Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Empire State Plaza is a vast complex of marble towers, reflecting pools and public terraces at the centre of Albany, the capital of New York State. It was built in the 1960s and 1970s as a government district, and it is one of the most ambitious urban projects in American history. Today it is part office campus, part open-air plaza, and part architecture lesson.

The story behind it

The plaza was the vision of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who wanted a grand showpiece for the state capital. Construction began in 1965, and Wallace Harrison of Harrison & Abramovitz served as the supervising architect for the whole scheme. The finished complex includes a cluster of tall government towers, a long row of reflecting pools, and the egg-shaped performing arts centre known as The Egg. Most of it was complete by the mid-1970s.

The ambition came at a cost. The towers and platform stand on land where ordinary Albany streets and neighbourhoods once ran, and they were cleared to make way for the project. That is why the plaza still divides opinion: some admire its scale, while others find it stark and strangely empty, especially on a windy evening.

What to look for

• The Egg, a sculptural performing arts venue that rises from the plaza like a smooth white shell and looks unlike anything around it.
• The long reflecting pools and the broad marble expanse, which are best appreciated by walking the length of the platform.
• The contrast at the north end, where the historic New York State Capitol sits beside the modern towers and shows two very different eras of government architecture.
• The large letters near the plaza spelling out the state's slogan, a popular place for visitors to take photos.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 30 to 60 minutes to walk the plaza and take photos, longer if you add a museum or a show.
• The plaza is an open public space, so wandering it costs nothing. Check current opening hours for the buildings and any observation deck.
• Visit in good light for the best photos of the towers reflected in the pools, and wrap up warm in winter because the open platform catches the wind.
• The New York State Capitol and the State Museum are close by, so the plaza combines easily with a wider walk through downtown Albany.

See it on a quest

The plaza is easier to understand when you reach it on foot as one stop on a longer route. Ghost Hunt in Albany takes you through the city with a spooky theme, and the app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Albany Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society. suits anyone who likes a mystery with their sightseeing. You walk between the sights at your own pace, hear the story of each one, and solve a puzzle on the spot, with no guide and no group to join. One ticket covers the whole group.