F129 AZ P58 .>-j m ^ff^ .digitized by the^JernetArGhive^^^^ ^^ ^ . . „^ \. ^ ' in 2Qt? with fundijig from ^<^ ^ . . ., ^.J ^^rA.- "^^^ c!^ t^ A^ ^W/H,< %.^^ ,/"-. I / HISTORY 6- DESCR IPTION Oapiiol az j^lhany From the "Albany Hand-Book for 1S81," to be Published in December, 18 SO. 5 ♦ With. Pict^ire of tlig^^Completed Portion. ALBANY, N. Y. 1880. Lith byWeed,PaTS(ms iCo-Altany W Y NEW GAPITuL. Copyright bt H. P. PHELPS, ^^^^ 1880, THE c;apitol at albany [From the "xllbany Hand-Book for 1881,"* to be published in December, 1880.] Introductory*— The traveler in 1806-8, at au expense of $110,- who for the first time approaches 685.42) had been found wholly inade- iihe ancient city of Albany from any iirectiou, sees looming up before him I vast unfinished edifice so much bbove and beyond all other surround- ng structures, that he has no hesi- tation in exclaiming " It is the New bapitol!" Like St. Peter's at Rome, it needs no chaperone to announce ts name ; no guide-book to explain ts object. Its fame as the grandest sgislative building of modern times s already co-extensive with civiliza- I ion, and each day of the year brings 'scores of the curious from nenr and I rom far to view and admire its maj- hstic proportions, its grandeur of lesign, its beauty of ornamentation; ind while its critics have been many, md not always kind, all are ready to oncede that it is one of the architec- ural wonders of century. the nineteenth quate, and for many years there was much discussion about a new leg- islative building and where it should be erected. New York city had long coveted the capital, but the central and western portions of the state, while not altogether satisfied with having it where it is, were still more averse to seeing it moved down the river. The consequence was, it re- mained at Albany, where it will re main, we may safely say, for many many years to come. The first definite action taken by the legislature on the subject was April 24, 1863, when Senator James A. Bell, from the committee on public buildings, offered a reeolu- tion (which was adopted) that the trustees of the capitol and the chair- man of the committee on public buildings be authorized to procure suitable plans for a new capitol, and History.— The old capitol (built report to the next legislature. They C* Copyright, H. P. Phelps, 1880. All rights reserved.] did so, recommending the plans sub mitted by Fuller & Jones. Early in 1865, a committee was appointed by the senate to ascertain by corre- spondence with various municipali- ties on what terms the necessary ground and buildings could be ob- tained. New York showed her desire for the honor, by offering a site on the Battery, or at City Hall park, or in Tompkins square, or in Central park, or in any public place, and also proposed to erect all the necessary buildings free of expense to the state ; and, in addition, build an executive mansion on Fifth avenue, opposite Central park. Yonkers, Saratoga, Athens, Whitestown, Ar- gyle and Sing-Sing made liberal offers ; Buffalo, Oswego and Ithaca declined to entertain the proposition, as did Sandy Hill, " If," wrote the worthy president of that virtuous village, "the time has come when our capitol is to go to the highest bidder like most every- thing that has any connection with our present legislation, then I would frankly say that our people are not the ones to offer large bribes or inducements for the purpose of building up their place or people to the detriment and inconvenience of all the rest of the people of the state." The first committee (appointed April 24, 1863) had suggested in their propositions for plans that they should be made with reference to the square about the old building as the site for the new one. The city of Albany now offered to con- vey to the State the lot adjoining, occupied by the Congress Hall block, or any other lands in the city re- quired for the purpose. On the 1st of May, 1865, an act was passed (Chapter 648) authorizing the erection of a new capitol, when, ever the city of Albany should deed over the land proposed, providing for the appointment of three com missioners, and '^appropriating $10, 000 for the commencement and pre secution of the work. On the 14th of April, 1866, the cip having made good its offer at an ex pense of $190,000, an act was passed ratifying and confirming the loca- tion of the capitol, and May 3d of the same year, Hamilton Harris, John V. L, Pruyn, of Albany, and O. B. Latham, of Seneca Falls, were appointed New Capitol Commission- ers. On the 22nd of April, 1867, an act was passed appropriating $250,000 for the new capitol, but providing that no part should be expended until a plan had been agreed upon not to cost when completed more than four millions. A plan submit- ted by Thomas Fuller was adopted, and lie was appointed architect, and I William J. McAlpine consultino; 1 engineer. Work Begun.