Albany, New York

We wrapped up our New England tour at the end of August and headed into New York for our visit first to Albany (then later to New York City). Albany is our 48th capitol visit, leaving only Mississippi and Alabama to finally be able to say we've visited all the capitols in the United States. Because so many of the capitols are alike, with the same style domes, marble floors and staircases, similar architectural styles, and layout, we were pleased to find the capitol building in Albany quite unlike any we'd seen before. And no wonder! Designed by five different architects, the capitol features an eclectic blend of Gothic Revival, Romanesque, and Moorish influences. Construction was completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million (which translates to more than half a billion dollars today) with much of the interior (especially the staircases) showcasing works of art in their own right. The staircase near the western entrance is famous for the delicate faces carved in sandstone. It took more than 12 years and hundreds of stonecutters to complete, and legend has it that some stone cutters carved the likenesses of friends and family alongside the 77 more famous faces (such as Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and Susan B. Anthony). Speaking of legends, there have also been reports that the building is haunted, most notably with the ghost of Samuel Abbot, a night watchman who died in a 1911 fire, and another of a local fruit vendor who committed suicide in 1890 by jumping off one of the staircases to the Senate chamber below. We didn't see any ghosts during our visit, but with the dimly lit interior and Gothic feel to the building, I'm not surprised there are stories of hauntings. We did, however, enjoy our tour and consider this capitol quite unique.