The Empire Center at The Egg, a performing arts venue resembling an egg sitting in the northeast corner of Empire State Plaza, was designed by Wallace Harrison and built between 1966 and 1978 under engineer Peter A. Steinborn. The Egg houses two amphitheatres, the 450-seat Lewis A. Swyer Theatre and the 982-seat Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre.
Although it appears to sit on a small platform, the stem that holds The Egg actually goes down through six stories deep into the Earth. The Egg keeps its shape by wearing a girdle - a heavily reinforced concrete beam that was poured along with the rest of the shell. This beam helps transmit The Egg's weight onto the supporting pedestal and gives the structure an ageless durability that belies its nickname. The building's curved exterior defines the interior statement as well. There are virtually no straight lines or harsh corners inside The Egg. Instead, walls along the edge curve upward to meet gently concave ceiling light for celestial effect.
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, commonly known as simply the Empire State Plaza or The South Mall, is a complex of government buildings bordered by Madison Avenue and State Street, Swan Street and Eagle Street.
Tags: The Egg Empire Center Empire Center at The Egg The Empire Center at The Egg Peter A. Steinborn Peter Steinborn Wallace Harrison Wallace K. Harrison modernism modernist Empire State Plaza Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza New York NY Albany Albany County Capitol District Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris Harrison & Abramovitz Harrison, Abramovitz and Harris Harrison and Abramovitz Capital District Capital Region
The King Memorial Fountain, also known as the Rufus H. King Fountain or the Moses Fountain, was installed at the southernwestern end of Washington Park in 1893. The fountain was erected in memory of Rufus H. King, former president of the Albany Savings Bank, the New York State National Bank, and the Albany Insurance Company, through the will of his son, Col. Henry L. King who left the sum of $10,000 for that purpose when he died in 1878. By the time the fountain was commissioned, the sum had gown to $30,000. The executors of the King's will named Daniel Chester French, Ephraim Keyser, Charles H. Niehaus, and J. Massey Rhind to create models on the theme of Moses Smiting the Rock. The models were placed on display for public approval before the fountain committee settled on Rhind's model.
The fountain features a bronze figure of Moses standing atop a file of rocks, his arms raised and a stick held in his proper right hand. Below him four allegorical bronze figures are installed amid the rocks. On his front proper right side, Youth is a young female figure holding a water jug. On his front proper left side, Manhood is a bearded young man with a sword. On his back proper left side, Old Age is a bearded elderly man with a staff. On his back proper right side, Childhood is a seated mother feeding her little girl who reclines in her lap while her little boy stands by her proper right side.
Washington Park, bound by Willett Street, Madison Avenue, State Street and Lake Avenue, was first opened to the public in 1871. The park was laid out by the engineering firm of Bogart, Culyer & Co., with R.H. Bingham, city surveyor, as chief engineer and superintendent. In 1873, Bingham was succeeded by his former assistant, William S. Egerton, who completed the design.
Washington Park Historic District #72000818 (1972)
Tags: childhood king memorial king memorial fountain washington park rufus h. king fountain moses fountain moses smiting the rock john massey rhind j massey rhind New York NY Albany Albany County moses Washington Park Historic District national register of historic places landmark capitol district NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District Capital District Capital Region
The New York State Capitol, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million (roughly half a billion current dollars), was the most expensive government building of its time. Inspired by the Hôtel de Ville, it is one of only ten state capitol buildings in the United States without a dome.
Construction began in 1867 under British architect Thomas Fuller, who is credited with the plan, general massing, and exterior decoration. After eight years of work with only three floors completed, in 1875 he was by Lieutenant Governor William Dorsheimer in favor or Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Hobson Richardson, the later of whose influence can be seen in the building's Richardsonian Romanesque features. Eidlitz designed the north and east facades and the Assembly Chamber, and Richardson the west and south facades along with the Senate Chamber. Upon his election to governorship, Grover Cleveland reviewed the mounting costs of construction and replaced Eidlitz and Richardson with Isaac G. Perry in 1883 to complete the project. Perry is credited with much of the building's carving and interior paneling. The west end was damaged by fire in 1911 and was fully reconstructed. The Senate Chamber was restored by architect John Messick between 1978 and 1982. Restoration of the Assembly Chamber began in 1997 under Françoise Bollack Architects.
