Location: Albany, NY

The 46 lighting fixtures of the Great Western Staircase are particularly significant because they were part of the first large scale public installations of electric lights. In 1899 electricity was just becoming accepted and main stream, many buildings of the period were still using gas or combination fixtures. So in a way, electric lights were a leap of faith.

The fixtures are ornate and made up of many cast brass pieces. The many ornate castings create reveals and crevices which were ideal for catching the airborne contaminants the fixtures experiences throughout their long life and constant use; the soot from early coal burning firnaces, the great fire of 1911 and last but maybe not least, cigar and cigarette smoke. As people ascend the 119 foot tall staircase, the largest in the capitol, the temptation to reach out and touch one of the fixtures is hard to resist. Those areas had a particular sheen to them which we call 'the human patina'.

Our task was to remove all the old lacquers and years of grime and dirt without loosing any of the elaborate detailing. That task took an artist's eye and a lot of 'elbow grease'; some here, more there until the fixtures came to have a uniform, well preserved and maintained look.

While removing one of the 5 foot standing lamps adorning the staircase, we were very excited to find a tag from the original manufacturer, Black and Boyd. As lighting fixtures so often tell a story, it was a moment of true appreciation. We had found a personal reminder of the craftsmen who had made these fine lighting fixtures almost a century earlier. It is now our responsibility and honor to prepare them for the next 100 years.

The great Western Staircase under the skillful eye James Jamieson, the Capitol Architect received the 2007 Excellence in Preservation
Award given by The Presevation league of New York State.

+ Preservation League of New York State

+ Excellence in Preservation Award Winners Announced