Intro: New York State Capitol

During our 50 Capitols quest, we visited the New York State Capitol in Albany and learned many interesting facts about the building and its history. For example, it took over 32 years to build, but it resulted in an amazing architectural accomplishment. In 1979, the New York State Capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark.

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New York State Capitol: 10 Interesting Facts

Of course, during this Covid-19 pandemic, you are unlikely to actually visit this capital, but be sure to put it on your list for later! Meanwhile, enjoy these fun facts and tidbits about the New York State Capitol.

• In the beginning, there was the Stadt Huys;
• Most expensive government building ever built At least in 1899, there have been a few more expensive ones by now;
• Magnificent Murals in the Governor’s reception room;
• A Resident Ghost. Is the New York State Capitol haunted?
• No dome;
• Granite and marble; Cut by whom?
• The Assembly Chamber. It seemed like a good idea at the time…
• A Million Dollar Stair case;
• Part of the Empire State Plaza with a lead role by a Dutch Queen;
• An abundance of art, including the moving Two Lines Oblique

Het Stadt Huys

As a person born in The Netherlands, I was happily surprised to find out about the “Stadt Huys”, literally the Dutch word for City Hall. At first, the New York Legislature would meet in the Albany “Stadt Huys”. It was a busy building, hosting state, county and local government, as well as a jail and courts.

In 1797, Albany became the official capital of the state. For a while, the Legislature continued to use city hall, until the first state capitol was opened in 1809. The new dedicated capitol was located atop the State Street hill, directly in front of the current capitol.

Very Expensive Government Building

Construction began in 1867. It was completed in 1899 at a total cost of US$25 million (equivalent to half a billion today). During our tour, the guide told us that it was the most expensive building ever built at that time.

While fact checking, I could not find more than the specifics of it being the most the most expensive government building of its time. Still, it shows that New York state was willing to spend tons of money on their capitol, to the dismay of some of their citizens who considered it an expensive boondoggle.

Magnificent Murals

In 1920, New York state wanted to honor its residents who had served in the military. So they commissioned a prominent NYC muralist, William deLeftwich Dodge to create a set of 25 murals to chronicle important events in New York State military history.

Dodge had previously worked on murals in the Library of Congress and in the original NYC Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The murals here chronicle the history of the struggle for domination of the area which is now known as New York.

One of the murals shows the Dutch beating up on the French, including the famous “klompen’ (wooden shoes) which the Dutch guy is wearing.

Cowering on the left, a French woman protects their rooster, while the Dutch woman on the right offers a sword to the fighting Dutchman.

A Resident Ghost

In 1911, a fire broke out in the Capitol, and rapidly spread through the building. The New York State library housed in the building was an easy target for the flames and sadly many priceless manuscripts were destroyed.

Because the fire happened during the night, around 2am, almost nobody was around and the only human casualty was Samuel J. Abbott, a Civil War veteran in his late 70s, who was the Capitol’s night watchman. After the fire, they found his body with his cane and lantern next to him close to an exit door.

Many people believe he never left the building and still haunts it to this day. Watch the New York Capitol Virtual Visit: Hauntings – Fire of 1911 and decide for yourself!

No Dome

Unlike most other state houses and capitols, the New York State capitol does not have a dome. Originally, the plans included a dome, but the building got too heavy, and started to slide downhill toward State Street… Oops! Adding a huge stair case to support the front facade stopped the movement.

Over a time span of 32 years, 4 architects worked on this building, each of them incorporating their own vision and ideals. In the end, the result is an eclectic but beautiful mishmash of Romanesque and French Renaissance Classical styles.

On a different note, apart from an absent dome, this capitol is also missing a Liberty Bell Replica which are displayed in most state capitols. Although it is on display in the nearby education building, we were not allowed to get anywhere close to it.

Find out more about State Liberty Bell Replicas.

Granite and Marble

The Capitol uses white granite from Maine, red granite from Scotland and also includes Westchester, NY marble. Interesting tidbit is that this marble was cut by state prisoners at Sing Sing. Fittingly for this building material, the name Sing Sing is from the Native American words “sinck sinck” which translates to “stone upon stone”.

The Assembly Chamber

When the American architect Leopold Eidlitz designed the New York State Assembly Chamber, he was dreaming big. A huge Moorish Gothic style room with its 56 feet high vaulted sandstone ceiling made it the widest vaulted structure at that time.

