Landscape Information
Located at the crest of a hill, this approximately ten-acre site is framed by streets and sidewalks and includes the five-story granite Capitol building with parks flanking to the east and west. The central structure (1867-1899) was designed by a succession of architects: Thomas Fuller (1867-75); Leopold Eidlitz, H. H. Richardson, (1875-83); and Isaac Perry (1883-99). Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., collaborated with Eidlitz and Richardson on the building’s design, which blends numerous styles (including Romanesque and Renaissance Revival).
In 1898 the Olmsted Brothers firm designed a comprehensive plan for the grounds. Initially hemmed by Capitol Place, which ran parallel to the main entrance, in 1914 landscape architect Charles Downing Lay and architect Arnold Brunner advanced architect Franklin Ware’s earlier suggestion that the park acquire additional land to the west, ultimately expanding westward (1919) with a design by architect Sullivan Jones’ (1926-1930). Characterized by cruciform pathways that meet at a central circular fountain, West Capitol Park is oriented on axis with the Capitol’s western façade. Accessed via a generous staircase embellished with a statue of George Washinton (1932), the sunken, westernmost path is edged by tiered lawn panels planted with allées of deciduous canopy trees.
East Capitol Park features a central plaza and symmetrical paths that frame a central, circular lawn. The lawn is oriented on axis with the eastern façade, distinguished by a grand staircase and an equestrian statue of Union general Phillip Sheridan (1906) by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. The paths are flanked by lawns planted irregularly with deciduous canopy trees, including honey locust and sycamore.
The Capitol building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1979. The site is located within the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and within the Lafayette Park Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
