Day 16 September 16, 2015 Arrowhead Marina & RV Park (Albany)
We started early for the first tour of the Albany Capitol at 10:00. Then we drove in circles--between 2 GPSs that went crazy, one-way streets, pedestrians that darted from between cars, and misinformation when I called the Capitol, we found it eventually, but no parking (which the guide had said would be available, no problem) because it was the 50th Anniversary of the Concourse designed by Rockefeller. However, they had reduced the parking by 50% by making one whole side of the streets around the capitol "NO PARKING." In our wanderings, we came across the New York State Museum, which was also on our list, so we parked in their lot for $5 and decided to do the Capitol on another day.
The first section was a series of impressive, enormous dioramas of the animals that had been in New York for hundreds of years, but which man made extinct within a few decades. (Picture 1/5639) They were truly magnificent, but the lighting cast a weird yellow hue on our pictures. One hunter/trapper wrote in his diary that he was here for 9 years and sold 800 beaver pelts each year he was here. Extinct animals include the Canada lynx, wolverine, mountain lion, timber wolf, and elk. These were followed by dioramas of animals still present today.
I intentionally avoided the 9/11 display area because I get too emotionally involved, but the next display we came to was the second WTC Family Trailer that was provided to the families of 9/11 victims to give them a private space to view the recovery and reconstruction operations. The original large trailer is at the Smithsonian and made several moves as the recovery progressed, and was eventually replaced by this one. Family members moved items from the original trailer, and it was covered by posters, flags, pictures, and mementos--totally mesmerizing as I felt their grief.
I skipped sections that were of no interest to me, and was amazed by the Earthquake section. They had an earthquake in 1944 of 5.8 magnitude which was felt throughout New England, Michigan, Ohio, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It caused $2 million damage and wells went permanently dry. They had several other good shakers before and after, and they don't know why they occur. They are not at an intersection of tectonic plates. One hypothesis is that there were previously existing, very old weak zones in the earth's crust.
The fabulous Native American exhibit areas had two large-enough-to-live-in homes, one a longhouse, and another a reed, domed structure. New York has the 3rd largest population of native Americans east of the Missouri River, and 75% of those are descendants of the Algonquin, who were here 500 years ago.
I overheard others talking about going to the nearby Capitol via the Concourse, and I knew the tour times, so we took off. We rode the elevator down to the basement, where it opened onto the Concourse, a long, wide hallway filled with stores, places to eat, and paintings. At the end is a visitor center, where you sign up for tours of the Capitol with Marvin, a great, knowledgeable guide.
We passed through a rigorous security check, which is no wonder considering continuing security plots being discovered. This is our most security-conscious capitol of the 40 we've visited. Usually we get to see inside the governor's office, but it is marked in no way, and they won't even tell you where it is.. However, they have a state policeman on duty, looking like a guard, with a large desk area in the hall on the second floor, so you kind of have to assume that the governor's office is nearby.
This is the second capitol. The first one was used from 1809-1883, and was the City Hall for Albany, also. It was just too small. They built the new capitol up to the old capitol's back door.
The capitol doesn't look like a capitol. It has no dome, although one was originally planned, and is extremely large---they say the largest in the US and even larger than the US Capitol. They went through 5 architects before they got it built. It took 32 years to build and cost $25 million. It is estimated that it would cost 1.5 billion dollars to replace it. It was voted 7 times by the Smithsonian as the best Senate chamber in the United States. It was extensively refurbished in 1977, and most of it is reproductions of what was originally there. They have been constantly renovating since 2000.
The architect who made the first plan promised to complete it in 4 years for $4 million, the same as in Ottawa, where he just completed a capitol. After 10 years and $10 million, only the 1st floor was complete. The soil was hard to build on because it shifted. New York had lots of money because all commerce at that time came through New York City and the taxes they paid were used to build the capitol.
We went up to the 4th floor to view the 3rd floor Senate from the gallery. They don't allow visitors on the Senate floor, even when it's not in session. There is a large hand-carved ceiling in the Senate. (Pic 2/5640) There were several unique features. Look for the school desks at the front, between the President of the Senate (lieutenant governor) and the Senators in Picture 3/5645. These are occupied by photographers and press, who sit facing the Senators. Seats for the pages are along the wall have red Spanish leather, which was used a lot throughout.
None of the fireplaces in the Capitol are functional. They have no chimneys. There are 2 in the Senate (Picture 4/5646). They are 6' x 6' x 6' and are totally soundproof. Senators go inside the fireplace to have secret conversations because the acoustics in the Senate so great that they don't need microphones to be heard. There are chairs inside the fireplaces for senators taller than 6 feet. They vote orally aye or nay. There are 63 senators, 32 Republican, and 31 Democratic, and only 11 women. Five of the Democrats broke away to give Republicans extra votes they need in return for getting more Democratic bills onto the floor. They are called the Independent Democrats, and they sit apart from everyone at the back of the Senate.
