Hollinger Corp. pH 8.5 182 5 12 py 1 New York State Education Building T>.-^. 'f. Albany I 'I- AUr^^'S p. f » »« jAN ?A >513 ■V* New York State Education Building The New York State Education Department is Scope of charged with the general management and super- ^^P^^**^®*^* vision not only of all public schools but of all the educational work of the State. Its jurisdiction extends in varying degrees to the district, village and city schools, to the normal schools, the colleges and universities, the professional and technical schools, libraries, museums, study clubs, historical societies, and other institutions of an educational character. It supervises the entrance requirements to, and the licensing and practice of, the profes- sions of medicine, law, dentistry, veterinary med- icine, pharmacy, optometry, chiropody, and also supervises the certification of nurses, public account- ants and shorthand reporters. Through the Uni- versity of the State of New York it may incorporate any universit)^, college, academy, library, museum, or other institution or association for the promotion of knowledge. The Department regularly inspects the educa- tional institutions within its jurisdiction, licenses teachers, sets up uniform standards for the public schools, maintains the State Library, the State D40-Jai3-SOOO (7-2738) Building Cost Architects Contractor Exterior features Museum, and the State Library School, and appor- tions to the schools the appropriations annually made by the Legislature. The construction of the New York State Educa- tion Building was authorized by an act of the Legislature which became a law June i, 1906. It is the first building in this country to be devoted entirely to the administration of a state system of education. Work was begun July 29, 1908 and the formal dedication occurred October 15, 16 and 17, 1912. The total cost of the site was ^466,440.75 and its area is over two and one-half acres. The entire cost of the building, including site, will be about $5,000,000. The architects are Palmer, Hornbostel & Jones of New York City, and the contractors the R. T. Ford Company of Rochester. The building faces south upon Washington avenue, and also has a frontage upon Hawk, Swan and Elk streets. It is of classical design, a colon- nade of thirty-six columns extending along the entire front. Behind this colonnade is an ample arcade, the wall being broken by a series of large semicircular openings which allow great window area. The floor of the arcade is constructed of clinker brick brought from England and laid in herringbone fashion. The entire fagade is crowned by a solid wall which gives it unity and strength. The columnar treatment is also carried across the ends of the building. Gray granite from Maine is used for the base. The front and end walls and the columns are of white Vermont marble, the capitals of the columns being of glazed terra cottn. The rear walls are constructed of a light-colored vitreous brick and terra cotta. The roof is of copper with great skylight space. •*^°°* The ground between the curb and the building Landscape is laid out with walks, lawns and barberry hedges. There are also granite pedestals for vases. Norway maples are placed at the curb along the front and ends of the lot. A wide flight of easy steps leads to the main Main entrance entrance at the center of the building (Washington avenue). There are other entrances at either end (Hawk and Swan streets). The building is of fireproof construction through- Construction out. The floors are of steel, marble, mosaic and concrete. Heat is supplied by a vacuum steam heating Heat and light system, the power for which is generated in a new State power plant two blocks away, and the elec- tric light and power comes from dynamos located in the same power house. The building is ventilated by a system of ducts Ventilation and flues concealed behind the partitions and struc- tural work. Large electric-driven fans force fresh Location Plan air through these ducts, after it has passed over cheesecloth screens and tempering coils in the filter rooms, to the various rooms of the building. It is then drawn out by other fans and exhausted at the roof. This system contemplates a complete change of air throughout the building, the volume and frequency of the change being proportioned to the size of rooms and number of occupants. The block diagram and measurements give some idea of the plan and size of the building. The height of the building at the Hawk street end is 148 feet; at the Swan street end, 128 feet. Utility Stack room Auditorium BASEMENT The basement contains the janitor's and cleaners' rooms, storage rooms, shipping rooms, a driveway and court for shipping purposes, ventilating, heat- ing and lighting apparatus, toilet rooms for the staff and for the public, workshop, bindery, rock- cutting plant for the Museum, and the lower floors of the great bookstack of the Library, which are carried about 30 feet into the ground. At the eastern end of the building beginning in the basement and occupying two stories is the auditorium with a gallery and promenade on three sides. Its decorative treatment is in a modified Greek style and it has a seating capacity of about nine hundred. In the west end of the basement is a large safety Safety vault vault 15 by 43 feet, with ample steel boxes and cases, to provide for the safekeeping of manu- scripts, historical documents and other valuable relics which are in the possession of the Department. FIRST FLOOR To the right of the vestibule at the main en- Main trance is a broad staircase leading to the second staircase floor rotunda. This vestibule and the rotunda with its vaulted corridors are constructed of Indiana limestone. Directly in front of the entrance is the main group Elevators of elevators and at the left is the bureau of informa- tion. A broad corridor runs east and west the entire Main corridor length of the first floor. The material used for the pillars in this corridor is Tennessee marble. The Regents chamber, which occupies the south- Regents west corner, has walls of Indiana limestone and an chamber ornate ceiling of oak with composition ornament. The rooms of the Commissioner of Education are Commissioner's adjacent to the Regents chamber and are treated °™*^® with mahogany wainscoting. Other offices on the ^®^ front of the building accommodate the three assist- ant commissioners, the Administration Division, the School Libraries Division and Visual Instruc- tion Division. In the rear of the building on this Stack room floor are the Vocational Schools Division, Law Divi- sion, editing