— On the 9th of December, 1867, the excavating was begun on the corner of Hawk and j State streets by John Bridgford, who had under him 100 men. On the 19th of May, 1868, an act I was passed appropriating an addi- tional $250,000, and adding to the commission Messrs. James S. I Thayer, Alonzo B. Cornell, William A. Rice, James Terwilliger and John T. Hudson. The commission were also authorized to take as ad- ditional land one-half the block adjoining Congress Hall block on the west, and to change the plans lat their discretion, with this pro" >riso : That if they were so changed that the building would cost more than four millions, the commission- lers were not to proceed to construc- tion till such plans were approved by the legislature. Meantime work had been delayed ' for a year, in order that the addi- ' tional lands might be secured. On the 2nd of October, 1868, the com- missioners having come to the con- clusion that preparing the land was not included in the term "construct- ion," the demolition of houses on State, Washington, Spring.and Hawk streets was begun, and in December following, 400 men and 200 teams were employed carrying the earth that had been excavated and de. positing it down the bank at the corner of Swan and Canal streets. The Enlarged Plans, prepared by Fuller and l.aver. were duly re. ported to the legislature and ap- proved by act of May 10, 1869. The Foundation. — The first stone in the foundation was laid July 7, 1869, by John V L. Pruyn. This foundation, although, of course^ out of sight, and scarcely thought of by the ordinary visitor, is a wonder in itself. In the first place^ excavations were made to an average depth of 1543-100 feet below the surface. Then a bed of concrete^ 4 feet thick, was laid constituting a stone floor which will grow harder and harder as time rolls on. The sub-basement extends down 19 feet 4 inches, and contains 735,000 cubic feet of stone, while the brick walls from 32 inches to five feet thick con. tain between ten and eleven million bricks The foundation of the main tower is 110 feet square at the base, tapering to 70 leet square, at the basement floor. In this sub-base- ment are no less than 144 different apartments used for heating, storing and ventilating purposes. The Corner Stone was laid rrith great ceremony, by the grand lodofe of Free and Accepted Masons on tlie 34th of June, 1871 . The exer- cises took place in the midst of a drenching rain, but were said to have been witnessed by at least 20,000 persons. Addresses were made by Hon. Hamilton Harris and Gov. John T. Hoffman. Since that time work has pro- gressed, sometimes faster and some- times slower, with occasionally an entire cessation for lack of funds as in 1874, when it stood still six months. The enterprise like all other great undertakings has met with obstructers and fault-finders innumerable, from the workman discharged for incompetency to the governor who called it a " public calamity." The prevalent opinion that no public work of this magnitude can be carried on without unlawful gains to some one, has led many to suppose that such is the case with the new capitol. Charges of various kinds have time and again been made orally and in the newspapers, and many tedious investigations have been instituted, the details of which it is as impossible to enter into here, as it is unnecessary. It is only just to say, however, that while the whole system of erecting public buildings by commissions. has on general principles been con- demned as unwise, nothing against the personal character of either or any of the commissioners or superin. tend en ts was ever substantiated. Changes in Commissioners.— In April, 1871, the commission was so changed as to be constituted as follows : Hamilton Harris, William C. Kingsley, William A. Rice, Chauncey M. Depew, Delos De Wolf and Edwin A. Merritt. In February, 1875, Mr. Hamilton Harris, who had been chairman of the board for nearly ten years, re- signed. Resident here in Albany, and from the first, deeply interested in having a capitol worthy of the Empire State, his services during the critical periods in the building's history have been of incalculable value and after his resignation, as chairman of the finance committee of the senate at a time when a most determined opposition to any further appropriations was made by the New York city press, he again fought the battles of the capitol through to victory. On the 21st of June, 1875, the entire old board was abolished, and the lieutenant-governor (William Dorsheimer) the canal auditor (Fran cis S.Thayer) and the attorney gen- eral (Daniel Pratt) were constituted a, new boaxd. Of this board, Lieut, I Gov. Dorsheimer took an active in- terest in completing and furnishing the interior, and much of its present sumptuousness is due to his taste. This board of commissioners was superseded by the successors to these several ofl&ces, and the com- mission as at present constituted consists of the lieutenant-governor George G. Hoskins, the attorney- general, Hamilton Ward ; the audi- tor of the canal department, John sA. Place. Changes in Superintendents. In December, 1872, John Bridgford, the first superintendent was retired, and June 11, 1873, William J. McAlpine, who from the