the Supervisors of the County of Schenectady in 1833 as the site of a new court house and jail.  Schenectady County was created out of Albany County in 1809, and county offices and court was held in several facilities in the City of Schenectady between 1809 and 1833.  The new courthouse was the first home for county government that was built for that purpose and served for eighty years until a new courthouse and jail were built in 1913 on State Street Hill opposite Crescent Park.  The Old Courthouse later served as headquarters of the City’s Department of Education and still later for commercial offices (the Lawrence Van Voast Insurance Agency).

The two-story temple front building was constructed of wood in the Greek Revival style.  The Doric columns of the portico sit on a dressed Onondaga limestone base, with blue-stone stair treads.  The cornice and attic pediment are detailed with triglyphs and metopae characteristic of the Greek Revival style architecture, and are similar to cornice and pediment details that can be found at Schenectady’s other large Greek Revival style place of assembly, the former First Methodist Episcopal Church building at 418 Liberty Street that was constructed in 1836.  The exterior walls of the Old Courthouse are painted brick with wood windows and doors.  The courthouse retains the original transom and sidelights at the front entrance although the doors are a later replacement.  At the interior, a graceful stair with curved corners and walnut handrail and balusters ascends in an uninterrupted flow from the first to third floors.  The space of the original courtroom at the second floor remains, although the ceiling has been lowered and a row of small offices constructed along the east and west perimeter walls remain from the office use periods.  The roof is supported by a pair of heavy timber wood trusses that provide the clear span to carry the courtroom ceiling.