Worth, already quoted in this chapter, has given a list of the men who seemed to him most prominent in the city at that time. They were George Clinton ; John Tayler, who was Lieutenant-Governor of the State and acting in Governor Tompkins's place after the latter's election to the Vice- Presidency; Ambrose Spenser, Attorney-General and Judge of the Supreme Court; James Kent; Chancellor Lansing; Abraham Van Vechten; John V. Henry; John Woodworth; Thomas Tillotson, Secretary of State in 1801-07 ; Abraham G. Lansing; Elisha Jenkins, a merchant, of the Hudson family of that name; Edmond Charles Genet; and Solomon Southwick, editor of the Albany Register. This, it will be understood, is only a very partial list of the Albany celebrities of the time, yet it furnishes a clue to the character and standing of the men who constituted the better element of society at the State capital two generations ago. We have spoken of the level strip of low land bordering the river for several miles. Back of this rise, almost abruptly, four hills, separated by ravines and
An Old Dutch Town 547
attaining a height of from two to three hundred feet. Prospect Hill is the highest of these. There are many narrow streets, paved as of old with col)l)lestones, to remind us of a former day; but there are also some noble thoroughfares, chief among them being State Street, which is accounted one of the broadest streets in the country, and was, until quite recently, only second to Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The chief object that challenges the attention from State Street, and, indeed, the principal attraction of Albany to strangers, is, of course, the Capitol. Its architectural beauty and commanding position conspire to render it one of the most imposing buildings in the world. The effect of the steep approach is augmented by the pyramidal tiers of steps, up which a regiment might pass with tmbroken ranks.