North Albany, Albany, New York
Encyclopedia
North Albany is a neighborhood in the city of Albany
, New York
, originally a hamlet in the town of Watervliet
. First settled in the mid-1600s by the Patroon
of Rensselaerswyck and his tenants. Due to the Erie Canal
being constructed through here in 1825 North Albany saw immense growth with the Albany Lumber District
and an influx of Irish
lending the area the name of Limerick. Home to many historic warehouses and row houses, North Albany continues to be the most important industrial neighborhood in Albany. Recent efforts have begun to gentrify
the neighborhood adapting heavy industry/warehouse use to artistic and entertainment venues, such as a German beer garden
, live music venues, and arts and crafts marketplaces.
and Rensselaer
counties. In 1654 Barent Pietersen Coeymans and Teunis Cornelissen van der Poel ( also known as Teunis Cornelissen Spitsenberch, or Spitsbergen) rented a mill along the Patroon Creek
from the patroon
, and in 1666 Patroon Jeremias van Rensselaer
built a house and associated buildings such as a mill and barn also along the Patroon Creek. This area north of the original city limits of Albany as delineated by the Dongan Charter
was referred to as the colonie.
In 1825 the Erie Canal
was built linking Albany to Buffalo
on Lake Erie
. Locks 1 and 2 were located in North Albany. The canal led to the establishment of the Albany Lumber District
, the future lumber district at this time being owned by the Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer and his brother William, and consisting of mostly vegetable gardens that paid little in the way of rent. The Patroon was soon approached about building slips off the canal for the use of the lumber industry in return for a more ample amount of rent. For about a quarter century in the middle of the 19th century the Albany lumber district was considered the largest white pine
wholesale market, and by the 1870s Albany was the largest lumber district in the United States by value, though by that time it had recently been outstripped in feet sold by Chicago
. Also due to the canal's influence factories began to locate in North Albany producing a varied collection of goods including books, stoves, carriages, and machine tools. Large numbers of Irish who built the Erie Canal and continued to work in the factories of North Albany lent to the area the name of Limerick.
In 1826 the state legislature created the Watervliet Turnpike Company, which built a toll road
extending from Broadway at what was the city line at the time north through North Albany to the village of West Troy (today city of Watervliet
). In 1862 the name of the company was changed to the Watervliet Turnpike and Railway Company (WT&RR) and the state authorized the construction of a railroad along the road. In addition to the Watervliet Turnpike, the Loudonville Plank Road (Loudonville Road) was a turnpike in North Albany. It ran from Broadway to Loudonville
and had a toll gate on the corner with North Pearl Street.
In 1860 North Albany consisted of 40 houses.
In 1870 North Albany was annexed to the city of Albany from the town of Watervliet, becoming the Ninth Ward, today the Fourth Ward. In 1871 several North Albany streets received new names; North Pearl Avenue was renamed North Pearl Street, Troy Road became Broadway, Watervliet Avenue became Genesse Street, Hudson River Avenue became Mohawk Street, Albany Avenue became Albany Street, and Broadway Avenue became Laughlin Street. Laughlin Street became Emmett Street in 1879.
In 1876 the Sacred Heart Church was built on Walter Street for its large Irish Catholic population. In 1865 Peter Cagger purchased the lot at the corner of Broadway and North Ferry Steet for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
, which they used as the St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. Upon his death his widow donated money to convert the building into a hospital, named St. Peter's Hospital in his honor. The hospital opened in 1869 with 33 beds and a staff of 7 doctors and the Sisters of Mercy
as the nursing staff. The hospital moved to its current location on New Scotland Avenue in 1930, the building on Broadway staying open as an out-patient clinic for another year before closing permanently.
The WT&RR began running 8-motor electric cars
between its North Albany car barns and West Troy in 1889. In 1892 the Albany Railway also erected electric car barns in North Albany.