The exterior of the lower three floors is designed in the manner of the French Second Empire with Doric and Corinthian columns, arched windows, and rusticated stone work. The fourth floor is Romanesque. On the fifth floor the towers, cornices, and dormers suggest the style of Francis I. The pedestals and balustrades of the monumental front staircase and the many chimneys are French Renaissance.
Notable architectural features include its interior "Million Dollar Staircase." The exterior, reminiscent of a giant French chateau, features pyramidal red tile corner roofs at the corners connected by long gray slate roofs; high dormers; chimneys, and balustrades; and a monumental eastern staircase extending 166 feet from the building. The Capitol exterior is made of white granite from Hallowell, Maine, and the building incorporates marble cut by state prisoners at Sing Sing. The granite structure is 220 feet tall at its highest point.
National Register #71000519 (1971)
Tags: new york state capitol Capitol building new york state capitol building New York NY Albany Albany County National Register of Historic Places landmark nhl Thomas Fuller Leopold Eidlitz Henry Hobson Richardson Eidlitz and Richardson Eidlitz & Richardson Isaac G. Perry Isaac Perry Romanesque Renaissance revival Richardsonian Romanesque chateauesque Thomas W. Fuller Second Empire style second empire French Renaissance French Renaissance style capitol district NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark U.S. National Historic Landmark Capital District Capital Region
Flanking the entrance of the New York State Department of Education Office Building are two sculpted lampposts depicting seated children.
The New York State Department of Education Building, at 89 Washington Avenue, was designed in neoclassical by Henry Hornbostel and opened in 1912. It currently houses offices of the New York State Education Department and was formerly home to the New York State Museum and New York State Library. It was the first major in the United States building constructed solely as a headquarters for the administration of education.
National Register #71000521 (1971)
Tags: sculpture lamppost New York State Department of Education Building State Education Building department of education building department of education New York State Education Department New York State Museum New York State Library New York NY Albany Albany County capitol district national register of historic places landmark column corinthian colonnade NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places Capital District Capital Region
The King Memorial Fountain, also known as the Rufus H. King Fountain or the Moses Fountain, was installed at the southernwestern end of Washington Park in 1893. The fountain was erected in memory of Rufus H. King, former president of the Albany Savings Bank, the New York State National Bank, and the Albany Insurance Company, through the will of his son, Col. Henry L. King who left the sum of $10,000 for that purpose when he died in 1878. By the time the fountain was commissioned, the sum had gown to $30,000. The executors of the King's will named Daniel Chester French, Ephraim Keyser, Charles H. Niehaus, and J. Massey Rhind to create models on the theme of Moses Smiting the Rock. The models were placed on display for public approval before the fountain committee settled on Rhind's model.
The fountain features a bronze figure of Moses standing atop a file of rocks, his arms raised and a stick held in his proper right hand. Below him four allegorical bronze figures are installed amid the rocks. On his front proper right side, Youth is a young female figure holding a water jug. On his front proper left side, Manhood is a bearded young man with a sword. On his back proper left side, Old Age is a bearded elderly man with a staff. On his back proper right side, Childhood is a seated mother feeding her little girl who reclines in her lap while her little boy stands by her proper right side.
Washington Park, bound by Willett Street, Madison Avenue, State Street and Lake Avenue, was first opened to the public in 1871. The park was laid out by the engineering firm of Bogart, Culyer & Co., with R.H. Bingham, city surveyor, as chief engineer and superintendent. In 1873, Bingham was succeeded by his former assistant, William S. Egerton, who completed the design.
Washington Park Historic District #72000818 (1972)
Tags: manhood king memorial king memorial fountain washington park rufus h. king fountain moses fountain moses smiting the rock john massey rhind j massey rhind New York NY Albany Albany County moses Washington Park Historic District national register of historic places landmark capitol district NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District Capital District Capital Region