I've been to Albany a number of times to lobby with the UAW, and have been at this staircase so many times. Each time, its beauty just astounds me! I love to see the faces of people who have never seen it before-jaws drop open all over the place. The Million Dollar Staircase is also a popular setting for various speakers protesting or supporting various legislation. If you are in Albany, you really owe it to yourself to stop in, and take a look around. Access is easy, but there are security checkpoints to go through. These can take some time, around 8am, noon, 1pm, so you might want to visit the Capitol at off times. Also, there are neighborhoods near to the Capitol buildings, that date from the 1700's. Many have been saved from ruin. One street I had the time to walk down, had plaques fixed to each rowhouse, listing the name of the person who'd built it, the year, and what that person did for a living. Many were fur trappers.

I remember going on a class trip, maybe when I was in 5th grade, to the State Capitol. That would have been around 1959. (Fort Hunter Elementary School, in Guilderland.) I recall the beauty of this staircase, Lo! these many years later.

The Great Western Staircase cost over a million (1897) dollars to build and took over 14 years to complete.

http://63.118.56.3/sws/aboutsenate/f1_gwstaircase.html

What more is there to say?

If it was in Florida, they'd have filled it with water.

As many times as I've been in or through Albany I never bothered to block out that awful flying-saucer thing and go visit the "boring" old buildings. "Height of workmanship" below is dead on the money. And money is what it's all about, isn't it? We now build on the cheap and call it "progress." And, what's really amazing: we the people buy it! To be fair to Albany, though, the old D&H Railroad-Canal headquarters down the hill is worth the trip.

The mops are a nice touch, but not quite up to the job.

This is a marvelously complex and interesting stair! Not a square foot of the overall space is left untouched! Wonderful! Thanks. I hope there is a matching stair at the other end of the space, behind the photographer.

So that's what "ornate detail" means!

That's some incredible workmanship.

This staircase is magnificent, and the photo captures the scale of the room well. The glass above was painted over during WWII to prevent Axis bombers from seeing the lights of the capitol from the air. It was recently restored to what you see above, and the stairway has been meticulously cleaned and brought back to its former glory.

http://www.nearchitecture.com/buildings/ny/the_great_western_staircase.h...

It sure seems like there's a head poking out of every corner in this photo.

This photo represents the epitome of American workmanship, craftsmanship, and pride, which I believe will never be equaled again. Today's attitude is 'you can't see it from my house'. Amazing. In more ways than one.

Minus the spittoon.