Troy Building

Introduction

Located on the north side of the '86 field between Russel Sage Laboratory and the Ricketts Building, this five story building contains many of RPIs administrative offices, including the office of the president.

History

The Troy Building was originally built in 1925 using funds raised by the citizens of Troy to commemorate RPIs centennial in 1924. The five story brick and limestone building was designed by RPI alumni Frederick Marcus Cummings, Class of 1886. The building housed the civil engineering department from 1925 to 1977.

In February 1974, plans for a new engineering center were revealed to the public. Two options were identified: a completely new center in another location, or renovating Sage and Ricketts, which would include demolishing the Troy Building to connect the two buildings. The renovation plan, deemed least expensive, was approved in the spring of 1974, with the Troy Building slated for demolition over the summer.

At the June 1974 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the options were reviewed again, and the Board decided in favor of a new engineering center and the renovating of Sage, Troy, and Ricketts, with the plan to move activities from West Hall, Pittsburgh and Carnegie into the newly renovated buildings.

Modern Day

In August 1995, Kenneth and Thelma Lally, donated 15 million dollars to the school, 4.5 million of which intended to enable the relocation of the School of Management and Technology from its current location in the Lally Management Center to larger quarters in the Pittsburgh Building. This relocation would displace several administrative offices from the Pittsburg building, some of which permanently moved to the Troy Building. As part of the relocation project, the Troy Building underwent extensive interior renovations, totaling $6.7 million, to update classroom and office space in 1997. The renovation included the addition of three classrooms designed for collaborative, computer-assisted learning. A tower added to accommodate an elevator, second stairway and space for mechanical equipment. After the renovations, the offices of the President, Provost and members of the cabinet were moved to this location.

References

• https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/troy-building
• https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/jonsson-engineering-center
• https://afol.speredelozzi.net/my-lego-projects/rpi-troy-building
• https://web.archive.org/web/20020924063019/https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/1997/02/17/story7.html