Many of North Albany's former turnpikes continued to be of importance to long-distance travel throughout the 20th century as evidenced by the designation of several US and state routes. North Pearl Street was extended from Pleasant Street to Emmett Street and then on to the city line at the village of Menands
in 1925, and as a consequence of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York North Pearl Street became a part of New York Route 32 (NY 32). In the 1940s NY Route 2
(NY 2) was extended south to NY Route 5
(NY 5) downtown by way of an overlap with NY 32. NY 2 was rerouted in the early 1950s to leave NY 32 at the junction of Wolfert Avenue and Broadway in Menands and then follow Broadway into downtown. In the mid-1960s, Route 2 was shortened to end prior to North Albany.
In 1950 North Albany held the neighborhood's first St. Patrick's Day Parade, one year before the city-wide parade began. Whereas the city parade has been postponed occasionally due to weather, the neighborhood parade has not ever been cancelled or postponed even when there was 23 inches of snow on the ground in 1993.
In 1953 the Edwin Corning Homes, a public housing
complex, was built in North Albany, as affordable housing for soldiers returning home from World War II
. It was named for Edwin Corning
, former Lieutenant Governor
of New York, son of railroad baron
and mayor, Erastus Corning
, and father of Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
.
During the 1960s the Albany municipal landfill was located on the site of a former river water filtration plant that operated from the early 1900s to the 1930s. While the tanks are assumed to have been demolished, several structures associated with the plant are still buried under the trash, such as concrete foundations and tunnel structures. Located along Erie Boulevard on approximately 45 acres (18.2 ha) between Interstate 787
(I-787), Interstate 90
(I-90), Erie Boulevard, and the Albany County Wastewater Treatment Plant, it was closed to municipal waste in 1969 in favor of a new landfill in the Albany Pine Bush area in the western section of the city. The landfill continued to operate as the North Albany Demolition Landfill, for demolition/construction debris until 1988. The city's Department of Public Works garage was built on a part of the landfill, with land near by used for the creation of the 92000 square feet (8,547.1 m²) Erie Boulevard Commerce Park on 16.6 acres (6.7 ha). Original plans were for Erie Boulevard, which was built on top of the old Erie Canal, to be extended through to Menands to Exit 6 of I-787. Though Albany would have borne all the costs of construction Menands still refused. Erie Boulevard was subsequently built to the border and no further in 1988 as part of the park construction.
The first female mail carrier
in the city of Albany worked out of the Patroon Station in North Albany, beginning in 1970. She may even have been the first in the entire Capital District
. In 2011 the Patroon Station closed, though by that time it no longer was responsible for home delivery and home delivery continued with no changes in ZIP Code
, PO Boxes were able to be transferred to the Loudonville
post office 4 miles (6.4 km) away in the neighboring town of Colonie.
In 2000 Denis Foley and Andrew Wolfe, two Union College professors, unearthed in an archeological excavation the first weigh lock
of the Erie Canal.
In the 1990s and 2000s the blue-collar warehouse and manufactoring backbone of North Albany began to move upscale towards more eclectic reuse of industrial and service infrastructure. As part of the shift from heavy manufacturing to a more service oriented economy the Albany Common Council
in 1999 changed the zoning for much of North Albany between Erie Boulevard and I-787 (west to east) and Livingston Avenue and I-90 (south to north). The roughly 100 acres (40.5 ha) affected were changed from industrial use only to C-3, Central Business District which allowed for sports stadiums, museums, hotels, apartment buildings, and general commercial uses. In 1991 Albany Fire Department's Engine #3 was closed, and it became a nightclub by the name of Noche, then a live music venue named Jack Rabbit Slims, and today is an authentic German beer garden
named Wolff's Biergarten und Wurst Haus. Huck Finn's Warehouse and More, a discount furniture store, which had been located on Tivoli Street, moved across North Albany to a former paper mill
that had been converted in to a warehouse owned by Montgomery Ward
from 1975 to 1998. The Tivoli Street location became the home of the Albany County Hall of Records in 2001, home to the original Dongan Charter. In 2007 At The Warehouse, a weekend art, craft, and food marketplace, took over a building built in 1892 that had previously been a brewery.
