Hampton Inn Albany Wolf Road Airport

STREET VENDORS

by moiraistyx

Albany, just like every city has it's fair share of street vendors. The vendors here only come out during lunch hours and they line the street next to the SUNY campus and The Empire Plaza. What I thought was neat about these vendors is that each stand is dedicated to a different style of food, there was Chinese, Indian, Italian, Sushi, etc. I wasn't very hungry so I settled for a key lime Italian Icee from the Columbo stand. It was the best Italian Icee I've ever had. Savoring the Italian Icee

Orchard Tavern

by AJ__73 about Orchard Tavern

Another neighborhood/family restaurant with a friendly staff and great food.

There is a back room for dining and/or private parties, a second dining room, and a bar with 2 televisions, and 1 virtual lotto program.

Be sure to catch the pictures of Old Albany along the walls. Personal Pizzas..I don't know what's in the recipe but it works!

STATE CAPITAL BUILDING

by moiraistyx

The state capital building in Albany is one of the most beautiful capital buildings in the US. It is actually the result of over 30 years of work by 4 different architects; Thomas Fuller, Leopold Eiditz, Henry Hobson Richardson and Isacc Perry. Thomas Fuller designed the first two floors with an Italian Renaissance influence, Leopold Eiditz, Henry Hobson Richardson and Isacc Perry used a Romanesque style on the 3rd and 4th floors. Perry is responsible for what has become known as "the million dollar staircase". The capital building at the time it was built was the most expensive public building to be built. On On March 28, 1911 a disatrous fire hit the libray in the state captial building destroying over 450 thousand books and 270 thousand manuscripts.

Here are some interesting facts about this wonderful work:

1.The original capitol was designed by Philip Hooker and the cornerstone was laid on April 23, 1806, on the site of the existing Capitol park.
2. The original Capitol had a time ball which fell every day at noon. It was placed at the top of the building.
3. It took 32 years to build the present capital building and cost 25 million dollars.
4. The cornerstone of the present capitol was lost during renovations after the library fire in 1911 and still has not been found.
5. The Million Dollar Staircase cost more than one million dollars and has no where near one million steps. The faces in the the walls and columns of the staircase are of governors, famous people, and children of the stone carvers.
6. Each senator receives a new chair, made of red Spanish leather, for the Senate Chamber when he/she is elected. The darker the leather the longer the senator has held office.
7. In the Governor's Red Room there is gold plate painted on the walls, and a hidden elevator that was built for one of New York's famous governors.

The Capital Building is currently undergoing extensive renovations, but you can still get free tours during regular business hours.

Capital of the Empire State

by mrclay2000

"Atypical Capital City"

Though New York State is presently our third most populous state, its modest capital city (some few hours north of America's largest at New York City) contains barely over 100,000, and thus is almost squeezed off the list of America's 100 most populous cities. Apart from this, Albany has a lot of history since its founding in the mid-17th century, making it one of the nation's oldest. History records that the Dutch sailed up the Hudson after buying Manhattan, and by 1800 many of Albany's residents still spoke Dutch as their first language.

In recent years, Albany had begun to decay, its inner city falling into disrepair, making the entire town almost a poor shroud for its majestic historical buildings. In the last quarter century, a new complex of state buildings and the central city mall (Empire State Plaza) help to make Albany almost futuristic, the "model" for urban planning (except for the notable absence of greenery and living things along the plaza). Even so, first-timers to Albany will have much to marvel over.