New York State Capitol

The New York State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York State Legislature, it is located in the state capital city Albany, on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed during 1899 at a cost of $25 million (worth approximately half a billion current dollars), was the most expensive government building of its time. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1979.

History

The current building is the third capitol building. A small building, the Van Gaasbeek house, was used briefly at Kingston, New York. From August 22 to 25, 1777, the Van Schaick House at Cohoes was used by Governor George Clinton as the New York State Capitol. After the Revolution, a second building was erected on land just in front of the current building.

The present Capitol was constructed between 1867 and 1899. Three teams of architects worked on the design of the Capitol during the 32 years of its construction. They were managed by: 1867-75: Thomas Fuller, 1875-83: Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Hobson Richardson, 1883-99: Isaac G. Perry. Fuller, the initial architect, was an Englishman who also designed the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

The ground floor of the state capitol was built in the Classical/Romanesque...
Read More