Downtown can be a wonderful place.
L. E. Gurley Co. Building was built in 1862, seven months after the great fire that destroyed much of Troy. William Gurley, Class of 1839 and a Rensselaer trustee, founded the company as a manufacturer of precision surveying equipment. Slits in the walls used to test instruments in the early days provide glimpses of the Rensselaer campus up the hill. Gurley Precision Instruments now occupies only the first floor of its namesake building. Its National Register of Historic Places designation makes the upper three floors difficult to rent, as the structure and appearance must be preserved.