In June 1965, the cornerstone was laid for what would become The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza. Marketed at the time as a “Design for the Future,” the Plaza exists today as an icon of 20th century Modernist architecture. This exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Empire State Plaza and tells the story of how the center of New York’s capital city became a public space where government, culture, and community converge.
A Vision for Albany & Design for the Future
The Empire State Plaza exists because of the vision and determination of one man: Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908–1979). The South Mall project would centralize the New York State’s expanding workforce into Albany’s city center, using large-scale modern architecture to demonstrate the state’s political and cultural importance.
A composite image of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and a model of the South Mall, 1963.
Office of General ServicesEarly artist rendering of the proposed plaza
New York State ArchivesGovernor Rockefeller and Albany Mayor, Erastus Corning 2nd, overlook a model of the proposed Empire State Plaza, as well as revitalization projects throughout the city.
New York State ArchivesIn 1959, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands came to Albany for 350th Anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage. Her visit is said to prompt Governor Rockefeller to revitalize Albany. In this image, Gov. Rockefeller is seen with the Princess at the Hudson Champlain Ball, Albany Armory, 1959.
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Architecture for the Modern World: The International Style
W.K. Harrison painting of the proposed Agency Buildings 1, 2, 3 and 4
Avery Library of Architecture and Fine Art, Columbia UniversityW.K. Harrison drawing of the proposed Cultural Education Center
Avery Library of Architecture and Fine Art, Columbia UniversityEarly rendering of the South Mall project showing the Freedom Arch in place of what is
today the Cultural Education Center
New York State ArchivesArtist rendering of the proposed "Arch of Freedom". The Arch, a monument to the Emancipation Proclamation, was to have been constructed at the south end of the plaza where the Cultural Education Center now stands. The concept was eliminated as it did not create enough of an architectural anchor to the Capitol Building at the opposing end of the plaza.
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PALACE OF VERSAILLES, France - 18th Century
The open vistas and formal landscaping of the Palace of Versailles, constructed between 1665 and 1710, were directly borrowed for the design of the Plaza with the inclusion of the reflecting pools and squared trees.
Kiev.Victor / Shutterstock.comBRASILIA, Brasil - 1960
Founded in 1960, Brasilia is the national capital of Brazil. As a new city planned entirely from scratch, Brasilia’s grand civic architecture in the Modernist style influenced Rockefeller and Harrison’s plans for Albany.
Thinkstock.comROCKEFELLER CENTER, New York City - 1930
Nelson Rockefeller and Wallace Harrison began their life-long collaboration during the construction of Rockefeller Center.
achinthamb / Shutterstock.comUNITED NATIONS, New York City - 1958
The Harrison & Abramovitz architectural firm also oversaw the building of the United Nations headquarters, located beside the East River in Manhattan. The 17-acre site was purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and donated to the city. Designed by Oscar Neimeyer and Le Corbusier, with Wallace Harrison as the Director of Planning, many comparisons are drawn between the UN and the Plaza.
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The International Style emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, following the idea that a building’s design should come entirely from its purpose. With a surge in the growth of cities after World War II, the International Style was an achievable option for large urban development projects intended to boost the floor space for a given site. Most evident in the design of skyscrapers, the acceptance of industrialized mass-production techniques contributed to the International Style's design philosophy. Glass and steel, in combination with reinforced concrete, became primary construction materials. Architects who worked in the International Style broke with architectural tradition to design simple, unornamented buildings. Floor plans were functional and logical.
ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCES
Inspiration for the grand scale and clean modern design of the Empire State Plaza came from several notable sources, including structures in nearby New York City and from two notable international architectural complexes built four centuries apart.Click images for more information
Capital City Under Construction
Construction of the Empire State Plaza began in 1965. For many years, the citizens of Albany watched the South Mall take form, emerging from a shapeless maze of deep foundations to become the dominant feature in the Albany skyline. The first building to be completed was the Legislative Office Building in 1972, and the last was the Egg in 1978.
Pre-demolition view taken from the old Wellington Hotel looking southwest over the future construction site of the South Mall. February 15, 1963. Overall, approximately 1,150 homes, businesses and other buildings were torn down over a 98.5-acre site south of the Capitol.
New York State Archives1967 view from the Alfred E. Smith Building
New York State ArchivesConstruction of the platform structure of the Empire State Plaza and Concourse
Photo taken by Richard F. Brown (1944-2009)Construction of the Egg, 1973
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In 1962, Governor Rockefeller revealed plans for a new University at Albany campus to be located on the edge of town. Similar in scope and style to the Plaza, construction on the new campus was concurrent with the Plaza.
New York State ArchivesCorning Tower iron worker
Photo taken by Richard F. Brown (1944-2009)
Construction workers at the South Mall Project
Photo courtesy of Allen Decker, Sr.Aerial view of the construction of the Dunn Memorial Bridge (bottom right) and the ongoing construction of the Empire State Plaza (top center).
