Albany: State Capitol Building

Last week I was adventuring in Albany for the New York State Historic Preservation Conference; Albany and Troy were host cities for the conference’s events. If you’ve never been to either of those cities I highly suggest going. There are a lot of cool cultural and historical sites. Plus, many local shops and eateries to check out!

While at the Conference, I saw and learned a lot of cool things related to architecture, preservation, and the Capitol Region. This week and next, I’m going to focus on some of the places I saw and visited starting with the State Capitol Building.

I’ve been to the Capitol Building one other time, which was in 6^th grade for a class trip. I really don’t remember a lot about seeing the Capitol Building and the photos I took then, were with a disposable camera! This time around, I had a much better camera, an amazing tour guide, and was surrounded by a bunch of building geeks, which was exciting!

So first off, let’s history about the State Capitol Building because that’s what we’re here for! The planning for the building began in 1866 and wasn’t declared complete until 1899 by Governor Theodore Roosevelt. And by “declared complete” it really meant that the building was costing too much and needed to end. On the tour there was one room we visited where the incomplete parts were pointed out by the tour guide. So you’re wondering now, how MUCH did the New York State Capitol Building cost? It cost $25 million dollars! That makes our New York Capitol Building more expensive than the US Capitol Building. Let’s all thank Henry Hobson Richardson, one of the architects for this. He designed the “Million Dollar Staircase.” Hopefully that gives you an idea of how Richardson helped push the costs of the building way, way up. Anyways, that price tag is impressive and I’m not sure in a good way but at the least the building looks pretty!

During the 33 years of construction, the building had five different architects that all brought unique thoughts and details to the building. Those architects include: Thomas Fuller, Leopold Eidlitz, Henry Hobson Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted (he was a landscape architect), and finally Isaac G. Perry. Perry finished the building after Richardson and Eidlitz were dismissed because of the costs of the building.

Most recently, the complex has went through major restoration work from 2000 to 2013. Things that were completed during the restoration included the skylight and lay light over the Great Western Staircase and Assembly Staircase, conservation cleaning of the staircase masonry, and ornamental and light fixtures. There’s a link at the bottom of this post for more information on the restoration work. The building also had work done so that it would meet ADA requirements. ADA the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it is a law requiring buildings to be accessible for people with disabilities and equal opportunities for those with disabilities.

The tour guide was named Jack and he was a former Assemblyman for the Albany area. I’m not sure if he’s a normal tour guide or was asked to do the tour for the Preservation Conference. Either way, he was very knowledgeable about the history of the building and what had occurred during the restoration. He had a very interesting point to make about touring the property, to paraphrase Jack, he said that as residents of NY State, we own the building and we have a right to see everything in the building because we pay for it.

So let’s look at the photographs I took of the building to give you an idea of how awesome it is and hopefully it makes you want to visit the New York State Capitol.

A view of the exterior of the Capitol Building. The building is considered to be “French Revival” but it was suppose to be more “Italian Revival” but Richardson had other plans and basically said no one would know the difference!

The following “galleries” of photos are related to different sections of the Capitol building. There are descriptions for each photo giving a little back ground of what you’re looking at.

View of the skylight and walls of the Assembly Staircase. Designed by Leopold Eidlitz and has had major restoration work done.

A view of the gallery in the Assembly Chamber. This was also designed by Leopold Eidlitz and the room has an overall “Moorish Gothic” style to it.

View of the ceiling and stained glass windows in the Assembly Chamber. The ceiling originally was vaulted ceiling, meaning it was really tall. But there were structural issues and the ceiling had to been replaced.

View of the Great Western Staircase a.k.a the “Million Dollar Staircase.”

A close-up of a carving in the stone of the staircase. The entire staircase is covered in elaborate carvings included historical figures for both NY and US history.

Another view of the “Million Dollar Staircase.” It took 14 years to complete and used sandstone from Scotland.

Another close-up of a carving. Tehre were over 500 stone cutters and carvers employed in the 14 years that the staircase was constructed.

This is the Senate Staircase. Also designed by Leopold Eidlitz and has Moorish Gothic features like the arches and the carved motifs in the Scottish sandstone.

That’s the tour guide, Jack pointing out incomplete portions of the Senate Chamber. This room also was designed by Richardson and the walls are covered in 23 carat gold leaf.

A close-up of the archways in the Senate Galleries. It’s hard to see but at the base of the arches, there is some carved bits that look like foliage. The arches were suppose to be entirely carved like this but that was going to cost too much. So Richardson had to choose between the Great Staircase or this room. He went with the staircase!

This is the Upper Senate Corridor. So you would walk out of the Senate Gallery into this area.

A close-up of the carvings about the entrance to the Library within the Capitol Building.

This is one of the elevators you can use in the building.

This is the centerpiece of the War Room Murals located on the 2nd Floor. They were painted in the 1920’s by William de Leftrich Dodge. His daughter, Sarah, was used as the model for the “Goddess of Harmony” or “Spirit of New York,” which is what is shown here. The tour guide called her “Liberty.”

Free tours are offered Monday through Friday at 10:00 am, Noon, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm. For more information on the tours follow this link: http://ogs.ny.gov/plaza/CT/Tours/Capitol.asp.

For more information on the architecture, more photos, and more history on the NY State Capitol Building check out these links:

http://assembly.state.ny.us/Tour/?sec=intro

http://www.hallofgovernors.ny.gov/

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMGHQH_The_State_of_New_York_NY_Capitol_Building_ceiling_Albany_NY

http://ogs.ny.gov/plaza/CT/Tours/Docs/RestoringaLandmark.pdf

Be on the lookout for my upcoming posts about places and history in Albany and Troy.

 

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