In 1999, Sacred Heart Church became the first Roman Catholic church in Albany to be led by a deacon
as parish life director due to a shortage of priests. In addition to changing times in leadership, the church community saw fewer of its traditional Irish congregation and increasing numbers of minorities. The reverend of the black apostolate at St. George's became the sacramental minister for masses
, and a Vietnamese
reverend celebrates a Vietnamese mass on the first and second Sundays of every month. In 2006 the Sacred Heart Church's former convent next door was refurbished as an apartment complex for formerly homeless veterans.
In 2001, the Corning Homes projects were redeveloped into a low-density development of town homes with Dutch-style pitched roofs. The Corning Homes name was dropped so as not to continue to stigmatize the low-income housing residents in an attempt to blend them in with the rest of the North Albany neighborhood.
In 2005, a completely renovated Public School No. 5 on North Pearl Street was renamed North Albany Academy. Begun in 2004 and completed in 2005 a YMCA
(Y) was built attached to the school, with the students using the gym and pool during the day. The Y includes a branch of the Albany Public Library and a day care for pre-school children. The Y was the first in the Capital District to involve the organization partnering with a local government, among other sources funding came from the Albany Housing Authority, Citizens Bank
, the state Dormitory Authority
and the state Office of Children and Family Services
. The Y was the first in the United States
built using tax breaks from the New Market Tax Credit and was the first built in Albany since the 1960s.
Utility company National Grid's regional headquarters are located at 1125 Broadway in North Albany on the site of the former Albany Gas Works. The gasworks
in the 19th century produced a crude form of natural gas
for gaslight street lamps using coal gasification
methods. The tar left behind contamination that was cleaned up in 1996 by Niagara Mohawk (National Grid's predecessor). In 2010, National Grid established a compressed natural gas
station there; in addition to cutting down on emissions from National Grid's fleet of trucks it is open to the public, allowing for increased ability for those with natural gas vehicles to fuel.
's printing operations. Both private and public actions have attempted to change North Albany from a heavy industry economy to a "Warehouse District
" of artistic and entertainment venues reusing old warehouses and city infrastructure. In addition to a German beer garden in the former AFD Engine #3 and an arts/crafts/food marketplace in an old beer factory, in 2011 an Irish pub opened in a former office furniture showroom and a rock and roll
/country music
live music venue and bar in a former bank building, both are within one block of the beer garden.
(the Chicago Line), which is also used by Amtrak
. The former D&H
Colonie Main Line (now owned by CP Rail) runs through North Albany, at Erie Street and Erie Boulevard sits a bulk transfer rail yard
operated by BULK Transfer Services LLC.
North Albany's main streets
are North Pearl Street and Broadway which run north-south from Arbor Hill and Downtown to Menands. Most other streets in the neighborhood are cross streets that intersect either or both of those main streets. North Pearl Street is also part of NY 32. Loudonville Road connects North Pearl Street and Broadway northwest to US 9 and Van Rensselaer Boulevard. Van Rensselaer Boulevard on the western border of North Albany travels north to Menands and the Albany Rural Cemetery
, at the intersection with Northern Boulevard and Lawn Avenue it becomes New York Route 377 (NY 377). I-90 cuts through the neighborhood and intersects with I-787 along the Hudson River crossing the Patroon Island Bridge
into the city and county of Rensselaer. I-787 travels along the Hudson River at the eastern edge of North Albany and at exit 4A at Water and North Ferry streets allows access to the southern edge of the neighborhood.
, Nipper
is a 4–ton (3.6 metric ton), 24 feet (7.3 m) tall replica of the RCA mascot. He is currently the tallest known replica of the dog in existence. Nipper is composed of a composite body over a steel frame, and sports an aircraft warning beacon on his left ear, the dog can be seen as far as 5 miles (8 km) away in East Greenbush.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP) in 2000, the Miss Albany Diner
has been located in North Albany along Broadway since 1941. It hosted Jack Nicholson
and Meryl Streep
during their filming of the movie Ironweed
. A movie called Grazing Miss Albany is scheduled to be filmed in the diner.
