The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-16
STATE CAPITOL
STAIRWAY STANDS
WITHOUT SUPPORT
" Architectural Mystery" at
Albany Won Pardon for
Convict Who Designed It


which winds itself along the northern
wall of the old State House, near the
Capitol, in Albany. still bears the
of architectural
applied to it some years ago
by an italian architect visiting this
country. Standing apparently unsup-
ported, but serving the same useful
purposes for the past eight years, the
stairway, which tradition tells us?ul
stairway, which tradition says was
conceived in the mind of a convict at
Sing Sing, has defied explanation
How does it stand without sup
port?" is a question that has been
asked thousands of times by visitors
from all parts of the world. Dozens
of explanations are offered by the
guides who escort visitors through the
buildings, but leading architects of
this country and Europe have con-
fessed their inability adequately to ex-
plain what supports the stairway.
Altogether there are four flights
of stairs. From floor to floor there is
not a supporting pillar; nothing ap
parently to keep the stairway stand
ing.
The steps are marble, each weigh
ing about 500 pounds and keyed on
the edges SO as to lock. In each
flight there are about Is steps. Be
ginning at the cellar of the State
House. where there is a rather sub
stancial foundation of the encircling
stairway, they run along the wall of
the building to the top floor. 1t is es-
timated that the weight of the stair
way is approximately 100 tons. This
enormous weight the support of which
is a mystery, is the most interesting
feature of the structure next to the
curious convolutions the stairway
makes at each of the floors
Each step is grooved so as to fit the
next on the top side. The groove is
about an inch and half in depth. A
perfect lock in formed by each step
with those adjoining, but search as
the visitor will he is unable to find the
keystone. Many have declared that
this important key is in the cellar,
but even there no variation can be
discovered in the size or cut of the
stone steps.
In addition to the weight of the
marble in the stairway there is a
heavy iron railing along the outer
edge of the stairs depending upon the
unseen keystone. The iron railing
weighs several tons.
The story of the stairway which
seems most nearly to approximate
the truth runs as follows:
A Frenchman by the name of Har-
tel sentenced to Sing Sing was given
unusal liberty because of his apparent
Indifference to the impending execu-
ton. He was something of an ar
chitect and stone cutter of surprising
| merit
Under the eye of armed guards he
was placed in the quarry at Sing Sing,
which supplied the stone for the con-
struction of the State House and told
to cut the marble for the stairway
according to a prepared plan, one
which would require supports on each
| floor to sustain the structure. He
was pretty much his own boss in the
stone quarry and directed the efforts
Of the convicts working under him
after his own fashion. He first dis
carded the plan sent down from AL
| bany and rudely fashioned his own
| plans from which the stone cutting
| convicts under him received their
| guidance.
The stone completely cut was shipped
to Albany as soon as the old State
| House had been built up to the point
where the stairs became a necessity.
| With the steps went no supporting
| pillars. The supervisors of construc-
ton did not know how to proceed
with the staircase until the supporting
| pillars arrived. An agent was sent to
| Sing Sing to inQire about the missing
supports and was told that none had
| been cut. He reported back to the
supervisors of the job what he had
| learned and David Orr master mason
who was employed for the munifi-
cent wage of $3.50 cents a day-old
legislative records reveal the amount
of his salary-went to Sing Sing in an
effort to gain some light on the miss
ing pillars
From this point on the story OF
HarteI is merely traditional. The
most probable version is to the effect
that Hartel told Orr that he had pur.
posely refrained from cutting the pill
|
ordered it cut would make a stair
way without support Orr believed
the man crazy and so reported to
Jonathan Lyman, superintendent OF
the State House construction, who was
employed at the salary of So day
Hartel advised Orr that he would go
| to Albany in chains if Gov. William
L. Marcy preferred and would super
| wise the construction of the stair
way, which he said would stand with
| out support when completed. He
made one request of Orr, namely, that
| Gov. Marcy would pardon him if the
stairway without supports was sue
cessfully built. Orr communicated
the request to the Governor, and the
latter agreed to pardon Hartel if he
could accomplish what he promised,
Hartel was taken to Albany under a
heavy guard and installed in the
Eagle Hotel. He was taken to the
State House each day and under
| guard directed the work on the stair
-, way.
Up and up it grew. step by step
until the first floor was reached. At
this point Gov Marcy was invited to
inspect the work, and tradition says
he was greatly impressed by the full
| f1lment of Harters promises.
Encouraged by the effect of his
work upon the Governor, with whom
rested his fate, Hartel pursued the
task with feverish energy for more
| than a year By that time the stair
way was brought to the top of the