Marcus T. Reynolds

Marcus Tullius Reynolds (August 20, 1869 – March 18, 1937) was an American architect from the Albany, New York area. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was raised by his aunt in Albany after the death of his mother. He attended Williams College and Columbia University and began his life as an architect in 1893. He is well known for his bank designs and specifically his design of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building in downtown Albany. Many of his buildings still stand today; some are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was the brother of the Albany historian and author Cuyler Reynolds.

Early years Reynolds was born on August 20, 1869 to Dexter and Catherine Reynolds (née Cuyler) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. When Catherine Reynolds died in 1875, Dexter placed Marcus and his brother Cuyler under the care of Dexter's sister Laura, widow of Bayard Van Rensselaer, moving them to 98 Columbia Street in Albany, New York. The Reynolds' family connection to the Van Rensselaer family allowed the boys to grow up surrounded by "wealthy, socially, and politically connected Dutch and New England heritage".

As a boy, Reynolds attended Miss Gaylord's Boarding School in Catskill, New York. He later attended The Albany Academy in Albany and graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire in 1886. Reynolds decided to pursue architecture and enrolled in the architectural program at Columbia University's School of Mines Housing of the Poor in American Cities, won him a prize from the American Economic Society and earned him an honorary Master of Arts degree from Williams College. It is still cited in scholarly work to this day.

Professional years Rather than remain in New York City like many of classmates, Reynolds returned to Albany to begin his professional life. Indeed, Reynolds' social status and connections helped him significantly when looking for work; many of his high-class family friends became clients. Reynolds' first commissions out of college the demolition of the decrepit Van Rensselaer Mansion, which was owned by his cousins. He had much of the original building moved to Williams College where it was incorporated into the replacement Sigma Phi house. The structure was in such bad shape, much of the material was not usable in the new building. His efforts on this project supported his second published work, The Colonial Buildings of Rensselaerwyck.

The most notable of Reynolds' works is the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building (D&H Building)—now known as the SUNY System Administration Building—located on Broadway at the bottom of State Street. Bank designs are considered his specialty. Many of his designs took advantage of sites in the city. For example, the D&H Building on its own plaza on Broadway at the base of State Street; the First Trust Company Building diagonally across from D&H plaza; the replacement Albany Academy building on Academy Road; and the Hackett Middle School on Delaware Avenue. Reynolds' practice was not just limited to Albany. He designed the Gideon Putnam hotel in Saratoga Springs, and designed banks in Catskill, Hudson, Amsterdam, and New York City. Many of his buildings are listings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reynolds died on March 18, 1937 of appendicitis. He is credited by at least one historian for no less than "chang the face of downtown Albany."

Albany County Portfolio Year built Building name ImageAddressNeighborhoodExisting NRHP Comments 1893 Albany Terminal Storage Warehouse Co. Tivoli Street Yes No 1893-1895 Van Rensselaer Manor House 100px Albany, New York (original location) No No Rebuilt at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts; demolished 1973 1896–1897 Van Rensselaer Houses 385–389 State Street Downtown Albany Yes No 1898 Albany Country Club Western Avenue No No Remodeled and enlarged 1899–1900 United Traction Company Building 100px 598 Broadway North Albany/Downtown Yes Yes 1899 Curtis Douglas House 4 Elk Street Downtown Albany Façade remodeled 1899 Garrit Yates Lansing House 294 State Street Center Square Yes No Alterations only 1899 New York State Normal School Dormitory No No Proposal only; never built 1899 Superintendent's House Menands Albany Rural Cemetery Yes No Albany Rural Cemetery is listed on the National Register on its own; the house is not listed separately 1900–1901 Pruyn Free Library North Pearl Street and Clinton Avenue Arbor Hill No No 1901 Meads Building 545 Broadway Yes No 1901–1902 Albany City Savings Institution 100px 100 State Street Downtown Albany Yes No 1901–1902 Canon George Carter House 62 South Swan Street Yes No 1901–1904 Van Rensselaer Apartments Madison Avenue and Lark Street Center Square Yes No 1902 National Savings Bank 70–72 State Street Downtown Albany No No 1902–1904 Albany Trust Company 31–33 State Street Downtown Albany Yes No Also designed additions in 1908 and the 1930s 1902–1904 New York State National Bank 69 State Street Downtown Albany No No Design addition in 1916 1903–1905 Ryder Apartments 355 State Street Center Square Yes No 1904 First Trust Company Building 100px 35 State St. Downtown Yes Yes 1904 Edmund Niles Huyck House 319 State Street Center Square Yes No Designed addition in 1915 1904–1906 The Hampton 40 State Street Downtown Albany Yes No 1907–1908 Homeopathic Hospital 123 North Pearl Street No Later Memorial Hospital 1908 William Wallace House 6 Elk Street Downtown Albany Yes No Façade remodeled 1909 William J. Barnes Bungalow 16 Waverly Place No No Designed an addition in 1916; building destroyed by fire. Also known as the SUNY ALbany Chapel at one point. 1910 Hampton Plaza Café No Alterations 1910 Hook and Ladder No. 4 100px Delaware Avenue Delaware Avenue Yes Yes 1912–1918 Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company Building 100px Broadway at State Street Downtown Yes Yes 1913–1915 Albany Industrial Building 1031 Broadway North Albany Yes No 1915 Harmon Pumpelly Read House 7 Elk Street Downtown Yes No Façade remodeled 1915–1916 Municipal Gas Company Building 126 State Street Downtown Yes No 1922–1924 Public School No. 4 Madison Avenue and Ontario Street No No 1924 Albany City Savings Institution 100 State Street Downtown Yes No 1925–1927 William S. Hackett Junior High School 45 Delaware Avenue Delaware Avenue Yes No 1928–1931 The Albany Academy 100px Academy Road Yes No 1930 The Albany Academy(Joseph Henry Memorial) 100px Academy Park Downtown Yes Yes Oversaw the conversion of the original Albany Academy into district offices for the City School District of Albany.

Greene County Portfolio Year built Building name ImageAddressNeighborhoodExisting NRHP Comments 1909 Catskill Savings Bank 341 Main Street Catskill Yes Yes

Saratoga County Portfolio 194x194px 7 North Main Street, Mechanicville, NY 12118 Mechanicville Yes No Building is now used for a private school.

Published works