Central Warehouse is a refrigeration warehouse in North Albany along Colonie Street at the very southern edge of North Albany. Built in 1927 it is 11-stories tall with 40000 square foot of space, and is considered a landmark of the community and city. The building has a rail line that enters the second floor and the walls are 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick concrete. In 1981 the building began to have signs placed on it seen from I-787, and in 1983 one in particular "Year of the Bible" received numerous complaints and the state began proceedings to have it removed. The signs violated the Federal Highway Beautification Act and was removed in 1986. Previous signs from 1981 to 1983 were not disputed by the state because Albany Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
had personally approved them and the New York State Department of Transportation
(NYSDOT) chose not to enforce the law since it would be against Corning's wishes, Corning died in 1983. In 1996 the building, which by then had been abandoned, was found to have up to 18 inch of ice built up on some floors. The ice it was believed was keeping the ammonia
of the refrigeration system from expanding, bursting pipes, and being released into the atmosphere. The building was abandoned in the early 1990s. The ammonia was subsequently drained from the pipes. On October 22, 2010 a fire began in the warehouse and lasted for days, the current owners claimed no structural damage was done to the building and that plans to renovate the building into a residential and retail complex were still possible, over $1 million had already been invested in cleaning the insides of the building.
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...
, 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...
, originally a hamlet in the town of Watervliet
Watervliet (town), New York
For the Shaker village, see Watervliet Shaker Historic District.The town of Watervliet was a town that at its height encompassed most of present-day Albany County and the majority of the current town of Niskayuna in neighboring Schenectady County, in the state of New York, United States...
. First settled in the mid-1600s by the Patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
of Rensselaerswyck and his tenants. Due to 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...
being constructed through here in 1825 North Albany saw immense growth with the Albany Lumber District
Albany Lumber District
The lumber district of Albany, New York was relatively small in the 1830s with around six wholesale lumber merchants, but by the 1870s Albany was the largest lumber district in the United States by value, though by that time it had recently been outstripped in feet sold by Chicago...
and an influx of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
lending the area the name of Limerick. Home to many historic warehouses and row houses, North Albany continues to be the most important industrial neighborhood in Albany. Recent efforts have begun to gentrify
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
the neighborhood adapting heavy industry/warehouse use to artistic and entertainment venues, such as a German beer garden
Beer garden
Beer garden is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served. The concept originates from and is most common in Southern Germany...
, live music venues, and arts and crafts marketplaces.
History
The area of North Albany was originally woodland and farmland as part of the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck, a feudal land patent covering present-day AlbanyAlbany 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...
and Rensselaer
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
counties. In 1654 Barent Pietersen Coeymans and Teunis Cornelissen van der Poel ( also known as Teunis Cornelissen Spitsenberch, or Spitsbergen) rented a mill along the Patroon Creek
Patroon Creek
Patroon Creek is a stream in Albany County, New York, United States and is a tributary of the Hudson River which flows south to New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The creek's source is Rensselaer Lake in the western section of the city of Albany and flows along the northern border of said city...
from the patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
, and in 1666 Patroon Jeremias van Rensselaer
Jeremias van Rensselaer
Jeremias van Rensselaer was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselear and the fourth patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.-Life:...
built a house and associated buildings such as a mill and barn also along the Patroon Creek. This area north of the original city limits of Albany as delineated by the Dongan Charter
Dongan Charter
The Dongan Charter is the 1686 document incorporating Albany, New York as a city. Albany's charter was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan of the Province of New York, a few months after Governor Dongan issued a similarly worded, but less detailed charter for the city of New York. The city of Albany...
was referred to as the colonie.
