The Empire State Plaza

This is the first of a few posts that I'm planning that will feature the most imposing element of Albany's skyline, the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza. I've been referring to the massive state office complex in previous posts. This is it.

Looking north toward the capitol across the Plaza.

Back in the 1960s, when Nelson Rockefeller was governor of New York, he hosted then Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands on her visit to the former Dutch colony. The state of the city then embarrassed the governor. He thought the poor neighborhoods around the capitol and the declining economic situation in the city were not appropriate symbols for the state.

One of four identical 23-story office towers.

He worked with architect Wallace Harrison to devise a bold and monumental look for the capital that was to completely transform the city. Just south of the capitol building stood an old decaying neighborhood of brick and stone townhouses inhabited mostly by poorer residents; the middle class had moved out long ago.

The capitol seen from the Cultural Education Center.

These days, displacing nearly 10,000 people, most of them economically disadvantaged, for a government office building project would be a very difficult task. But back in the 1960s, apparently, it was accomplished, although not without a bit of controversy. But still, it was done.

The base of the 44-story Corning office tower.

Construction began in 1965 and lasted for almost thirteen years. Downtown Albany was a mess for most of that time as the demolition and building progressed. The project lasted for a good deal of my childhood. I can remember the sound of pile drivers echoing through the suburbs for what seemed like years, constantly pounding away in the background of school lessons.

Corning Tower reaches skyward.

I remember, too, when the old Dunn Memorial Bridge that connected Albany to Rennselaer across the Hudson was dynamited to make way for a more modern, but altogether unremarkable, freeway bridge. The new city grew up while I did, reaching heights that amazed me.

The old city and the new city still struggle to merge.

To this day, the Corning Tower at Albany is the tallest building in New York State outside of New York City, and it is visible for miles around. Rockefeller got his gleaming new capital, and the look of Albany was transformed forever.

Robinson Square, which is not a square, against the Plaza.