Timeline
The 1970s
1970
The Poughkeepsie State Office Building (later known as Roosevelt State Office Building) is completed.
October 1971
The Swan Street Building at the South Mall opens for business.
1971
General Schuyler retires and A.C. O’Hara is appointed commissioner of OGS.
1971
The Utica State Office Building is completed.
January 1972
The Legislative Office Building opens for business at the South Mall.
1972
The Watertown State Office Building is completed.
1972
The World Trade Center is completed in New York City, making the North and South Towers the second- and third-tallest buildings in the world. OGS is responsible for making tenancy arrangements at the WTC for more than 40 state agencies.
June 1973
After changing headquarters many times over, OGS moves to Corning Tower at the South Mall, where many of its employees still work in 2020.
November 1973
Governor Rockefeller formally rechristens the South Mall as the Empire State Plaza and unveils a stone inscribed with the names of those instrumental in its development. Although the massive complex is not yet complete, agencies are already moving in.
1973
The Binghamton State Office Building is completed.
1973 & 1975
OGS acquires federal surplus food and property distribution responsibility from the U.S. Department of Education.
May 1974
The new State Office Building in Harlem is dedicated. OGS oversees construction of the building and its outdoor plaza. In 1983, it is rededicated as the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building to honor the first African-American from New York elected to Congress.
October 1974
Governor Wilson dedicates the new State Office Building at Hauppauge in Suffolk County, the fifth office building to be opened in the 1970s.
January 1975
OGS coordinates inauguration of Hugh Carey, including hiring the Northeast Weather Services for $100 to provide special forecast reports updated every four hours on the day of the event.
September 1975
Commissioner O’Hara retires and James O’Shea is appointed OGS Commissioner.
July 1976
The New York State Museum opens on the Empire State Plaza during a four-day bicentennial celebration that welcomes 100,000 visitors to Albany.
May 1978
The Egg opens for business, marking the end of construction on the Empire State Plaza.
October 1978
The Empire State Plaza is renamed the “Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza” as tribute to New York’s long-serving governor, and, by this time, former vice president of the United States. At the ceremony, just a few months before his death, Rockefeller said to the crowd, "This is the most beautiful capital in the world."
1978
Curatorial Services is established under OGS with guidance from Albany Institute of History and Art.
1978
The Minority Business Enterprise program is established under OGS.
1979 – 1980
OGS assists with the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, designing and constructing new venues, procuring special equipment, and addressing logistical challenges.
