THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING THAT THE REPORTERS WORK OUT OF IS ALSO HISTORIC.

IT TOOK ABOUT THREE DECADES TO BUILD BEFORE THEN-GOVERNOR TEDDY ROOSEVELT OFFICIALLY DECIDED TO STOP WORKING ON THE BUILDING EVEN THOUGH IT TECHNICALLY WASN'T FINISHED.

THROUGH THE YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE BUILDING BUT THE BUILDING STANDS TALL TODAY WITH A LOT OF THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE IN PLACE.

IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT TO SEE AND WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LOOK INSIDE.

[ THEME MUSIC ] 2:00 P.M. TOUR, YOU GUYS MADE IT.

WELCOME, EVERYONE.

WELCOME TO ALBANY.

WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THE NEXT 45, 50 MINUTES, NICE LEISURELY WALK THROUGH THE CAPITOL.

ALL RIGHT.

FOLLOW ME.

MY NAME IS MATT AND I HAVE BEEN A TOUR GUIDE SINCE AUGUST 27TH, 2012.

WE'RE GOING TO FILL UP THIS ELEVATOR.

A SURE YOU THAT WE CAN ALL PROBABLY FIT IN HERE.

ALL RIGHT.

I FEEL UNBELIEVABLY LUCKY BECAUSE WE GET TO TALK ABOUT NEW YORK STATE HISTORY.

WE GET TO TALK ABOUT CULTURE.

WE GET TO TALK ABOUT ART EVERY DAY.

I COULD NOT IMAGINE THAT A JOB LIKE THIS WOULD EXIST, BUT IT DOES.

A COUPLE STEPS DOWN.

FEEL FREE TO TAKE A SEAT.

YOU'RE ALREADY TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS.

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO SEE.

NEW YORK SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THE CIVIL WAR.

MORE MONEY THAN ANY STATE.

WE PROVIDED MORE GUNS, MORE BULLETS, MORE EVERYTHING TOWARD THE CAUSE AND MORE NEW YORKERS DIED FIGHTING IN THE CIVIL WAR THAN ANY STATE.

SO WE COME OUT OF THE WAR VICTORIOUS.

WE WANT TO CELEBRATE.

WE WANT TO MEMORIALIZE THE SITUATION, RIGHT, THE HISTORY.

WELL, WE CHOSE TO BUILD A NEW CAPITOL.

OUR TOUR GUIDES, NOT ONLY DO THEY NEED TO KNOW THE INS AND OUTS OF THE BUILDING AND WHAT TYPE OF STONE IS BEHIND ME, BUT THEY ALSO NEED TO KNOW WHERE ANY VISITORS ARE SUPPOSED TO GO FOR WHATEVER NEEDS THEY HAVE THAT DAY.

OUR DETAIL GETS EXTREMELY GRANULAR.

LUCKY FOR US, WE FOUND SOME OF THE LAST ORIGINAL TILE FLOOR IN THE BUILDING UNDER SOME 1950S FLOOR AND THIS IS MINT AND TILE FROM THE MINT AND CHINA COMPANY OUT OF ENGLAND.

THEY ARE STILL AROUND.

IF ONE OF THE TILES CRACKS OR BREAKS, THEY CAN MAKE US A REPLICA OF A TILE THAT THEY MADE US OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

ALL RIGHT.

FOLLOW ME.

WE CAN THANK THE OJS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CREW WHO HAVE DONE REPORTS ON THE BUILDING.

THERE ARE HISTORIC REPORTS, ARCHITECTURE REPORTS THAT TELL US HOW MANY WINDOWS THERE ARE, HOW MANY COLUMNS, HOW MANY ARCHES, EACH STONE, EACH TILE, WHAT WAS REALLY ORIGINAL, WHAT WAS REPLICA, WHAT'S NOT AND WE NEED THAT INFORMATION BECAUSE WE GET THOSE QUESTIONS EVERY DAY FROM VISITORS.

WAS THIS THE FIRST BUILDING TO HAVE ELECTRICITY IN ALBANY?

THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS IN THE COUNTRY WITH ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

THE NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL IS EXTREMELY COMPLICATED.

RIGHT, RIGHT OFF THE BAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE ARCHITECTS.

USUALLY, YOU HAVE ONE ARCHITECT.

HE COME UP WITH ONE, SINGLE, BEAUTIFUL DESIGN AND THEY ROLL IT OUT AND THERE'S A COMPLETION DATE.

BUT FOR OUR CAPITOL, IT DID NOT WORK OUT THAT WAY, RIGHT?

WE HAD FIVE ARCHITECTS IN TOTAL.

WE HAVE ABOUT FIVE TO SIX DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL STYLES WITHIN THE BUILDING.

ARCHITECTS DIDN'T AGREE WITH WHAT THE PREVIOUS ARCHITECT MIGHT HAVE DONE.

WE TALK ABOUT HENRY HOBSON RICHARDSON BEING THE MAIN ARCHITECT FOR THE SENATE SIDE OF THE BUILDING BUT HE NEVER TOUCHED THE SENATE STAIRCASE.

