Giornale

  Days have passed since our first group excursion and the imagery remains as clear as day. When the clock struck one pm we gathered outside Case Center by the parking lot. The air was warm and soft to the skin; a new feeling for us Skidmore students. Anxious to depart on our mini adventure, I scan my neighboring peers and count along with the professor to discover we are still missing a few students. As if they had a ringing in their ears, they all appeared within five minutes of each other. We made a gameplan for when to meet and how to get there, and just like that we were cramming inside our assigned cars. Sandwiched between two of my classmates in the backseat, we carried on conversations about school, friends, politics, and life. The driver and shotgun rider had their own discussions with muffled music playing in the background as if there was an invisible partition. Light banter quickened the drive and in no time we arrived at a church parking lot in Albany.

We all funneled out of the cars and gathered around our professors where they distributed our headsets and assignment papers. While testing out the listening devices, we began our excursion by venturing off the path to what we thought would be a secret waypoint to some form of spectacle. To our demise, it was the blind leading the blind into a small off-road wooded area that led to nowhere. We quickly reassessed and found ourselves at a hidden opening with a fountain at the center. Walking around the monument we learned it was a war memorial enclosed by a tall wall of brush and growth. Informational engravings lined the circumference of the fountain in which followed a historical timeline of World War II. My fingers grazed the deep curves and lines as I walked the perimeter listening to Curley’s commentary while simultaneously reading the inscriptions. Like a group of little ducklings following their mother, we made our way to the street where our Empire State plaza journey truly began.

Excitement heightened as we read the plaza title, “Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza” in large letters displayed above a lineup of doors. Hidden under a bridge, I wondered why the big heading and entrance would truly be so tucked away from the public. To add to the confusion, we passed the doors and found that the first few modes of entree were blocked. We progressed along the street until we came across a little path that seemed to have wrapped around and led to the left of the plaza. A vast uncluttered, symmetrically planned out area had opened up before our eyes. Looking to my right up towards the horizon, stood the large New York State Museum. A giant fixture of concrete cut-outs and vertical bars with layers increasing in size the closer it got to the clouds. We swiftly advanced up the ascending stairway of wide steps requiring at least two steps a piece. The closer I got to the museum, the more it resembled a dull columned concrete slab. But once I found myself at the top, I turned around to see the full plaza from a high-up northeast perspective. With the large rectangular reflecting pool at the center, a perimeter was created by abstract geometric buildings of more concrete lining the sides and tunneling the eye towards the capitol building that sat at the end. As a class, we analyzed the functionality and presentation of this centrally raised space while overlooking the life that was happening within it. It was at that moment where I was really able to see everything for what it was and use my newfound knowledge to interpret the plaza’s use and aims for the future of its community whilst paying tribute to the past.

Our journey continued throughout the plaza as we walked to different locations and looked at it from different angles and viewpoints. We were able to venture off on our own while also having worthwhile discussions as a group about its civic values, orientation, aims, etc. The excursion as a whole was educational and interesting on an academic and personal level. If only I had the time to share all of the sites I observed and the experiences I had on this trip!

Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, 4/7/19