New Hampshire Legislative Office Building - Concord NH - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

County of bulding: 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 xtfindow 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 tx-7o 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