Poughkeepsie Trust Company
Encyclopedia
The Poughkeepsie
Trust Company building is located on Main Street in that city in the U.S. state
of New York
. It is immediately to the east of, and joined to, the Dutchess County Court House
.
Local architect Percival Lloyd designed the building, the bank's second on that site, as the Hudson Valley
's first modern skyscraper
at six stories in height. It cost $100,000 to build and included an ornately
-carved stone facade
. Brick, steel and stone were used in the interior framing. Inside, the ground floor was the site of a Mycanaean marble
banking room, with intact mahogany
furniture, brass
fittings and bronze
lighting. A special "ladies' corridor" was built near the women's restroom so that women could go to and back from it without having to use the main corridor. The upper floors were reached by means of an elevator
, then another pioneering piece of technology.
The three-bay
Beaux Arts facade begins at the top with masks on the cornice
and molded egg-and-dart
rear modillion blocks. It gives way to a leafy swag motif above the molded frieze
. Similar patterns continue down the stories, joined by quoin
ed pilaster
s. The ground level is totally quoined and projects, with an intricate wrought-iron gate on the main door and decorative Doric
column
s. On the sides, a red-and-yellow brick diamond pattern runs from front to rear at the fifth story.
It opened in 1906. The New York City Water Supply Commission, then looking in the region for future supplies for the growing city, was an early tenant. It rented the entire fifth floor and half the fourth, ultimately planning and supervising the land acquisition and construction for what became the Catskill Aqueduct
from the bank building.
The bank would eventually leave the building and become part of the Bank of New York. The county
took it over, joining it to the adjacent courthouse, built a few years earlier. In 1982 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
, one of three downtown bank buildings in the city eventually listed. Today it is headquarters to the district attorney
's office.
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
Trust Company building is located on Main Street in that city in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It is immediately to the east of, and joined to, the Dutchess County Court House
Dutchess County Court House
The Dutchess County Courthouse is located at 10 Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It is the third county courthouse to stand on that site....
.
Local architect Percival Lloyd designed the building, the bank's second on that site, as the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
's first modern skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
at six stories in height. It cost $100,000 to build and included an ornately
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
-carved stone facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
. Brick, steel and stone were used in the interior framing. Inside, the ground floor was the site of a Mycanaean marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
banking room, with intact mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
furniture, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
fittings and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
lighting. A special "ladies' corridor" was built near the women's restroom so that women could go to and back from it without having to use the main corridor. The upper floors were reached by means of an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
, then another pioneering piece of technology.
The three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
Beaux Arts facade begins at the top with masks on the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and molded egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is...
rear modillion blocks. It gives way to a leafy swag motif above the molded frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. Similar patterns continue down the stories, joined by quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
ed pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s. The ground level is totally quoined and projects, with an intricate wrought-iron gate on the main door and decorative Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s. On the sides, a red-and-yellow brick diamond pattern runs from front to rear at the fifth story.
It opened in 1906. The New York City Water Supply Commission, then looking in the region for future supplies for the growing city, was an early tenant. It rented the entire fifth floor and half the fourth, ultimately planning and supervising the land acquisition and construction for what became the Catskill Aqueduct
Catskill Aqueduct
The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system.-History:Construction commenced in 1907...
from the bank building.
The bank would eventually leave the building and become part of the Bank of New York. The county
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
took it over, joining it to the adjacent courthouse, built a few years earlier. In 1982 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, one of three downtown bank buildings in the city eventually listed. Today it is headquarters to the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office.