June 2 State Capitol and Dinner with Ronnye

So today was a very long hot day. We Started around 11:30 a.m. which was refreshing, though we were going until 7:30 p.m. We started out with lunch, then we ventured on out into Albany. We had some time to kill before our two o'clock tour through the State Capitol, so we took an Architecture walk. I have never really been interested in architecture; I just took notice to whether the buildings were pretty or not. We took notice to some of the older buildings through State St. in Albany. We looked at different styles of architecture, like neo-classic, romanesque, french gothic, etc. It was quite interesting to notice the differences in the style that the architect chose to build in, and the periods from which they were built.

State Capitol with Stairs

St. Peters Church Tower

Suny Central formally Delaware Hudson Railway Headquarters

Half Moon on top of Suny building

Cobblestone road 

This cobblestone road showed in the picture above reminded me of something and at the time, I wasn't sure what it was. I'm still not exactly sure what it is; I have never been to Europe, I don't really know what this reminds me of. I do however like the old rustic feel it gives. It is like a blast from the past, to remind us what Albany used to be. 

Empire Plaza

We finished our architecture walk at the beginning of the Empire Plaza. We ventured on into the State Capitol, where we met Mave; she is the fifth generation of her family to work in State Capitol. At first I found it hard to believe that there were three different architects that built the Capitol; though once I went inside, I noticed the different styles that were throughout the building. It was absolutely amazing, though it wasn't finished. According to Mave, the government cut off the finishing of the building, there was not enough money left. It is really noticeable in the Senate Chambers where the carvers couldn't finish. The picture below shows an example of what some of the carvings along the stairs looked like.

Carvings in the Staircase in Capitol

Self Explanatory

Senator Elevator 

The picture above and below show my favorite part of the Capitol. The above picture shows the senator elevator. The outside of the elevator was much more elegant than the inside, though the inside was very pretty too. The picture below shows the Great Western Staircase. This stair case is also known as the million dollar staircase, though it cost well over one million dollars. It is hard to see in this picture, but all along the stairs there are carvings in the sandstone that depict important figures in history. It was one of my favorite parts of the building.

Great Western Staircase or Million Dollar Staircase

Demon of State Capitol

We ended our tour of the Capitol with this demon in the picture above. One of the carvers carved this demon into the sandstone to cure the building many years ago. Many believe that the building is haunted because of it. Before we ventured off to Ronnye's house, we walked around the Empire Plaza and took a group picture on the yellow statue.

State Capitol from Empire Plaza

Ronnye's house was very welcoming. Many of our classmates went kayaking, i chose to sit on the dock and watch. We had a catered barbecue, which was very delicious. President Scrimshaw and her husband were even there for a little while. We ended the night with a lovely discussion with Ronnye about what Troy used to be like, along with Russell Sage. I found the posture pictures to be the most surprising difference in the culture back then and the culture now. When I got home, I realized how much sun I had really gotten today; but all in all it was a really nice day.