beginning 3f the work, had been the consulting 3ngineer was appointed superin- tendent, and remained such till vlay 29, 1874, when James W. Saton was appointed in his place, itnd still holds the position. Change in Architects. — With =he abolition of the old commission n 1875 came a change in architects. Mr. Thomas Fuller being superseded Dy an advisory board consisting of Frederick Law Olmstead, Leopold Sidlitz, and Henry H. Richardson, i ill of New York. I Up to this time the exterior walls I lad been carried up, upon the Fuller lolans, a working model of which lad been constructed at a cost of $3,000, and which was on exhibition for several years. Pictures of the capitol as it was to have been, had also gone broadcast over the land and world. This plan was that of the Italian Renaissance which was now modified to the Romanesque, but work had not proceeded far when the legislature passed an act directing a return to the original style and that the building be carried up to the roof, in accord- ance therewith. This has been done so far as possible, although the result is what is called by architects the Free Renaissance, in which the north centre has been completed, a correct view of which is given in the lithograph accompanying this sketch. Occupied by the Legislature — 'I'he capitol was first occupied by the legislature January 7, 1879, the senate meeting in the court of ap- peals room, the assembly in the assembly chamber. The same eve- ning a grand reception was given by the citizens of Albany, when 8,000 people were present. Gil- more's band, of New York, and Austin's orchestra, of Albany, fur- nished the music. The supper by the Lelands was served under a canopy in the central court. The formal occupation took place on the evening of February 12, 1879 8 •when in the presence of both houses of the legislature, the court of ap- peals, the state oflBcers and others assembled in the assembly chamber, prayer was offered by Rt. Rev. Wil- liam Croswell Doane, D. D., and addresses were delivered by Lieut. Gov. William Dorsheimer, Speaker Thomas G. Alvord and Hon. Erastus Brooks. Cost Thus Far.— The following figures taken from the books of the comptroller show the amounts ac tiially paid each year by the state towards the building of the new capitol, the fiscal year ending September 1 : 1863 $51,593 66 1864 9,453 55 1865 10,860 08 1866 65,250 00 1867 10.000 00 1868 50,000 00 1869 451,315 63 1870 1,223,597 73 1871 482,942 37 1872 856,106 98 1873 1,175,600 00 1874 610,275 16 1875 1,392,712 08 1876 908,487 92 1877 728,220 20 1878 1,075,700 00 1879 982,836 44 1880 908,363 56 110,993,215 36 This includes the cost of the land with tne exception of what was given by^the city of Albany ($190,000.) Description.— No adequate idea of the future surroundings of the capitol can be obtained from present appearances, but when the old capi- tol and state library are demolished, and the grounds they occupy, together with those in front, are laid out as they will be, under the super- vision of Frederick Law Olmstead, to whom the New York Central park owes so much of its beauty, the approach to this stupendous pile will be in keeping with the edifice itself. The situation is a most commanding one. The Capitol square, which embraces all the land between Eagle street on the east and Capitol place on the west, and between Washing- ton avenue on the north and State sreet on the south is 1,034 feet long by 330 feet wide, and contains 7 84-100 acres. The elevation of Capitol place is 155 feet above the level of the Hudson and the ground falls off to the eastward 51 feet. In front. State street stretches away towards the river, one of the broad- est and handsomest avenues in the country. The entrance to the building at present is from Washington avenue. When completed, admission may be had from all four sides, the main fi f 9 entrance on the east being by means of magnificent porticos and terraces, of which, as yet, no vestige is seen. The Size of the structure im- presses the beholder at once. It is 300 feet north and south, by 400 feet east and west, and with the porticos will cover three acres and 7 square feet. The walls are 108 feet high from the water table ; and all this is chipped outof solid granite brought, most of it, from Hallowell, Maine. There are other buildings which in the mere matter of area exceed this one. The capitol at Washing- ton for instance, covers a little over three and a half acres, but it is of marble and of sandstone painted white. The new city hall in Philadel- phia, covers nearly 4^ acres, but that also, is of marble. The government buildings at Ottawa, Canada, are of sandstone. All lack the massive effect which this great pile of granite invariably produces. Its outer wall at the base, is 16 feet 4 inches thick. Entering the building at nearly a level with Was'.iington avenue, the visitor finds himself, in what in the original designs was called the base- ment story, underneath ponderous arches of stone. The floor is hand., somely tiled : here are telegraph offices, committee rooms, etc., bu^ nothing to long detain the visitor^ unless it be to glance at the centra c urt,l 37 feet by 92, which extends an open space to the sky. This will, doubtless, in time be orna- mented with a fountain, statues, etc., but at present only affords much needed light and air. The Grand Stair Case. — Pass- ing along to the left and turning a corner, we come to the grand stair case, which, considering the difficult ties to overcome because of its posi- tion, may justly be styled a triumph of art. It is of sandstone, its ascent is easy, its design vigorous and scho- larly. At one side is an elevator (one of five which are kept running during the session of the legislature), but the visitor in order to leisurely study the beauties of this grand stairway, will generally prefer to walk. This feature suffers some- what from the imperfect light ; for though the whole top opening has been glazed, the details of the lower flights cannot be well seen. The Golden Corridor. — On arriving upon the next floor, the first thing to attract the eye is the Golden Corridor, a vision of beauty which brings an exclamation of delight to every lip. It is 140 feet long by 20 wide and about 25 feet high, extending along the whole " court " side of the north centre. Seven large windows opening upon 10 tliis court divide the corridor into bays, 20 feet square. Each bay is bounded by piers between which arches are turned and these arches sustain a low and ribless groined Tault. Mr. Montgomery Schuyler writing in Scribner's Monthly says : "The piers are covered with a damask of red upon umber. The angle mold- ings are solidly gilded. The crimson wall screen on both sides is over laid with a simple reticulation of gold lines framing ornaments in yellow. The whole vault is gilded and upon its ground of gold, traver- sing each face of the vault, is a series of bands of minute ornament in brown, scarlet and deep blue. The method — this close mosaic of minute quantities of crude color — is entirely Oriental ; and the elFect is Oriental also. The varying sur- faces of the vaulting, each covered with fretted gold, give a vista, lengthened by the dwindling arches, alive with flashing lights and shim- medng shadows ; and under the iridescent ceiling there seems always to hang a luminous haze. In the quality of pure splendor there is no architectural decorati(ui in this country which is comparable to this " During the sessions of tlie legis- lature the spaces in front of the windows are filled with rare exotics. and altogether aflEording a desired relief from the heavy effect pro- duced by such a mass of granite. Here in time, will be placed statues of public men and possibly other work of art. Court of Appeals. — Stepping through a door to the right, in an instant the scene changes. We are in the chamber of the Court of Appeals the highest tribunal in the state. Here is the abode of wisdom, dignity and justice, where a riot of color such as we have just left would be clearly out of place. The room is 60 feet square and 25 feet high, subdivided into parallelo- grams one twice the width of the mI other, by a line of red granite ' columns carrying with broad low arches a marble wall. The walls are of sandstone, visible in some places but covered in most with a decoration in deep red, and with the tall wainscoting of oak, which occu- pies the wall above the daOo of sand- stone. The ceiling is a superb construction in carved oak carried on a system of beams diminishing in size from the great girders sup- ported by great braces which stretch from wall to wall, and finally closed by oaken panels, profusely carved. The Assembly Chamber. — As- cending another flight of the grand stair case, we come to what is, with- 11 .out doubt, the sfrandest legislative hall in the world, the assembly chamber, 84 by 140 feet, includino- the galleries, although the chamber proper is but 84 by 55. Four great pillars, four feet thick, of red gran- ite, sustain the largest groined stone arch in tlie world, the key- stone being 56 feet from the floor. These pillars and the ai-ch which springs from them are the most striking features of the room, but it will bear a world of study. Mr. j Schuyler says : " The perspective I of the room is so arranged that from the entrance one looks through the ' large end of the telescope, as it were down vistas framed in arches nar- rowing and vaults hanging lower as I they recede, from the great red pil- lars on either hand along the vast ! and ever varying surfaces of the ceilings, their creamy sandstone faces divided by the sweeping lines of the deeper toned ribs and arches that uphold them, and fretted with wide belts of ornament climbing .heir climbing.courses, touched with the gleam of gold and standing out from hollows filled with deep ultra marine and burning, veimilion to ' the dark backward and abysm ' of the remotest vault. Through the lower arches one sees the opening of the windows which flood the tran- sej)t, not with the dim religious light of old cathedrals, but with naked and open daylight. Around them wheel the intricate