In 1825 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 built linking Albany to Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. Locks 1 and 2 were located in North Albany. The canal led to the establishment of the Albany Lumber District
Albany Lumber District
The lumber district of Albany, New York was relatively small in the 1830s with around six wholesale lumber merchants, but by the 1870s Albany was the largest lumber district in the United States by value, though by that time it had recently been outstripped in feet sold by Chicago...
, the future lumber district at this time being owned by the Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer and his brother William, and consisting of mostly vegetable gardens that paid little in the way of rent. The Patroon was soon approached about building slips off the canal for the use of the lumber industry in return for a more ample amount of rent. For about a quarter century in the middle of the 19th century the Albany lumber district was considered the largest white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
wholesale market, and by the 1870s Albany was the largest lumber district in the United States by value, though by that time it had recently been outstripped in feet sold by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Also due to the canal's influence factories began to locate in North Albany producing a varied collection of goods including books, stoves, carriages, and machine tools. Large numbers of Irish who built the Erie Canal and continued to work in the factories of North Albany lent to the area the name of Limerick.
In 1826 the state legislature created the Watervliet Turnpike Company, which built a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
extending from Broadway at what was the city line at the time north through North Albany to the village of West Troy (today city of Watervliet
Watervliet, New York
Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...
). In 1862 the name of the company was changed to the Watervliet Turnpike and Railway Company (WT&RR) and the state authorized the construction of a railroad along the road. In addition to the Watervliet Turnpike, the Loudonville Plank Road (Loudonville Road) was a turnpike in North Albany. It ran from Broadway to 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...
and had a toll gate on the corner with North Pearl Street.
In 1860 North Albany consisted of 40 houses.
In 1870 North Albany was annexed to the city of Albany from the town of Watervliet, becoming the Ninth Ward, today the Fourth Ward. In 1871 several North Albany streets received new names; North Pearl Avenue was renamed North Pearl Street, Troy Road became Broadway, Watervliet Avenue became Genesse Street, Hudson River Avenue became Mohawk Street, Albany Avenue became Albany Street, and Broadway Avenue became Laughlin Street. Laughlin Street became Emmett Street in 1879.
In 1876 the Sacred Heart Church was built on Walter Street for its large Irish Catholic population. In 1865 Peter Cagger purchased the lot at the corner of Broadway and North Ferry Steet for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany covers all or part of 14 counties in Eastern New York...
, which they used as the St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. Upon his death his widow donated money to convert the building into a hospital, named St. Peter's Hospital in his honor. The hospital opened in 1869 with 33 beds and a staff of 7 doctors and the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
as the nursing staff. The hospital moved to its current location on New Scotland Avenue in 1930, the building on Broadway staying open as an out-patient clinic for another year before closing permanently.
The WT&RR began running 8-motor electric cars
Electric train
Electric train may refer to:* Diesel-electric locomotive...
between its North Albany car barns and West Troy in 1889. In 1892 the Albany Railway also erected electric car barns in North Albany.
After 1900
When at the turn of the 20th century Albany built its first water filtration plant, it was located in North Albany.Many of North Albany's former turnpikes continued to be of importance to long-distance travel throughout the 20th century as evidenced by the designation of several US and state routes. North Pearl Street was extended from Pleasant Street to Emmett Street and then on to the city line at the village of Menands
Menands, New York
Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand...
in 1925, and as a consequence of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York North Pearl Street became a part of New York Route 32 (NY 32). In the 1940s NY Route 2
New York State Route 2
New York State Route 2 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York, United States. It extends from an interchange with Interstate 87 and NY 7 in the hamlet of Latham within the town of Colonie to the Massachusetts state line, where it continues to Boston as Route 2....
(NY 2) was extended south to NY Route 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
(NY 5) downtown by way of an overlap with NY 32. NY 2 was rerouted in the early 1950s to leave NY 32 at the junction of Wolfert Avenue and Broadway in Menands and then follow Broadway into downtown. In the mid-1960s, Route 2 was shortened to end prior to North Albany.