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BOOMTOWN
More than 60 prime contractors and over 1,500 subcontractors and suppliers were employed by the state to build the Plaza. The newly formed New York State Office of General Services was assigned oversight of the project. During peak construction, as many as 2,500 people worked at the Plaza, most of whom were unionized workers. During this time, Albany was described as a “boomtown,” with construction on the Plaza drawing people from all over the country to answer the demand for specialized building trades that included: carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, ironworkers, operating engineers, painters, plasterers, glaziers, plumbers and steamfitters, roofers, sheet metal workers, pipe insulators, boilermakers, teamsters, elevator constructors, and laborers.Click images for more information
Construction in Albany was not limited to the Plaza during this time. The state was also heavily investing in infrastructure and education, building new highways, colleges, and universities. The new Dunn Memorial Bridge over the Hudson River, along with a highway bypass, connected travelers directly to the Plaza. Buildings were also going up across town at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus to centralize many of the state’s larger agencies.
Empire State Plaza Art Collection
The Empire State Plaza Art Collection has been heralded as “the greatest collection of modern American art in any single public site that is not a museum.” Beginning in 1965, following a procedure he established decades earlier during the construction of Rockefeller Center, Governor Nelson Rockefeller assembled a commission of art experts to select the works for the Plaza and personally signed off on each acquisition. Funds for the art purchases were allocated as a percentage of the construction cost of each building on the Plaza. There are 92 works in the collection; 90 of which were purchased and two gifted. Sixteen works were commissioned for specific sites on the complex. The collection includes noted artists Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, David Smith, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, Louise Nevelson, and Alexander Calder.
Photograph of Antoni Milkowski’s 1965-67 sculpture, Salem 7 (1 of 3 made). The large, outdoor sculpture is located near The Egg on the Empire State Plaza. Made of Cor-ten steel, the sculpture rests on three points and is composed of seven, four-foot cubes arranged to form crosses. Its dark square forms contrast with The Egg’s curving shape and light colored concrete exterior. The work is placed so the viewer can completely encircle the sculpture in order to experience it.
Office of General ServicesCorning Tower Corridor
Office of General ServicesUntitled (1969) by Sven Lukin in the South Concourse of the Empire State Plaza.
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Trio by George Sugarman on the Empire State Plaza.
Sugarman himself suggested the siting of Trio, and its location along a busy pedestrian walkway gives viewers the opportunity to walk through and around it, exploring its many curves and angles.Office of General Services
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Behind the Scenes at the Plaza
On October 1, 1960, the New York State Legislature authorized the creation of the new state agency for the consolidation and management of core government support services. The Office of General Services, commonly known as OGS, was born. From the beginning, the care and management of the state’s office buildings was at the heart of OGS. While simultaneously bringing the state’s existing real property portfolio up to modern standards, OGS was assigned the oversight and development of the South Mall Project—one of the largest civic construction projects of the 20th century. Fifty years after Governor Rockefeller memorialized the laying of the Plaza’s cornerstone, OGS employees are still responsible for “keeping the lights on” here at the Plaza.
What does it take to heat and cool 9.4 million square feet of office space? When first engineered, the Plaza’s heating and cooling facilities were one of the largest centralized mechanical systems in the world. Still a colossus, the Plaza’s steam plant generates enough energy to heat 45,000 homes and power the equivalent of 30,000 standard-size window unit air conditioners.
Office of General ServicesEmpire State Plaza Steam Tunnel
In 2014, the Plaza’s steam plant produced over one billion pounds of steam. Nearly 130 full-time plant engineers work around the clock to operate, maintain, and upgrade the Plaza’s utility systems.
Office of General ServicesThe OGS Plaza Operations group is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the Plaza. For everything from fabricating and installing signs, to landscaping – this team does it all.
Office of General ServicesIn advance of the 50th Anniversary of the Plaza, OGS launched a broad initiative to restore and preserve areas of the Plaza’s physical infrastructure. This included painting the concourse and parking garages, installing new signage, upgrading lighting, repairing masonry, and landscaping.
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The Plaza Today
“Fifty years after Governor Rockefeller laid its cornerstone, the Empire State Plaza stands as a place where government and community converge. The Plaza offers a number of unique opportunities for visitors to learn more about our state’s history and culture, and I encourage New Yorkers and visitors alike to attend one of the many anniversary events taking place this summer and fall.”
— Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"In the last 50 years, generations of families have played a part in the history of the Empire State Plaza. While the neighborhoods that were lost to build the Plaza can never be replaced, the Plaza has become a part of the community shared by all. From the tradespeople who constructed it and continue to maintain it, to state employees who spent their careers in its hallways, to those who come to the concerts, get engaged to be married on the ice rink, run in the road races that start here, ride the carousel at the State Museum, enjoy the fireworks on July 4, and join their neighbors each Thanksgiving Day to deliver meals, the Empire State Plaza is more than a government complex; it is part of their everyday life and family memories."
— New York State Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito
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