section, cashier's office, Inspections Division, Attendance Division, Statistics Division, storekeeper's room, mailing room and the acces- sion section of the library. The wing in the rear contains the continuation of the book stacks, and on the west side rooms for letter files, telephone exchange and the manuscript section, and on the east, the cataloging room. SECOND FLOOR Rotunda Jo the north of the circular central rotunda extends a great vaulted corridor 40 feet in width, 48 feet in height and 52 feet in length leading to the general reference reading room; to the east a shorter vaulted corridor leads to the periodical room and medical library; and to the west a similar corridor leads to the law and legislative reference libraries. These corridors are roofed with leaded glass supported on frames covered with metal over which is applied silver leaf. Over the rotunda, supported on pendentives, is a circular colonnade. This colonnade in turn supports a dome in which is a large skylight. From the top of this dome is suspended a chandelier also covered with silver leaf. With its wings the rotunda measures about 100 feet by 100 feet. The height of the dome above the second floor is 94 feet. In the rotunda are the following inscriptions: Inscriptions " 1784, 1854, 1904,^ The University of the State of New York"; "Here shall be gathered the best books of all lands and all ages"; "This library aims to uplift the State and serve every citizen"; " A system of free common schools wherein all the children of this State may be educated." About thirty-two paintings of varying size, which Mural are being executed by Mr Will H. Low, will be paintings placed upon the walls below the cornice and be- tween columns. The general title of the paintings is to be "The Aspiration of Man for Intellectual Enlightenment and the Results of Its Attainment." The general reference reading room of the State General T •, • 11 L ^- .L • reading room Library occupies practically the entire north wing. It is placed directly above and in immediate con- nection with an immense stack room having a capacity of 2,000,000 volumes. Directly in front of the entrance is the loan desk, back of which are the automatic book lifts and the general reference desk. At the rear of the room are alcoves for the special collections on education, technology, history ^1784 The Regents of the University of the State of New York incorporated. 1854 State Department of Public Instruction created. 1904 Unification of the two educational systems of the State. and genealogy. At the left of the entrance (west) are the officesof the director and at the right (east) the card catalog room and office of the reference librarian. The architectural treatment of the reading room^^consists of twelve columns with steel cores over which are placed the ornamental shells. On these columns rest a series of terra cotta tile domes. These are constructed of three thick- nesses of red tile put together in herringbone formation, and in such a manner as to make the domes self-supporting between the steel up- rights. The size of this room is io6 feet by 132 feet and the height of the domes is about 50 feet. The walls are of imitation limestone and the room receives ample light from the fenestration consist- ing of eleven huge leaded glass windows. Suspended from each dome is an electrolier, the light from the forty incandescents being transmitted through a large circular sheet of specially designed glass, giving a soft light to the whole room and an unusually attractive effect of height to the ceiling. ^P®<^'f^ The electroliers in the periodical room and the law library are similar to those in the general reading room, except that the light is diffused downward through Georgia marble a quarter of an inch thick instead of through glass. The tops of the fixtures are open, permitting indirect lighting by reflec- tion from the ceiling. The general lighting of the libraries medical and law libraries is produced by side lights in groups of three supported by bronze fixtures. In all these libraries special and distinct light for reading is supplied by hooded desk lights which are arranged to concentrate on the reading tables. An elliptical self-supporting stone staircase leads Elliptical to the third floor. This staircase is noticeable for staircase its simplicity and beauty. On a mezzanine at the east end of the building, Mezzanine are the offices of the secretaries of the State Board ° *^®^ of Medical Examiners, State Board of Pharmacy, State Teachers Retirement Fund Board, and the inspector of nurse training schools. THIRD FLOOR The offices of the Examinations Division occupy Examinations the entire northwest side of the third floor. On Division the south side are the large classrooms of the Li- brary School and offices and lecture rooms con- State Library nected therewith. At the southwest corner is a School room to be used for general conferences of the various State boards of examiners. The Educa- Other offices tional Extension Division occupies the northeast side, and on the south are the History Division, Library for the Blind and Public Records Division. The main reading room of the Library extends through the wing on the third floor. Main museum Indian exhibit Botany and zoology Rotunda view Mezzanine FOURTH FLOOR The fourth floor is devoted entirely to the State Museum. The south side is occupied by one ex- hibition hall which is 570 feet in length, 50 feet in height and 54 feet in width. Though subdivided into sections, a vista is aflx)rded its entire length. This room will contain the State collections in geology, mineralogy and paleontology. A smaller hall at a higher level and north of the hall of eco- nomic geology will be devoted to archeology, and especially important among its exhibits will be six life-size groups representing the Six Nations of the Iroquois. The room at the north of the hall of paleontology will contain collections in botany, and the north extension or Elk street wing is an ex- hibition room 107 by 132 feet and is known as zoology hall. All these rooms are lighted from above. On going to the north wing one passes the circular colonnade before mentioned; and be- tween the columns a comprehensive view of the rotunda is afforded. The offices of the Director of the Museum and his assistants are located on a lower mezzanine in the rear, adjacent to the long exhibition room. ( j.NiWTj -aaMoj ^oxijtfj M^K ql) -x-g jdvwh Z^vazuip •^<^ N\CV\.9^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 504 239 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 504 239 P 4