New Hampshire Legislative Office Building - Concord NH
Posted by: YoSam.
N 43° 12.404 W 071° 32.333
19T E 293750 N 4786901
Was once the post office, and a courthouse.
Waymark Code: WMZZW9
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 01/30/2019
Views: 2
County of building: Merrimack County
Location of building: N. State St. & Capitol Dr., across from court house, Concord
Built: 1884-89
Architect: Mifflin E. Bell
Architectural Style: Gothic Renaissance with Romanesque Detailing
2. LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING. 33 N. State Street. (1884-1889, Mifflin E. Bell,
architect, Nahum Robinson (1884-1885) and Giles Wheeler (1885-1889),
supervising architects; 1974-1975 addition, Richard Dudley of Dudley, Walsh
and Moyer, architect).
Formerly the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, this structure occupies the
block west of the State House, fronting North State Street. Consisting of
three stories, a basement and two attics it is made of rock faced ashlar
Concord granite with smooth faced trim. Designed by a Supervising .Architect
of the U.S. Treasury, the structure owes its spirit and irregular silhouette
to the combination of late Gothic and Renaissance motifs of the Chateauesque
mode and also incorporates some Romanesque Revival detailing. Uncharacteristic
of the Chateau mode is (the building's symmetry expressed in its central block
with flanking wings. On the front facade the central projecting section is
divided into three bays with two bays to each side. On the side elevations
a central section with"two bays protrudes slightly from two single bays.
The window openings of the first floor feature Tudor arch hood molds,
croisettes and bosses. Two short columns of polished granite support the three
arches of the entrance and are topped with foliate capitals. On the second
floor level the rectangular transomed openings of the central section are
grouped in sets of three; the others are single windows. Two molded belt
courses separate the first two floors while flat granite bands connect the
windows horizontally at the level of the transom bars. Beyond the modillion
cornice the steeply pitched hips of the slate roof rise between paired chimneys
and are intersected by pedimented wall dormers with finials. The ridge is
crowned with cast bronze cresting. Alterations over the years include the
removal of two front chimneys, the addition of two small scond story windows
on the front elevation and the lettering above the entrance.
The structure served as a post office until 1967 when a new Federal building
was built in Concord. Threatened with demolition the old post office was
purchased by the state to be converted to legislative offices. In 1974 the
building was remodelled and an additional wing and garage were constructed
to the west resulting in a more flexible interior layout and much needed parking.
A two story addition constructed in 1915 and 1938 which stood on the site was
removed at this time. The new structure combines the granite, arches and
bosses of the older structure with steeply sloping roofs and dormers which
relate sympathetically to the original. The plaza at the front of the building
and the extension of the central dormer also date to this period. The L.O.B.
was listed individually on the National Register in 1973." ~ NRHP Nomination Form