Menands, New York
Encyclopedia
Menands is a village in Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the north city line
City limits
The terms city limits and city boundary refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limits is sometimes called the city proper. The terms town limits/boundary and village limits/boundary mean the same as city limits/boundary, but apply to towns and villages...

 of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

.

History

Menands would have been first spotted by Europeans in 1609 when Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...

 dropped anchor somewhere near Cuyler or Pleasure Island during his voyage on the river later to be named after him. This would be the furthest north on the river that Hudson would go in the Half Moon. Today those islands are connected to the mainland, and are the site of Interstate 787
Interstate 787
Interstate 787 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is at the Interstate 87/New York State Thruway exit 23 toll plaza southwest of downtown Albany...

 exits 6 and 7, which includes the cloverleaf interchange
Cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...

 with NY 378 and the Troy-Menands Bridge.

Louis Menand settled in the village in 1842 and established an important horticultural business. He at first rented land that later became the Home for Aged Men, and then in 1847 bought 11 acres of land where the Albany-Watervliet Turnpike
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...

 (today Broadway) met the road going to Ireland's Corners (today Loudonville
Loudonville, New York
Loudonville is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, in Albany County, New York, United States. Loudonville was a census-designated place in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census, but ceased to be in the 2000 Census.The area is not precisely defined...

), that road is today called Menand Road
New York State Route 378
New York State Route 378 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It runs from Loudonville to Troy and traverses the Hudson River via the Menands Bridge. NY 378 once connected to Menands Road in the village of Menands; however, Menands Road has since...

. When the Albany and Northern Railroad was built in 1856 it established a stop in present-day Menands and named the stop "Menand's Crossing" since Menand was the only landowner in that area at the time. When the Albany and Northern became part of the Delaware and Hudson
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives or rolling stock.It was formerly an important...

 a station was built at that stop and called "Menand's Station". In the early 1920s rumors circulated that the city of Albany was going to annex the area and so on August 23, 1924 a vote was taken and the village of Menands was incorporated by a vote of 167 for and 47 against, the population of the new village at that time being 1,272 people. The boundaries of the new village were those of the 15th School District of the town of Colonie. The original boundaries did not include what are now the Sage Hill Lane, Sky Hollow, and Roost Country Estates, those were annexed later and continue to be in the North Colonie Central School District
North Colonie Central Schools
North Colonie Central Schools is a public school district located in Colonie, New York.-Merger with Maplewood-Colonie Common School District:In October 2007, the annexation of Maplewood-Colonie Common School District with the North Colonie Central School District was approved, 1446 yes to 277 no,...

.

When the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 was originally constructed it passed through what would become Menands. Bridges spanned the canal to allow access to the land between the canal and the Hudson. From north to south they were- Richardson, Mix, Leary, Keyes, Kanes, Lundergans, Island Park, Delaware and Hudson Railroad, and Garbarance. Most of the names of the bridges were those of the neighboring farm owners.

In 1938 the first large scale Federal Housing Administration
Federal Housing Administration
The Federal Housing Administration is a United States government agency created as part of the National Housing Act of 1934. It insured loans made by banks and other private lenders for home building and home buying...

 multiple housing project in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...

 was conceived by Harry D. Yates on 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) of land in Menands. The land was purchased for $20,000, from the Van Rensselaer family who had owned it since 1639. Original plans called for 30 buildings, but cost overruns trimmed it to 13. All thirteen were named for historic people and locations in the Capital District; subsequent additions have kept to that tradition with the exception of Tremaine House, named for a former NY State Comptroller and Yates House for a former manager of Dutch Village. In 1940 the now-defunct New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...

 declared Dutch Village to be "one of the most interesting scale housing developments in the East". The steeped roofs and brick construction were designed to reflect early Dutch architecture. Wards Lane at the time was small and unpaved on a steep slope, but by using money from a federal program designed to pave "farm to market" roads the project was able to improve the road to Dutch Village without any cost to the village of Menands.

The village's current motto, "Urban-Surburban Village," and its official seal, came into being as part of the village's 50th anniversary celebrations in 1974. The motto and seal were chosen based on contest entries submitted by local school children at Menands Elementary school. Two boys came up with the design for the seal, and the motto was chosen from an entry by a girl in the school's seventh grade class.

Amusement

In the mid-late 19th and early 20th centuries Menands was a popular destination for entertainment and amusement. Pleasure Island and Park Island (constructed in 1866) had trotting tracks and various entertainment venues. In 1884 the Island Park Association leased the race course, Island Park, directly north of Pleasure Island, it was considered one of the fastest and safest in the nation. Among the festivities and activities at Pleasure Island were a two-mile (3 km) bicycle race, a sack race, barrell race, swimming exhibition, trotter race, and fireworks. In 1907 Al-Tro Island Park
Al-Tro Island Park
Al-Tro Island Park was an amusement park built in the early 20th century in the village of Menands near the border with city of Albany, New York; formerly the park was known as Pleasure Island...

 renovated Pleasure Island, Al-Tro was named for being halfway between Albany and Troy, and the park's manager boasted of surpassing Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

. The park had a 900 feet (274.3 m) and 40 feet (12.2 m) boardwalk, with amusements on each side. About halfway down the boardwalk was an amphitheater that could seat 4000, it was one of the largest in the state. At the time Al-Tro Park was considered the finest pleasure resort in northern New York. In the early 1920s Al-Tro closed and the concept was used in the late 1920s by nearby Mid-City Park, an amusement park along Broadway on the other side away from the river, it had a roller coaster, merry-go-round, roller skating rink, and swimming pool; it too would close after a few decades. It was replaced by the current Mid-City Shopping Center.

