United Traction Company Building

New York, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The United Traction Company Building, a brick Renaissance Revival structure designed by local architect Marcus T. Reynolds and erected at the end of the 19th century, stands on Broadway in Albany, New York. Built as headquarters for the United Traction Company—which operated the city's trolley system—the building formed an architectural pair with the nearby Union Station, together welcoming visitors at the city's threshold. Reynolds's design complemented the classical vocabulary of its neighbor, establishing a dignified civic presence. United Traction occupied the building through the 1950s, continuing operations even after transitioning from trolleys to buses, until the company became part of the Capital District Transportation Authority. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and included as a contributing property in the Downtown Albany Historic District four years later. Today it serves other commercial purposes.