The building and the land it sits on, which is located at the foot of
State Street along
Broadway, have a varied history. The oldest part of the city, it was here that several of Albany's earliest city halls sat, along with the
New York State Legislature in the 18th century. The
Albany Plan of Union in 1754, presided over by
Ben Franklin, was held here. The city of Albany purchased and consolidated the land ownership that allowed the D&H to build the building and the city to have a park in front surrounded by a street that acted as a loop for the trolleys running on State Street. Public access was allowed to the Hudson River through the central tower and by way of a tunnel to the other side of the D&H tracks. The design by
Marcus T. Reynolds was based on the Nieuwerk annex of the
Cloth Hall in
Ypres, Belgium. The idea of opening up the view of the waterfront to the public was considered unfeasible and undesirable at the time, as the river was full of commercial docks, wharves, warehouses, and railroads. A plan initiated by the Albany Chamber of Commerce – later published under the title
Studies for Albany – decided upon a public park as a plaza surrounded by buildings that would screen the locomotive smoke, obnoxious odors and sights of the working waterfront from the vista of State Street. The building was the corporate headquarters for the
D&H Railroad. It was constructed in sections between 1914 and 1918. The central section, including the five-story block at the north end and the thirteen-story tower, connected by the long five-story diagonal wing, was built and occupied in 1914-15. Another five-story wing south of the central tower was constructed in 1915-1918; in 1916-1918 another separate but architecturally compatible and physically connected building was constructed to be the headquarters of the
Albany Evening Journal newspaper. Another section, a warehouse at the north end, was later demolished. After the D&H and
Evening Journal both abandoned the building it sat dormant until November 1972, when the State University of New York (SUNY) announced it would purchase the building as its first permanent home, having occupied
One Commerce Plaza as a temporary headquarters since March of that year. SUNY purchased the building in 1973 and interior renovation and construction began that year; they relocated there in 1978. That same year SUNY Chancellor
Clifton R. Wharton Jr. decided that the southern tower would house the chancellor's apartment. The total renovation of the Plaza cost $15 million. In 1977 the neighboring
Federal Building was purchased and connected to the main building, becoming part of SUNY Plaza. William Hall Associates won the top
Owens Corning Energy Conservation Award in the government category for their work in the renovation. The building's
facade was restored from 1996 to 2001; it was covered in
scaffolding during the five years of the restoration. On February 14, 2020, the building was renamed the H. Carl McCall SUNY Building in honor of
Carl McCall, a former chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees. ==Architecture==