Hotel Van Curler (Elston Hall)

Construction of the Georgian Revival Hotel Van Curler begain during the heart of the "Roaring '20s," in 1925, at the height of Schenectady's most prosperous and optimistic period. The hotel emerged as the first of five significant Neoclassical public buildings erected in Schenectady between 1925-1933. Two of the city's most prolific companies, the American Locomotive Company and the General Electric Company, financed much of the building's cost along with the Chamber of Commerce and more than 1,000 citizens. The hotel served as a hotbed for events and hosted numerous prominent figures -- celebrities and dignitaries. Today, it is known as Elston Hall, part of the SUNY Schenectady campus (and still used by the community). The college has preserved its historic facade and the illustrious lobby, Mohawk Reception Room, and Van Curler Ballroom. As a result, the structure survives as a source of civic pride and a reminder of when Schenectady had enjoyed thirty years of robust growth and existed as New York State's fastest growing city. 

The original hotel name speaks to the city's history that pre-dates the Erie Canal and the Industrial Revolution. The name comes from Arendt Van Curler, who founded Schenectady on land he purchased from the Mohawks in 1662 (a period where the English and the Mohawks mainly enjoyed a peaceful relationship that lasted through the 1750s). In fact, the city name is taken from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines."

By the nineteenth century, Schenectady benefited from the Erie Canal opening in 1825, evolving into a city of industry and trade. The American Locomotive Company opened in 1850 and Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works to the city in 1886 (which became the highly successful Edison General Electric headquarters 1889). Those anchor companies employed a multitude of residents and drew to the city many migrants and immigrants. From 1890 to 1925, Schenectady's population grew from 19,000 to roughly 90,000, making it the state's fastest growing city during that time. Indeed, the hotel emerged during a construction boom that saw several downtown buildings appear; optimism prevailed. Both American Locomotive and General Electric invested heavily in the hotel, which functioned more than just as a place of lodging, but as a demonstration of civic pride. 

H.L Stevens & Co (of New York and Chicago), who specialized in hotels of less than 500 rooms, designed the 208-room Hotel Van Curler. The design provided for access to meeting halls and dining rooms without crossing the lobby, thus separating community uses from areas that catered to hotel guests and travelers. The social use of the hotel, separate from its function as a place for lodging, proved to be one of its biggest draws. The hotel hosted conventions, meetings, gala functions, weddings, and more. Countless musicians, politicians, celebrities, and dignitaries visited the hotel, including Governor and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles A. Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, John Philip Sousa, Jack Dempsey, Gene Autry, Robert Kennedy. On April 28, 1954, eventual U.S. President Ronald Reagan, then a media spokesman for the General Electric Company, was presented a certificate naming him a Schenectady Patroon by Major Archibald Wemple.

However, the Great Depression ultimately halted the city's growth. The population peaked at 96,000 right before the Great Depression, remained somewhat level through the 1950s before slowly declining. The 1930s came with escalating unemployment, and by the 1940s and '50s, people began moving to the suburbs. Furthermore, the post-war automobile and highway-building boom ushered in the era of motels. General Electric decentralized after World War II, leaving Schenectady without its principal economic driver. The hotel also showed its age by the 1950s, lacking features such as air conditioning or private bathrooms in each room. A 1954 renovation sought to remedy the issues, but by 1968 the hotel went bankrupt; Schenectady County subsequently bought the hotel buildings at public auction for $710,000. 

The Country renovated the hotel shortly after purchasing it, making it suitable for SUNY Community College (a network of community colleges throughout New York). The school moved into the building and renamed it Elston Hall, honoring Charles Elston, a longtime chairman of the county's Board of Representatives. In 2018, The Schenectady County Legislature and SUNY Schenectady announced they would collaborate on a project to restore and preserve the facade of Elston Hall. 

Thus, the Hotel Van Curler and Elston Hall serve as a symbol of three distinct periods of Schenectady history. Its current Mohawk Room and the original name -- an homage to Van Curler, speak to the city's emergence as a British (and Dutch) colonial town existing amidst the Mohawk Nation. The hotel opened during the nineteenth century, which coincided with the city's most significant industrial, population, economic, and construction boom. Since becoming part of SUNY college as Elston Hall, the building has come to symbolize the city's adaption to becoming a small city as part of the metro area that also includes the state capital: Albany, New York. 

Baker Public Relations. "Historic Façade at SUNY Schenectady’s Elston Hall to be Preserved, Schenectady County and State to Fund Restoration Effort." SUNY Schenectady. August 9, 2018. http://www.bakerpublicrelations.com/historic-facade-suny-schenectadys-elston-hall-preserved-schenectady-county-state-fund-restoration-effort/.

Breyer, Lucy. "Nomination Form: Hotel Van Curler." National Register of Historic Places. archives.gov. September 12, 1985. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321681.

Hinderaker, Eric. The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010.

"Schenectady, New York Industrial History: The General Electric Company." Schenectady Digital History Archive. schenectadyhistory.org. Accessed November 2, 2020. http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/ge/