In 1950 North Albany held the neighborhood's first St. Patrick's Day Parade, one year before the city-wide parade began. Whereas the city parade has been postponed occasionally due to weather, the neighborhood parade has not ever been cancelled or postponed even when there was 23 inches of snow on the ground in 1993.
In 1953 the Edwin Corning Homes, a public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
complex, was built in North Albany, as affordable housing for soldiers returning home from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was named for Edwin Corning
Edwin Corning
Edwin Corning was an American businessman and politician from New York. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928.-Life:...
, former Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of New York, son of railroad baron
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
and mayor, Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning I , American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; six years later he moved to Albany, New York, where he joined the mercantile business under James Spencer...
, and father of Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
.
During the 1960s the Albany municipal landfill was located on the site of a former river water filtration plant that operated from the early 1900s to the 1930s. While the tanks are assumed to have been demolished, several structures associated with the plant are still buried under the trash, such as concrete foundations and tunnel structures. Located along Erie Boulevard on approximately 45 acres (18.2 ha) between 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...
(I-787), Interstate 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
(I-90), Erie Boulevard, and the Albany County Wastewater Treatment Plant, it was closed to municipal waste in 1969 in favor of a new landfill in the Albany Pine Bush area in the western section of the city. The landfill continued to operate as the North Albany Demolition Landfill, for demolition/construction debris until 1988. The city's Department of Public Works garage was built on a part of the landfill, with land near by used for the creation of the 92000 square feet (8,547.1 m²) Erie Boulevard Commerce Park on 16.6 acres (6.7 ha). Original plans were for Erie Boulevard, which was built on top of the old Erie Canal, to be extended through to Menands to Exit 6 of I-787. Though Albany would have borne all the costs of construction Menands still refused. Erie Boulevard was subsequently built to the border and no further in 1988 as part of the park construction.
The first female mail carrier
Mail carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman , postman/postwoman , letter carrier or postie is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses...
in the city of Albany worked out of the Patroon Station in North Albany, beginning in 1970. She may even have been the first in the entire Capital District
Capital District
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
. In 2011 the Patroon Station closed, though by that time it no longer was responsible for home delivery and home delivery continued with no changes in ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, PO Boxes were able to be transferred to the 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...
post office 4 miles (6.4 km) away in the neighboring town of Colonie.
In 2000 Denis Foley and Andrew Wolfe, two Union College professors, unearthed in an archeological excavation the first weigh lock
Weigh lock
A weigh lock is a specialized canal lock designed to determine the weight of barges in order to assess toll payments based upon the weight and value of the cargo carried. This requires that the unladen weight of the barge be known....
of the Erie Canal.
In the 1990s and 2000s the blue-collar warehouse and manufactoring backbone of North Albany began to move upscale towards more eclectic reuse of industrial and service infrastructure. As part of the shift from heavy manufacturing to a more service oriented economy the Albany Common Council
Common Council
Common Council may refer to:* The Court of Common Council, an elected body of the City of London Corporation* Buffalo Common Council, the legislative branch of the Buffalo, NY City Government...
in 1999 changed the zoning for much of North Albany between Erie Boulevard and I-787 (west to east) and Livingston Avenue and I-90 (south to north). The roughly 100 acres (40.5 ha) affected were changed from industrial use only to C-3, Central Business District which allowed for sports stadiums, museums, hotels, apartment buildings, and general commercial uses. In 1991 Albany Fire Department's Engine #3 was closed, and it became a nightclub by the name of Noche, then a live music venue named Jack Rabbit Slims, and today is an authentic German beer garden
Beer garden
Beer garden is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served. The concept originates from and is most common in Southern Germany...
named Wolff's Biergarten und Wurst Haus. Huck Finn's Warehouse and More, a discount furniture store, which had been located on Tivoli Street, moved across North Albany to a former paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
that had been converted in to a warehouse owned by 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...
from 1975 to 1998. The Tivoli Street location became the home of the Albany County Hall of Records in 2001, home to the original Dongan Charter. In 2007 At The Warehouse, a weekend art, craft, and food marketplace, took over a building built in 1892 that had previously been a brewery.