arabesques of their arches defined against a ground of vermilion and circled with bands of gold. Above and between the lower three, beneath the broad belt which is some day to carry a sculptured procession, the whole wall is covered with arabes- ques in a field of dull red. Above the upper arcade ure glimpses of the draperies and the attitudes of colos- sal painted figures. " One feels at once in this great stone room that he is in the pre- sence of a noble monument, and that in what a musician would call the ' dispersed harmony ' of this hier- archy of ordered masses, and this balance and opposition of sweeping curves there has been achieved in the America of the nineteenth cen tury a work not unworthy to be compared with what has been done in more famous building ages. When the shock of such an impres- sion has subsided, and he has time to examine the sources of this effect, he finds them in the general con- ception of the room rather than in any of its parts, or in any aggrega, tion of them less than the whole Here is a distinctly gothic room, which in its plan has so many resemblances to ;i mediaeval church 12 that it cannot be described without The Allegorical Pictures. — using the terms of ecclesiology, No one feature of the capitol has which jet has probably never re- caused more comment than the pic- minded a sing-le visitor of a church, tures that occupy the upper portion Its civic character has been impressed of the north and south walls of this upon it by the force of design alone> cliamber. 'i'hey were painted by the and mainly by the modeling of its late William M. Hunt, one of the masses, aftrr the noble arrangement greatest of American artists, and pos- which this modeling assists. There sess a melancholy interest from the is a vigor in it which reminds one fact that they are the only work of the of Romanesque or early gotbic, but kind he ever did. He received for it has none of the rudeness of his services the sum of $15,000. Romanesque vaulted architecture, , The space covered by each is 15. and none of the tentative imperfec- b}'" 45 feet. That on the northern tion of early gothic work. Except wall represents the allegory of in one conspicuous instance, the Armujd and Ahriman, or the flight structure is completely developed, of evil before good, or, as it is more and complete development is the generally interpreted, the Flight of mark of the perfected gothic. This Night. The Queen of Night is completeness, however, nowhere driving bc-fore the dawn, charioted degenerates into the attenuation on clouds drawn by three plunging that comes Of excessive subdivi" horses, one white, one black, one sion — nowhere into a loss of that red, without other visible restraint sense of power which belongs than that of a swarthy guide, who to unhewn masses fulfilling struc- floats at the left of the picture, and tural necessities. There is nothing whose hand is lightly laid upon the here of which one may say : head of the outermost horse. At * 'Twere to consider too curiously, the right of the goddess, and in deep to consider so.' Neither is there shade, is the recumbent figure of a anything of that ascetic intensity sleeping mother with a sleeping which most of all has set its stamp child upon her breast, upon the ecclesiastical work of the The picture on the southern wall middle ages. This work is as day- represents the Discoverer standing lit as Grecian Doric. It is frank upright in a boat, dark against a and manly, and it is eminently sunset sky, Fortune erect behind alive -7- distinctly a product of our him trimming the sail with her lifted time." left hand while her right holds the 13 tiller. The boat is rising to a sea, those who frequented Mr Hunt'g and is attended by Hope at the prow studio. It is in fact a flying cloud, with one arm resting on it, and one tbe , substance and movement' of pointing forward ; Faith, whose face which is figured by the suggestion is buried in her arms, and who is of an jierial chariot drawn by three floating with the tide, and Science plLmgin<2- steeds, to the mane of unrolling a chart at the side. oiie of which clings a torch-bearing Van Brunt's Criticism. — Henry groom rather guiding than restrain- Van Brunt in an article in the At- ing the downward flight. High upon lantic Monthly (May, 1879), charac- the cloudy seat, sits a female figure terizes these pictures as " the most directing the vision with a gesture important of the kind yet, executed of her hand ; and below, enveloped in this country," criticises them at in a shadowy fold of fleecy drapery length as architectural decorations, dimly portrayed, is a sleeping woman and concludes asfollows: " We can- with a child, and over her hovers a not but consider that the opportunity liitle protecting spirit. The visionary has been misunderstood in a funda- character of the composition is un- mental point, and that work of a far encumbered by any material appli- lower grade, than that of Mr, Hunt ances. There are no reins, no would have better served the pur- harness, no chariot, no wheels. It pose. With all his strength of will, is a precipitous movement of vapor with all his skill in the adaptation poetically set forth with a superb of his tones, and all his fiery deter- flight of horses,and enough of human mination of drawing, he has been interest in the figure to suggest a unable to conquer a right to fill sucli meaning w^hich eacli can interpret in spaces with such work. It is a waste his own way. It is a very,t^ne point of great resources." in the sentiment of the picture that The writer then proceeds to con. the allegory is not forced upon the sider these works of art simply as spectatdr by the insistence of vulgar pictures and says : "The artist has accessories. The horses are drawn symbolized the simultaneous occur- with magnificent spirit and with the rence of the revival of letters and confidence and elait of a master, the discovery of America by the The human figures are little more allegories of the Flight of Night and than suggestive ; they are fleeting the Discoverer. The former has in visions, — a part of a cloudy pageant its elements long been familiar to When illuminated by bright sun 14 light, or by tlie artificial liglitiiig of the chamber at night, the vigorous mechanism of outline and color which are contrived to produce an effect, are somewhat unpleasantly- betrayed. In the half light of the afternoon, the very qualities which are crudities at other times contri- bute to make up a pictorial harmony of the most effective and poetic kind. "The same may be said with even greater force of the Discoverer. A Hamlet like man, in armor and cloak, stands conspicuous in a boat riding half disclosed upon a billowy swell of the ocean. Behind him, at the helm and holding a bellying- sail of drapery, stands a winged female figure in an attitude of dignity, somewhat like that suggested by the Venus of Milo ; and upon the prow, with her outlines defined against a bright rift in the western sky, leans a spirit of the water, with a frank, onward look and a gesture significant of confident hope. This figure seems to us the best in the group ; it is beautifully drawn, and plays a happy part in the com- position. Two other female figures float upon the waves. We have thus Fortune at the helm and Hope at the prow. The guide-book shall interpret the rest of the allegory, which to us, as compared with that. portrayed on the opposite wall is wanting in significance, and made up of too many elements and of too much of materialism to leave upon the mind a concrete poetic image. The composition is wanting in sim- plicity, and the effect of the whole depends upon a momentary incident; the next instant of time beyond that depicted, the next wash of the un- certain billows, will evidently throw the whole group into confusion. This impending catastrophe seems in some way to detract from the dignity of the allegory. The masters of the Renaissance, when they chose a sea pomp for their sub- jects, such as the Triumph of Galetea, the Rape of Europa, and the Venus Anadyomene managed to spare us from doubts of this kind by a more multitudinous grouping of figures capable of falling into new combinations without loss of harmony. But Mr. Hunt's allegory is disjointed, and appears to need some harmonizing element to give us that feeling of security which accompanies the floating and flying group of Guido, Rubens, and Anni- bale Caracci. The idea of the Flight of JSight is in this respect admirable ; in a moment the cloudy vision will have departed leaving a serene sky, and space for all the succeeding pageants of civilization.' ' 15 ' The Furniture and belongings of the assembly chamber are in I excellent taste. A handsome red car]3et covers the floors ; the curtains are of rich colors ; the desks are of solid mahogany ; the chairs are up- holstered in red leather ; the gfas fixtures are in the shape of standards of bright brass, and when tlie room is lighted at night, the scene is brilliant beyond description. On ■Monday nights when the assembly is usually in session, the galleries are thronged with ladies, attracted, it is feared, more by the elegance of the legislative halls, than by the eloquence of the legislators. I Other Booms. — There are other rooms in the completed part of the building, but none of them are of striking- interest to the visitor, who will find in the halls already alluded to, enough to examine and admire for hours. The committee rooms, I libraries, mailing room, document rooms, post-offices, etc,, are all con- i venient, and well appointed. The Uncompleted Portion, — To the uncompleted portion the visitor is not allowed access. This j comprises the entire front of the '; building, the southern half and the jWest end. It is expected, how- j ever, that the governor's rooms and I the senate chamber will be in readi- jness by the 1st of January, 1881. The former, or the ex^ cutive cham- bers, as they are called, are in the south-east corner, on the same floor (With the court of appeals, a most 1 3harming location. The rooms are being fitted up with great elegance. jThe senate chamber on the floor ibove, will