| "There shall
be a Court of Appeals..."  The Court of Appeals Room 1847-1879.
| |
ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1847, THE COURT OF APPEALS HELD ITS FIRST SESSION
IN Albany, in the courtroom once occupied by the Supreme Court in
the old Capitol. Built between 1804 and 1806, and located
immediately to the southeast of the present Capitol, the building
was designed by the leading architect of the early nineteenth
century, Phillip Hooker. It was constructed of Nyack freestone,
with pilasters, window ornaments and an Ionic portico of Berkshire
marble. Atop the building was a cupola crowned by a statue of
Themis, the Greek goddess of law and justice.
 Although the old Capitol is gone, we can imagine following the Court to its first courtroom through the west end of the Central Hall, up the staircase, taking the right-hand section that leads to the Supreme Court Room, now named for the Court of Appeals. Built in 1832 in what was then the Senate Gallery, the room was fifty feet long and twenty-eight feet wide, with the frieze, cornice and ceiling- piece richly ornamented in stucco. |
Although the Court held sessions in
regional locations - New York City, Rochester, Syracuse,
Schenectady, Buffalo and Elmira, to name but a few - the Court of
Appeals Room in Albany was its primary home for 32 years. In 1879,
when the Senate and the Assembly moved to the new Capitol, the old
Senate Chamber - which, prior to 1832, had been the Supreme Court
Room - became the site of the State's highest court. The room was
positioned
 The Senate Chamber which became the Court of Appeals Room in 1879.
COURTESY OF NYS/OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES |
 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | |
