The NYS capitol resembles a giant French chateau, but the three-acre, five-story
granite building is actually a variety of styles including Romanesque and
French Renaissance - the result of it taking 32 years (1867-1899) and five
architects to complete. The exterior offers just a hint of the opulence
inside, for which architects Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Hobson Richardson
were primarily responsible. Eidlitz designed the building's largest room,
the Assembly Chamber, as well as the Assembly and Senate Staircases.
Richardson, then America's most renowned architect, was responsible for the
Senate Chamber, Hallway, and the Great Western Staircase. The restored
skylight above the staircase now shines a natural spotlight on this
impressive feat of design and craftsmanship. Also to be seen are the 25
murals created by William deLeftwich Dodge that fill the domed Governor's
Reception Room. The works depict everything from Henry Hudson's first
contact with Native Americans to New York troops serving in World War One.
Free guided tours of the New York State Capitol in Albany begin at
the Empire State Plaza Visitor Center in the Main Concourse. They are
conducted Mon.-Fri. at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.; Sat. and Sun.
at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. 518-474-2418.
The Empire State
Plaza Art Collection is the most important grouping of modern art owned by
any state. Its 92 works, on display in the office buildings,
quarter-mile-long underground concourse, and outdoor spaces that comprise
the plaza, were intended to complement the architecture of this "Capital
City," designed by Wallace K. Harrison (architect of the Metropolitan Opera
House) in the 1960s. The collection, which consists almost entirely of
abstract expressionist art of the 1960s and '70s, was the brainchild of
Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, an ardent collector who wished to recognize
- and pay homage to - the art movement that began in New York (and is often
called the New York School). "[The] Empire State Plaza is a unique
concentration of great architecture, great art, and New York's great place
in America's history," he said. Nearly all of the works in the collection
were created by artists who worked and lived in the state. It includes
important paintings by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Ellsworth Kelly,
Clyfford Still, and Robert Motherwell, as well as sculptures by David Smith,
George Rickey, Beverly Pepper, Claes Oldenburg, Alexander Calder, Isamu
Noguchi, and George Segal.
The Empire State Plaza Art Collection is open free of
charge to the public whenever the plaza is open: Concourse and Plaza - 6
a.m.-11 p.m. daily; Corning Tower - 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. There is no
admission fee. Guided tours are offered Mon.-Fri. by appointment.
518-473-7521.