be one of the finest i''ooms in the building. It is now • Doing finished in Tennessee marble, ihaste and beautiful. The corridors n this portion are also being wains- coted with marble. The state library which will oc- cupy the entire front of the two upper stories, is believed will be the most attractive room, perhaps, in the world. In height it will be two of the outer stories. The view from its windows will be of entrancing loveliness, overlooking the city, and for many miles up and down the beautiful Hudson. Of these uncompleted portions it is not now our province to speak, but taking what has already been done by the present architects and superin- tendent as an earnest of what they will accomplish in the future, there is every reason to believe that the building as it approaches completion will each year become more and more the pride and glory of the Empire State. The money expended in its con- struction will not have been wasted. It is true the h gislature of New York might have deliberated in halls 'hat would not have cost a tenth part as much ; but the capitol of such a state should mean some- \ thing more than mere rooms in which laws are made and mended. It should be, as this is, a grand monument to the spirit of progress and civilization. And the influence of such an edifice is not confined by the bound- aries of states or countries. The find arts everywhere are stimulated and strengthened by such a structure. As Clarence Cook says: '' There is nothing like a great ar- chitectural undertaking, with its implied accompaniment of sculpture and painting to create a love of art in a community, and New York has the proud distinction of being first of the States of the Union to have lighted in her capitol a beacon fire that shall call all the arts together and set them at work in noble tasks for her behoof." V CAPITOL COMMISSIONERS, The Lieutenant Governor, George G. Hoskins. The Attorney General, * Hamilton Ward. The Auditor of the Canal Department, John A. Place. ADVISORY BOARD OF ARCHITECTS. Frederick Law Olmstead, Leopold Eidlitz, Henry H. Eichardson. SUPERINTENDENT James W. Eaton. This pamphlet is for sale by Timothy C Havens, New Capitol, Albany, N. Y. Will be sent by mail on receipt of 15 cents. f HISTORY DESCRIPTION Vapiiol ai jiTbany iWitli Picture of tlie Com.pletecl Portion. ALBANY, N. Y 1880. THE VOICE Official organ Music Teachers' National Association. Is devoted to voice culture in Singing, Eeading and Speaking; tells how to treat S T|^ T T E I^ I 3^ a- , Stammering and other vocal defects; con- tains letters from Speech-Sufferers, biographical sketches of Musicians, Elo- cutionists and Orators, the history of and essays on Music, hints on ELOOTJTIOIJT, Articles on Spelling Eeform, and trans- lations of GrERMAN and French Methods and writings, explains principles and utility of JPiihlished monthly, $1 ay ear ; single copy, 10c. Send for prospectus. .^^d-ciress THE TTOIOB, 461 Broad\^^ay, AL.BAKY, N. Y. A. BOOK J^BOTJT ^IMERlC^lSr ACTORS. PMTEBS Of A Olif VII. By EC. F. PHELPS. Seco3n.cL ZEd-itiozi -^T^-itli. Portraits. Over 400 pages, filled with Sketches, Criticisms^ and Anecdotes. [Mw York Wondy (April 5, 1880.)] 'ndestly professes to be only a record of tlie Albany stage since the xkevoiuiionary era. But its pages really contain crisply written and clearly arrancjed sketches of all the famous actors and actresses who have played in New York within the period covered by this record, together with brief references to all the popular plays of the old and new eras. One especial excellence is its painstaking accuracy, and another is an index so complete that Mr. Phelps's book may almost be used as a dramatic encyclo- paedia. [London Theatre, (July, 1880.)] It is a history of the drama in America of rare interest. Sent by mail on receipt of $1,50. Address THE V^OIOE, 461 Broadivay, ALBANY, N. Y. THE ALBANY HAND-BOOK I 18 8 1. A ■ j STRANGERS' GUIDE AND RESIDENTS' MANUAL." The first volume of The Albany Hand Book is nearly ready and will hereafter be published annually, in neat and convenient form. Price, twenty-five cents. It will be similar in design and arrangement to the new Dictionaries of New York and London, now so deservedly popular, and of which many thousand copies have been sold. It will serve -as a convenient and useful guide to all places of interest in Albany, especially to the New Capitol, Washington Park, and the Rural Cemetery. It will contain a yearly chronicle of locsl events" — in icself w^orth the price of the book. It will give, convenient for reference, the election returns'from every ward in the city. It will contain a street directory ; brief histories of the churches, schools, public charities, and prominent business houses ; much information rela- tive to the city government, fire and police departments ; many curious and almost forgotten facts in the history of Albany, and much other matter which can not here be alluded to; the- whole compiled and edited by Mr. H. P. Phelps, author of " Players of a Century ; a Record of the Albany Stage." ^ n ^ ■■i"