IT WAS HIS ARCHITECTURAL LEOPOLD EIDLITZ, WHO DID SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

I MEAN, IT'S REALLY-- IT IS SO COMPLICATED BUT IF ANYTHING, IT MAKES IT REALLY INTERESTING AND EXCITING AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHY VISITORS ARE DRAWN AND I MEAN, THERE WAS SOMEONE ON THE TOUR TODAY THAT I KNOW HAS TAKEN OUR TOUR PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX TIMES.

ALL RIGHT.

THIS IS IT.

THIS IS THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY CHAMBER, RIGHT.

WE NEED BOTH CHAMBERS IN ORDER TO GET THOSE BILLS VOTED ON, RIGHT, MAJORITY VOTE YES AND TO THE GOVERNOR'S DESK FOR SIGNATURE.

I LOVE NEW YORK STATE.

MY BACKGROUND IS IN GEOGRAPHY.

MY SPECIALTY IS NEW YORK STATE GEOGRAPHY.

YEAH.

JUST AN OBSESSION OF NEW YORK ON THE MAP, OBSESSION OF EVERYTHING WITHIN THAT MAP, LANDMARKS, CITIES, TOWNS, HISTORIC EVENTS.

YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WAS FOUGHT ON NEW YORK STATE SOIL.

THAT'S AMAZING.

YOU KNOW, LIKE NEW YORK REALLY IS A SPECIAL PLACE AS FAR AS NATIONAL HISTORY.

THIS IS WHAT WE CALLED THE GREAT WESTERN STAIRCASE.

THIS STAIRCASE TOOK ABOUT 12 YEARS TO BUILD.

EVERY BIT OF THE STONE WAS IMPORTED FROM SCOTLAND.

IT'S A SANDSTONE.

IT'S IDEAL FOR CARVING.

IT WAS COVERED IN HANG TO KEEP IT MOST ON ITS TRANSPORT HERE TO ALBANY.

ONCE IT ARRIVED, THE BLOCKS WERE SET AND THE CARVERS GOT ONTO THE STONE AND CARVED IN PLACE.

THE GREAT WESTERN STAIRCASE, THE PUBLIC KNOWS IT AS THE MILLION DOLLAR STAIRCASE, I THINK THAT'S THE PERFECT REPRESENTATION.

IT MIGHT BE ONE TYPE OF ARCHITECTURE, BUT THERE ARE 77 FAMOUS FACES AND MANY OF THEM ARE NEW YORKERS, AND THEY ARE ALL DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, RIGHT?

YOU HAVE WOMEN AND PLENTY OF FAMOUS MEN, RIGHT?

WE HAVE FREDERICK DOUGLAS.

WE HAVE SUSAN B. ANTHONY.

WE HAVE THESE FIGURES IN HISTORY THAT JUST REMIND HISTORIES OF HOW IMPORTANT OUR AMERICAN HISTORY IS.

IF ANYTHING, THE STAIRCASE IS REALLY THAT, IT'S A SHOWCASE OF AMERICAN HISTORY, RIGHT, NOT JUST NEW YORK STATE HISTORY, BUT REALLY NEW YORK'S INVOLVEMENT IN NATIONAL HISTORY.

THE RESPONSE WE WANT FROM VISITORS WHO TAKE OUR TOURS AND SEE OUR EXHIBITS, IT'S REALLY THAT THEY WALKED AWAY LEARNING SOMETHING.

REALLY ANYTHING.

EVEN IF IT WAS 10%, 1% THAT THEY GOT, AT LEAST THEY WERE LEARNING SOMETHING ABOUT NEW YORK STATE, SOMETHING THAT MATTERS.

ON THE CAPITOL TOUR SIDE, MY MAIN GOAL IS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THIS IS A PUBLIC BUILDING.

YOU KNOW THIS IS NOT SOME FORTRESS THAT YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CENTER.

I THINK THERE'S A MAJOR MISNOMER OF PEOPLE THINKING THAT THEY CAN'T COME INTO THIS BUILDING, YOU KNOW.

YOU WALK IN AND YOU SEE A SECURITY GUARD AND YOU SEE METAL DETECTORS AND I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE WON'T EVEN ASK IF THEY CAN GO ANY FURTHER.

THEY'LL JUST SEE THAT AND JUST TURN AROUND AND LEAVE AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD DO, YOU KNOW, JUST COME INSIDE.

IT'S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

GET THROUGH THE METAL DETECTOR AND YOU CAN ROAM THE HALLS, TAKE PICTURES OF SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE YOU THAT WILL EVER SEE.

I MEAN, IT'S HERE.

ALSO LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY CAN BECOME PART OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.

WHEN NEW YORKERS TAKE OUR TOURS AND THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT THEY CAN WATCH A LEGISLATIVE SESSION LIVE OR KNOW THAT THEY CAN EVEN BE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS, THERE'S A MESSAGE BEING LOST THERE AND SO OUR TOUR GUIDES REALLY TRY TO REMIND THE PUBLIC THAT THIS IS AN ACCESSIBLE BUILDING AND THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS BUILDING WILL AFFECT YOUR LIFE AND IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO BE INVOLVED, THAT'S YOUR CHOICE, BUT THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO CHOICES.

[ THEME MUSIC ] AND FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE STATE CAPITOL, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

THAT'S AT NYNOW.ORG.