Discover New York's Museums with Don WIldman 1st ed. | Page 5
capital / saratoga
THE Adirondacks
New York State Capitol
Building is a bona fide
historic site with museumquality exhibits on many
aspects of New York State
history. Every first-time
traveler to the Capital Region
owes it to him or herself to
include a visit. Completed in 1899, it’s a spectacular sight, the architectural
star of New York’s Gilded Age, the Camelot Castle of the Empire State. It’s
now fully open for tours on which you can walk the majestic paneled hallways
and carved staircases and view the many historic artifacts on display.
1.8 miles from Albany-Rensselaer Stn.
ogs.ny.gov/esp/ct/tours/Capitol.asp
photo: wadester16/creative commons
Though it’s not, strictly
speaking, a museum, the
The Wild Center in Tupper Lake is a dynamo of a museum that seeks to
photo: courtesy albany institute of history and art
draw people closer to understanding their natural environment. Opened just
ten years ago, The Wild Center has already made a huge impact. Through
immersion in the rich environment of the Adirondacks—there are nature
trails all over the 81-acre property—visitors young and old are afforded the
chance to ponder their inevitable footprint. This summer bring the kids to the
Wild Walk for an adventure in the treetops! wildcenter.org
photo: peter d./creative commons
62.8 miles from Westport Stn.
The New York State Museum,
Capitol, is one of America’s oldest
museums. The Institute’s elegant and
studied collection documents the rise
of the Capital and Upper Hudson
Valley regions, their political and
cultural identities, and reveals how
much of the epic story of modern
America— from smudgy jewel in the
colonial crown to dominant
mercantile powerhouse—begins in
upstate New York, right here on the
Hudson River. There are even two
mummies with a fascinating history
of how they ended up in New York’s
Capital District. albanyinstitute.org
just a 10-minute walk from the
Capitol across the 98-acre, whitemarbled expanse of Empire State
Plaza—thank you, Nelson
Rockefeller—is an even more
ambitious repository of NY artifacts
and archives. Its exhibits trace the
natural and cultural origins of the
state. You could spend hours here in
the towering exhibition halls. Make
sure you don’t miss the 9-11
artifacts, the collection of antique
fire trucks and subways, the
dioramas of NY birds, an eons-old
mastodon and a ride on the centuryold carousel. nysm.nysed.gov
2.3 miles from Albany-Rensselaer Stn.
2.3 miles from Albany-Rensselaer Stn.
Right in Saratoga Springs, the New York State Military Museum
commemorates the service of New York military units from the Revolution to
the Civil War to modern day battlegrounds. Most visitors will want to head
north to the Saratoga National Historic Site where, in 177