In records from the Iwakura Mission, there is a mention of a brief stop in Albany, New York. The delegates described the town as a “vista of chimneys” that drowned out the sight of the river from their train. At the time, the New York State Capitol building was under construction, remaining unoccupied until 1879 (and still standing today). The photograph below was taken in September 1871, less than a year before the Embassy passed through the city.