The capitol took 3 2 years to build, starting in 1867, and it was deemed completed in 1899 by governor Theodore Roosevelt. Construction materials such as granite and marble came from all over the country and all over the world. Five architects worked on this building. The building reflects those different architectural styles. Were standing on the eastern approach to the capitol. This stairway contains 77 steps. And were told that the 77 was chosen to commemorate the year 1777, which was when new york officially became a state. The stairway is also important in the history of this building because its said governor Theodore Roosevelt used to run up these steps. And he would challenge reporters that if they could keep up with him, he would grant them an exclusive interview. At the very top you can see carvings of henry hudson and joseph grant. Now, its logical that henry hudson might appear on the new york State Capitol since it was henry hudson who came to albany, discovered albany in 1609. Joseph brant, were not sure why hes there. A native american who fought against the americans during the revolutionary war. But you can see that the capitol is a marble and stone carving. And we will talk more about that when we go inside. Were standing in the capitols hall of governors. And this is a very historic place. There are portraits of 51 of new yorks 56 governors hanging here outside the executive chamber. The tradition of gubernatorial portraits began in 1813 when the state legislator commissioned a portrait of george clinton, who was new york states first governor. Since then it has proceeded whereby family and friends of the governors pay for or commission the portraits. And as you walk along you can see nelson rockefeller, you can see William Seward on the wall behind you where the door was, Abraham Lincolns secretary of state during the civil war, Grover Cleveland who went onto become president , Theodore Roosevelt, who of course went onto become president. Martin van buren and Franklin Delano roosevelt, all went onto become president. I think certainly Franklin Delano roosevelt had an incredible impact on new york state. He came back into Public Service after being a state senator. And then contracting polio when he was 39 years old. But was encouraged by wife and friends to run for governor. That of course led to the presidency during an incredible time in americas history, world war ii and the great depression. Grover cleveland went quickly from being mayor of buffalo to governor in 1884 and then on to the presidency, where he was the only president to serve two terms with interruption in the middle. Martin van buren of course governor in 1828 and was from this area, actually. And his home is not far from here in kinderhook. Theres one governor who was impeached, and his name was william salzar. He was governor in 1913. And it seems like, you know, in retrospect as we read about it today, it seems like it might have been, you know, he might have been set up, shall we say. But he was notorious for and there was a trial. And after the impeachment his supporters went over to the executive mansion and evidently trampled their muddy boots on the furniture. So he didnt leave the governorship with a very good reputation. He was impeached because he was elected with a support of tanamy hall, tamny hall, a notorious 19th century new york political machine. Once in office he decided to do his own thing. Tamny hall looked into his Campaign Finances and found small irregularities, but it was enough to get him impeached. If we look back today we might see a different kind of story, but thats what happened. We are standing in the executive chamber, the governors official office or ceremonial office. In 1881 when the room was opened, it was used as the Governors Office but was found to be kind of large and imposing, so by 1884 governor Grover Cleveland decided not to use the room. He was the last governor to use it as an everyday office. There are interesting stories about it. One being about Franklin Delano roosevelt who had polio. He had a door carved in the mahogany wall so he could take the elevator from his car to his Office Without having to use a wheelchair. It was a way for him to keep his privacy and not encourage questions and that kind of thing from the public. We are standing in the fonew yo state assembly. The room opened in 1879. It didnt look anything as it does today. It had an incredible vaulted ceiling, 56foot tall vaulted ceiling. One of the tallest ever attempted. After about ten years, the ceiling started to fail, and assemblymen were finding chunks of stone on their desks. So they, unfortunately, had to replace the ceiling. And when they did that they also covered up murals that had been painted right on the stonework which the famous 19th century artist William Morris hunt. But there was no alternative, so they built a lower ceiling made of mahogany and papiermache. The papiermache came in handy later when there was a terrible fire in 1911. As the fire reached the assembly, the papiermache got wet and helped to stop the progress of the fire. So today the ceiling reflects the changes that occurred after the fire. Its mahogany and some kind of a ceiling tile. But the room is still grand, and i think is filled with the kind of gothic architecture that the architect favored. If you look at the tall columns, you can see that they look a little bit cut off because they were meant to sustain the huge, 56foot tall ceiling. One of our most notable representatives or assemblymen was Theodore Roosevelt, who served here. When he started, he had just graduated from college, and he was from a wealthy family, so he dressed very well. Because he was a college boy and was kind of a dandy, he soon proved that he was a lot tougher than he looked. There is a story that he was in a committee meeting, and the tamny hall gang were coming up to him as he was reading and a bill in order to get it on the record. And as he kept talking and they kept coming toward him, he reached down and picked up a chair leg and put it on the table in front of him. I think they backed off after that. So t. R. Was certainly one of our most famous assemblymen. Another thing that happened to him while he was in the assembly in 1884, on the same day he lost his wife and his mother. His first wife and his mother. And after that wrenching loss, he left Public Service for a while and went out west to become a rancher. We are standing on the steps of what could be called the centerpiece of the new york State Capitol. The Great Western staircase, or the Million Dollar staircase, which is what it cost, that was quite a bit of money in the 19th century. The staircase was built by isaac perry, the last architect to work on the new york State Capitol. Its made of sand stone imported from scotland which lent itself to carving. The staircase is a miracle of carving. There are 77 famous faces including people like Abraham Lincoln and ulysses s. Grant. There are many, many faces of people whom we know nothing, and theyre called the capitol unknowns. Theyre thought to be friends and family of the stone carvers. The stone carvers were very important in the construction. Most of them came from the british isles, scotland, ireland, wales and england. The staircase opened in 1898. And it had taken 14 years to construct. By the time it opened, the capitol had gotten electricity, so the lights behind me were electric lights when the staircase was actually inaugurated. This is also a good place to talk about the beginnings of the capitol. How it began and the famous architects who worked on it. Because after the civil war when the state decided it needed a larger and new capitol, a Design Contest was held. The winner was a canadian. His name was thompson fuller. He came up with a gorgeous design for the building, which included a large dome. Ten years later, he had gotten only as far as two exterior walls. So mr. Fuller moved on, and he was replaced by henry hobson richardson, a very well known 19th century architect. Leopold idelitz and frederik ome stead. Richardson and idelitz divided the building up. Richardson started on this beautiful staircase on the Great Western staircase but died. And then he was replaced by the final architect to work on the building, isaac perry. Perry was a real, true lover of stone carving. He took the level of stone carving to new heights. I think thats what you see when you look at this staircase. He was the final architect to work on the building. Construction started in 1867 and went on and on. There was lots of moaning about the length of time and the amount of money. It did cost 25 million. Governor Theodore Roosevelt said, were done, its complete. Marking the official end of the construction of of the capitol. Though i thinkso