Baseball was also a popular entertainment venue in Menands bringing in spectators from across the region. Chadwick Park was home to the Albany Senators
Albany Senators (minor league baseball)
The Albany Senators was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959...

 who played in the New York State League
New York State League
This article refers to the modern New York State League. For the original incarnations of the New York State League see New York State League ...

, Eastern League
Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32)
The Eastern League of 1916 through the mid-season of 1932 was an American minor baseball league and the third of four circuits to use the Eastern League name since the 19th century...

, International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

, New York-Pennsylvania League
New York-Pennsylvania League (early 20th century)
The New York-Pennsylvania League of 1923 through 1937 was an American minor league baseball circuit.The forerunner to the modern Class AA Eastern League, it was a Class B circuit through 1932 and upgraded to Class A for the final five seasons of its existence. It is actually the second of three...

, and the modern Eastern League. On May 30, 1924 the Senators played a double header
Doubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...

 at home against the Pittsfield Hillies
Pittsfield Hillies
The Pittsfield Hillies was an Eastern League baseball team from 1919 to 1930. They were League Champions in 1919 and 1921.Their home field was at Wahconah Park, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.-1905:...

, the first game lasted 9 innings but the second game went for 20, it is still one of the longest double headers by number of innings in professional baseball. In 1928 Chadwick Park was rebuilt, in 1929 it was renamed Hawkins Stadium, and in 1930 General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 installed lights for night games. It was at Hawkins Stadium that the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 played the Albany Senators in 1931 before a crowd of 6,300; Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

 hit two home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s. The Senators folded in 1959. It too was demolished to make way for the Mid-City Shopping Center and a state office building for the New York State Office of
Workmen’s Compensation.

From June 12, 1947 to September 2, 1963 Empire Raceways was a popular entertainment venue. It was a quarter mile paved oval track and was located close enough to the Hudson River that spectators would sit on the Troy-Menands Bridge and watch the races for free. The location would later become the site of a Two Guys Department Store and Interstate 787.

Two Guys was just one of the retail locations in Menands that made Menands a shopping destination for the surrounding area. In addition to Two Guys there was a Woolworth
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...

, Montgomery Wards, several grocery stores, and various other shops along Broadway. The Two Guys location on Broadway, located next to the Troy-Menands Bridge, was one of only two in the area, the other being in downtown Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...

. Another retail landmark in Menands was the Montgomery Ward Retail Store and Warehouse built in 1929, it was one of nine similar buildings built in the 1920s, and one of four that still remain. The building had its own railroad spur that allowed boxcars to be unloaded inside, making delivery of goods to the building easier. Montgomery Wards left the building in the 1970s. Today the building is office space, mostly geared towards state agencies. Woolworth was located at the Mid-City Shopping Center, it closed in 1997.

Famous residents

  • George Deukmejian
    George Deukmejian
    Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. born June 6, 1928) is an Armenian American politician from California who as a Republican served as the 35th Governor of California and as California Attorney General .-Early life:...

     (1928-), 35th Governor of California
    Governor of California
    The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

    , was born in Menands.
  • Michael Holodak (1992-) Teen Entrepreneur and creator of Mike Made This tee-shirt designs

Geography

Menands is located at 42°41′36"N 73°43′37"W (42.693245, -73.727068).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (6.45%) is water.

Menands is along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

 on the west bank. The village is within the town of Colonie which is also to the north and west, with the city of Albany to the south. The village is mostly flat with a gentle slope to the west.

Location

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 3,910 people, 1,906 households, and 968 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,225.1 people per square mile (473.2/km²). There were 2,073 housing units at an average density of 649.5 per square mile (250.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 83.76% White, 9.10% African American, 0.13% Native American, 4.35% Asian, 0.95% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.71% of the population.

There were 1,906 households out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.2% were non-families. 43.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the village the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $48,456, and the median income for a family was $62,083. Males had a median income of $42,905 versus $31,745 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $36,288. About 1.6% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Important locations

  • Albany Rural Cemetery
    Albany Rural Cemetery
    The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York, just outside of the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the United States, at over . Many historical American figures are buried there.-History:On April 2,...

    - though most of the cemetery is outside the village, a portion along Cemetery Drive purchased by the cemetery in 1920 is within the village
  • Troy-Menands Bridge- crosses the Hudson River and connects the village to the city of Troy
  • Riverview Center- former Montgomery Ward
    Montgomery Ward
    Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...

     store and distribution center, today this Art Deco
    Art Deco
    Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

     office building houses video game developers Vicarious Visions
    Vicarious Visions
    Vicarious Visions is an American video game developer founded by the high school brothers Karthik and Guha Bala in 1990, which developed some PC and Game Boy Color games in late 90's and 2000. They later developed Terminus, which won two Independent Games Festival Awards in 1999...

    and state workers, and has 1000000 sq ft (92,903 m²) of space.
  • Capital District Farmers Market- The Capital District Cooperative, Inc., created in 1933, is one of the largest farmers markets in the region

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK