As some of you know, Albany is the Capital of New York State (New York City may be the centre of the universe....but not the State Capital). That of course means it is time for me to go visit another State House or State Capitol and whatever I choose to refer to it as. Also as some of you know I have a minor interest (ok maybe more than minor) interest in politics so that fact that the State Senate and the State Assembly were in session meant I might actually get to see my tax dollars at work (yes I pay New York taxes so they are my tax dollars too).
Historic.....I must be in the right place.
Of course you may also be aware of the fact that US politics are more exciting than reality TV. You think there are scandals in Canadian politics because a Conservative calls a Liberal a bad name....that is child's play compared to what I have the pleasure of seeing down here. Right now there is a lot of debate whether or not Governor Paterson should resign his post or finish out his term (there is an election this fall). Apparently he got involved in a domestic dispute involving one of his senior staffers......possibly some witness tampering in that case (whatever). Oh and apparently he got some free World Series tickets last year (scandalous...I know. A politician getting free tickets to a sporting event. Who would have thought?) Of course Governor Paterson (formerly Lieutenant Governor Paterson) only got the job because the previous Governor (Spitzer) was discovered to be involved in a high-priced prostitution ring and forced to resign. I think I need to add that New York State (and a few others) has no money and has considered delaying paying out tax returns in order to make budget(they gave a history of making late budgets due to lack of funds). Maybe we should focus on that for a while. I love America!!!!Anyway, once I made my way downtown and found a place to park (I got lost a few times......Albany's streets are confusing......they were designed by a moron), I made my way over to the Capitol.....and then I got lost in a building.....well more correctly under the building. I did eventually find my way to a tour guide and then her and I headed over to the actual Capitol (apparently I am the only one interested in the history of the building because it turned out to be a private tour). Of course the building is open to the public and you are free to come in and walk around, but I was happy to have someone show me around, give me some background info and then let me roam free on my own. The place was very busy. Lots of Senators and their people and media and other people just hanging around.
We started our tour by stopping by the Senate Chamber where a couple Senators were making some points about something and wanting people to vote against it. Let me tell you.....there were only about 10 Senators there and no one really seemed to be doing anything but the room was very pretty. Of course I couldn't take pictures while it was in session but I managed to head back a little bit later,while a group of school kids were getting a tour, and took a picture. It is said to be one of the most beautiful Senate Chambers in the United States.
The Senate Chamber. I think more gets done when it is empty. And yes it is pretty.
This is the hallway outside the Senate Chamber. The floor....the last piece of the original floor. It is over 125 years old.
From there we made our way to the Assembly Chamber. On the way we stopped by one of the highlights of the building.....The Million Dollar Stair Case. I am told it cost much more than a million dollars to build though. It is really beautiful. I did spend quite a bit of time taking pictures here.
The Million Dollar Staircase. None of the columns around the staircase are the same. It took 13 years to complete this staircase.
There are over a thousand different faces on the stair case. They include New York's first 30 Governors and other politicians including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Those faces also include friends and family members of the 600 stone carvers employed to build the staircase. These faces are known as the Capitol Unknowns. You will also find animals, birds and fruits carved into the banisters.
Once we thoroughly exhausted the staircase, we headed to the Assembly Chamber where surprise, surprise, the Assembly members were a little late returning from their lunch break and nothing had started yet. I couldn't take pictures in there but the highlight was really the ceiling....which had to be lowered about 5.8 metres (19 feet) because the original ceiling began cracking when the building settled. The pictures of the old ceiling......much more impressive than what is there now.
A couple more stops took us to several more old staircases and the Reception room. It was mostly empty at the time but this is where you would head if you had an appointment with anyone and it is where members of the media usually hang out waiting for the Senators and such to come out after sessions.
Originally this room was slated to be a military museum but it never materialized. The war paintings on the ceiling do seem a bit out of place for a reception room but they make sense once you know that little fact.
This is the Senate Staircase, so named because it is on the side of the Capitol that houses the Senate. You can see the skylight above. The Assembly Staircase is still under restoration and the skylight has yet to be open. All the skylights in the building were covered during World War II but have been reopened over the last little while.
And really this is where my tour ended and my wandering began. Like I said before the building is open to the public and everyone can wandering around as they want (except the Governor's Wing, where access is restricted....makes sense).
Too bad. I missed a protest. Not even sure what it was about but there were people all over the place with signs and costumes and things to say. None of the issues seemed to interest me more than the building itself though so I just kept wandering.
I love the old archway......with the new car.
I eventually made my way back to the Assembly Chamber. A lot more activity going on this time around. Bills were being voted on and laid aside and all kinds of stuff. In case you were wondering, the Assembly members would hold a similar position as Canada's MPs. It was interesting to watch things for a while (yes I know I am a complete loser but I'm perfectly ok with that) and I have to tell you that there were a couple of times that I had to stop myself from laughing out loud when I read the bills that were being voted on. Here are a few examples:
Calender 409 - A5864 - Lifton - Elder Law - Authorizes the director of the Office of the Aging to establish a long term care worker training pilot program. Yes - 96, No-0......bill passed. (Seems reasonable)
Calender 406 - A5823 - Latimer - En Con L - Requires commercial pesticide applicators to provide notice to residents of multi family dwellings before application. Yes - 99, No-0.....bill passed. (I thought they already had to do this but maybe not).
Calender 411 - A5873 - Petlow - Pub Off. L - Directs public bodies to conduct meetings in facilities accommodating public attendance. Bill laid aside. (This seems pretty obvious to me but I guess they will vote on it another day).
Really everyone just seemed to be doing whatever they wanted to do. Talking on their phones, talking to each other. The bills come up on boards on both sides of the Chamber and then Members vote on them as they want. Members seem to come and go has they please just ensuring that the guys at the front acknowledge their movements. Yes I did find it interesting but once the politics bored me I headed back outside to check out Empire State Plaza. Not as nice this time of year and lots of it is closed but you get the point.
Empire State Plaza with the Capitol in the background and The Egg on the right. One of the architectural highlights of the area, The Egg (Center for the Performing Arts) hosts concerts and events and that kind of thing.
I found this on my way up to the Observation Deck. This is George Segal's The Billboard dated 1966.
A visit to Empire State Plaza would not be complete without a trip up to the Observation Deck to check out the view. It is free to visit but you do have to show some picture ID at the security desk before you can head up. You can actually only see out 3 sides but it does give you a good idea of what the area looks like.
Looking down from the Observation Deck you can see a Church, the World War II Memorial and the Governor's Mansion.
And that was my day in the State Capitol (Capital...you see the difference right?).
Julie
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