Sadly, his grandiose design didn’t work out so well. Because the stone ceiling developed structural problems, dust and pieces of stone would randomly fall down from the ceiling. When a large piece, the size of a bowling ball, landed close to an assemblyman, they decided to make some changes.

So they created a new ceiling, 4 feet underneath the original ceiling, which covered up the original ceiling murals but made the room a lot safer.

Million Dollar Stair Case

Another interesting fact about the New York State Capitol is their amazing stair case, also called the “million dollar stair case”. Of course it seems hard to imagine that a mere stair case could cost that much, but it turns out, New York managed to go all out on this project.

So why did it take so long to build this stair case? Well, it took them 14 years to construct and more than 500 stone cutters worked on it. For five dollars a day, they worked in uncomfortable positions, carving 77 prominent people into the existing stone wall. Most of these stone cutters were Europeans from England, Scotland and Italy.

As a great example of American stone carving excellence, this staircase contains 444 steps and reaches 119 feet high. The famous people honored include Washington, Lincoln, Grant, Columbus, Shakespeare and Susan B. Anthony.

In fact, it cost even more than a million dollars, but it still is known as the million dollar stair case.

Empire State Plaza

When we started planning our visit to the New York State Capitol, I discovered it is part of a much bigger complex, the Empire State Plaza. Visible from across the Hudson river, this plaza is a dominant feature of the Albany skyline.

So what is the back story of this plaza? In 1959, when Nelson Rockefeller was Governor, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited to celebrate the area’s Dutch history. Back then, the State Capitol was surrounded by the so-called “The Gut” of Albany. Rundown buildings, rampant poverty, Italian and Irish immigrants…

As the story goes, while Rockefeller drove Queen Beatrix through the rundown city neighborhood, he imagined what she might be thinking “Here was a great Dutch city built in the New World and then she comes to look at it, never having seen it before. My God!”

As a result, Rockefeller consulted with the architect Wallace Harrison and during an airplane ride from Albany to New York City, he sketched some ideas which Harrison then revised. The result was the South Mall on 98.5 acres, “the most spectacularly beautiful seat of government in the world” according to Rockefeller.

Indeed, it is big, beautiful and impressive. Since we are living during Covid-19 pandemic, go visit the Empire State Plaza virtually!

In 1982, when Queen Beatrix returned to Albany, she praised its transformation “After so many years, it is exciting to see what tremendous changes have taken place here, in the state capital of New York. Many impressive buildings have sprung up since then, such as the monumental new Mall, of which you are so rightly proud.”

Of course, there was a negative cost in that this plaza displaced many people and destroyed the ethnic neighborhood. Check out their stories in The Neighborhood That Disappeared.

Moving Art

Wandering around the Plaza, we noticed lots of art, including a moving sculpture by George Rickey. 32 feet steel “lines” make up the Y-shape of his Two Lines Oblique. Always fascinating to watch, this kinetic sculpture can swing from 8 to 52 feet in the air.

Starting as a painter, Rickey’s World War II service in the army (designing machine gun turrets for bombers), inspired him to start working on moving sculptures.

Today, Rickey’s sculptures can be seen in major museums in the US and worldwide Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. Locally, we can visit some of his art at Dartmouth College, where George was an artist-in-residence in 1966.

New York State Capitol Facts Conclusion

In summary, we believe a visit to the New York State Capitol will not disappoint you. We hope you enjoyed this preview.

Have you visited this Capitol? Or any other of the state houses or capitols? Let’s all work together to beat this Covid-19 pandemic so we can enjoy travel again!

Till then, wash your hands, wear a mask and stay safe.

More Fun State Houses and Capitols

• Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
• Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
• The Maine State House With bells on;
• The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
• The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
• Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
• Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
• New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
• Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
• Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
• Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
• The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
• Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!

Other Fun in New England

• Raptors and Spiders in Vermont: a treetop walk;
• Kennebunkport, Maine: Insider tips for an Incredible Visit;
• Visit the house of Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire, the 14th President of the USA;
• Travel to Vermont during Covid-19.
• Where to find the best fall foliage in New England;
• Visit the Maine State House in Augusta
• Or Live Free or Die at the New Hampshire State House;
• Explore the Vermont State House in Montpelier;
• Boston has two state houses! The Old State House and the current Massachusetts’s capitol.

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