All 213 members meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from January through June. Special Committees meet on Thursday. Every Friday everyone MUST go home to be available to the voters, so the voters don't have to travel to Albany. They all make weekend appointments. Voters can watch every session of both houses on the Internet and Cable TV. Their travel is paid for by the state. Their base salary is $79,000, as well as a great health plan, free meals when they are in chamber, and the state pays part of their lodging when they are in Albany.
The Senate lobby floor has tile that has the color baked through the stone instead of being glazed and is made in England still today (Picture 5/5647). There is a huge wall of a 24K gold-leaf frieze above the Senate, which I think looks gaudy, yet plain, a little ostentatious. Originally it was embossed Italian leather, which I think was probably much prettier.
They are proud that there have been 4 presidents from New York--Van Buren, Cleveland, and both Roosevelts.
There is a Million Dollar (Great Western) Staircase made of sandstone between the 3rd and 4th floor. (Picture 6/5650), I didn't care for its dull, stained stairs. There are carved faces of 77 famous people into the staircase. Grant (Picture 7/5654) and Lincoln (Picture 8/5655) are at the top of pillars. They brought 600 carvers from Italy and paid them $5/day. Most families couldn't earn $1/day, and these carvers worked 6 day weeks. They were considered rich. They also solicited visitors to the staircase, who paid them to add their portraits to the carving. There are 1000 unknowns, and of course, the carvers carved their own faces into it, too.
The Senate Lobby seating is inviting (Picture 9/5656, and was once used by senators to converse with lobbyists. Now they meet behind an open-barred gate at the entrance to the Senate. It weighs 3000 pounds and is perfectly balanced. The guide made it open with a push of one finger. It is open-barred so the public can observe the senators making deals, but is too far away to hear.
We actually got onto the Assembly floor. There have been 3 different ceilings, including the largest attempted vaulted ceiling. They had carved the base ceiling out of oak, but there were recessed parts, which were supposed to be made of oak, too. However, one day an assemblyman came in and found a ceiling piece the size of a bowling ball on his desk and discovered that it was made of papier mache'. They tried to repair it for 3 years, and they took the firm to court. However, when a fire raged through the Capitol, the ceiling saved the building because the papier mache' soaked up water. This is the largest room in the Capitol.
Members of the Assembly have placed flags on their desks, noting by rainbow flag if they voted for the same sex marriage act, and noting their patriotism with the American flag, and noting their family's or spouse's heritage. (Picture 10/5657) There are 36 women. They have 150 members and electronic voting.
On the 2nd floor there is a beautiful State Seal (Pic. 11/5662). It shows Lady Liberty, Lady Justice, 3 sets of mountains--Adironacks, Catskills, Allegheny, an American eagle at the top representing New York as the #1 trading city in the world, and a ship from England and New York showing the importance of trade. This is the Governor's floor. Current Governor Cuomo made it a project to get all the governors' portraits out of storage and install them in the Hall of Governors with blue plaques telling their historical accomplishments. Only one of the paintings was paid for, the first governor, George Clinton. In 1804, he was the first elected vice-president of the US. He served under Jefferson and Madison. It was interesting that at that time it was possible to have a president and vice-president of different parties.
The original elevator used steam for propulsion, and it was in the same beautiful carved place that it is in today. The elevator has gorgeous cast metal doors and carved woodwork between the elevator doors (Pic. 12/5666)
We usually take a picture of each capitol, but this one was impossible. It is so large that you couldn't stand far enough away, and the traffic was horrible. So, we took a picture of this painting of it . (Pic. 13/5664)
New York State Museum doesn't charge an admission, but they would like a donation of $5 per person. We spent the last hour of our day enjoying more of it.
It had been a busy day, but there was a movie we wanted to see, "A Walk in the Woods," starring Robert Redford. At a large, modern theatre we paid only $6/ticket, which is a bargain for us. And the movie was good!
By the time we got home at 10:00 PM, we were tuckered out. Our RV park is heavily forested and very dark. Dean went to the RV first to put on a light for me to be able to see where I was walking. I heard an expletive! He had broken the key when he inserted it in the deadbolt. I had an extra key, but he had to get the key out. Fortunately, our camp host was kind enough to bring his tools down and got it out.
Staying at Arrowhead Marina & RV Park
Problems with attaching--photos in next post when I figure it out.