The Old City

Albany was first seen by Europeans in 1609 when Henry Hudson sailed the Dutch ship Half Moon up the river. Of course, the Mohegans and the Iroquois lived around the area for centuries before the white guys showed up.

Jack's Oyster House, established in 1913.

The city was officially chartered in 1686, making Albany one of the oldest cities in the nation. As the city grew around its river port, it was mostly huddled close to the waterfront and the fort that stood there. A steep river bank rises westward from there, and the city expanded up the hill in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Maiden Lane looking east toward the river.

The streets in this older part of town are short, forming a loose grid around the main streets that parallel the river: Quay, Broadway, and Pearl Streets. Unfortunately, not much remains of Quay Street; what is left is now a freeway ramp. State Street rises westward up the river bank, beginning at what was known until recently as the Plaza, a large "square" that is framed by the D&H Railroad building. The Plaza was where all the city's trolleys (now gone) started their runs. After the trolleys were replaced by motorized buses, the Plaza was the terminus for most of the lines.

The dome of an old bank building at State and Broadway.

When the D&H building was renovated to become S.U.N.Y. headquarters, the Plaza was turned into a grassy park. I think the city lost something there, but who am I to say. The park is pretty.

Albany rooftops pointing skyward.

I wandered around the streets for about an hour last week reacquainting myself with buildings and streets I grew up with, and some new buildings that have been built in the last ten or so years. It's nice to see the new buildings rising downtown; many of them are state offices that were once dispersed on the western edges of town. There is also a relatively new sports arena downtown that hosts the local ice hockey team and serves as a venue for concerts and other events.

St. Mary's church, founded in 1797. The current building dates from 1867.

The only thing missing from downtown is some serious residential neighborhoods. There are vestiges of the old neighborhoods on the fringes, and of course the poorer areas in the South End and on Arbor Hill. But, as I said before, the bulk of the middle class moved out of the downtown area to the suburbs long ago. Huge freeways move people from their spacious comfortable homes to the offices and back again. They shop in suburban malls and eat in big chain restaurants. They're like most Americans; can't blame them for that.

An older building, renovated for new life.

I've always wished that my little home town could bustle again, that people could find a way to be closer to the river, to live among the beautiful monumental architecture of the state's capital, and to preserve the little neighborhoods with their brownstone and brick row houses. And to build new neighborhoods and new buildings in the city center and bring back some of the urban vitality that the city lost so long ago. I think that's a tall order in this day and age. The suburbs are firmly established and many have developed their own charm. Not many would give that up for city living.

Some modern buildings and parking garages.

But I can still dream.