In 1999, Sacred Heart Church became the first Roman Catholic church in Albany to be led by a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
as parish life director due to a shortage of priests. In addition to changing times in leadership, the church community saw fewer of its traditional Irish congregation and increasing numbers of minorities. The reverend of the black apostolate at St. George's became the sacramental minister for masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, and a Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
reverend celebrates a Vietnamese mass on the first and second Sundays of every month. In 2006 the Sacred Heart Church's former convent next door was refurbished as an apartment complex for formerly homeless veterans.
In 2001, the Corning Homes projects were redeveloped into a low-density development of town homes with Dutch-style pitched roofs. The Corning Homes name was dropped so as not to continue to stigmatize the low-income housing residents in an attempt to blend them in with the rest of the North Albany neighborhood.
In 2005, a completely renovated Public School No. 5 on North Pearl Street was renamed North Albany Academy. Begun in 2004 and completed in 2005 a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
(Y) was built attached to the school, with the students using the gym and pool during the day. The Y includes a branch of the Albany Public Library and a day care for pre-school children. The Y was the first in the Capital District to involve the organization partnering with a local government, among other sources funding came from the Albany Housing Authority, Citizens Bank
Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, which operates in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Citizens is a wholly owned...
, the state Dormitory Authority
Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York provides construction, financing, and allied services which serve the public good of New York State...
and the state Office of Children and Family Services
New York State Office of Children and Family Services
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services is an agency of the Government of New York. The agency has its headquarters in the Capital View Office Park in Rensselaer.-History:...
. The Y was the first in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
built using tax breaks from the New Market Tax Credit and was the first built in Albany since the 1960s.
Utility company National Grid's regional headquarters are located at 1125 Broadway in North Albany on the site of the former Albany Gas Works. The gasworks
Gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
in the 19th century produced a crude form of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
for gaslight street lamps using coal gasification
Coal gasification
Coal gasification is the process of producing coal gas, a type of syngas–a mixture of carbon monoxide , hydrogen , carbon dioxide and water vapour –from coal...
methods. The tar left behind contamination that was cleaned up in 1996 by Niagara Mohawk (National Grid's predecessor). In 2010, National Grid established a compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
station there; in addition to cutting down on emissions from National Grid's fleet of trucks it is open to the public, allowing for increased ability for those with natural gas vehicles to fuel.
Geography
North Albany is bounded roughly by the railroad overpass on Broadway to the south and the city line with Menands to the north; and from the Hudson River to the east and Van Rensselaer Boulevard on the west. The area includes many older industrial sites along Broadway and North Pearl Street, with newer industrial uses along Erie Boulevard.Economy
North Albany's is the site of the largest industrial area in the city of Albany, and is the most concentrated area of industry as well. Approximately 75 industrial businesses are located in the historic heart of North Albany, an area of approximately 1 square mile. Though most of those businesses tend to be small, they account for around 2,000 jobs total. Government operations are present as well, including the New York State AssemblyNew York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
's printing operations. Both private and public actions have attempted to change North Albany from a heavy industry economy to a "Warehouse District
Warehouse District
-Canada:* Distillery District is located in Toronto, Ontario and is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.-United States :...
" of artistic and entertainment venues reusing old warehouses and city infrastructure. In addition to a German beer garden in the former AFD Engine #3 and an arts/crafts/food marketplace in an old beer factory, in 2011 an Irish pub opened in a former office furniture showroom and a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
/country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
live music venue and bar in a former bank building, both are within one block of the beer garden.
Transportation
Along the southern boundary of North Albany lies a railroad owned by CSXTCSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
(the Chicago Line), which is also used by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
. The former D&H
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...
Colonie Main Line (now owned by CP Rail) runs through North Albany, at Erie Street and Erie Boulevard sits a bulk transfer rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
operated by BULK Transfer Services LLC.
North Albany's main streets
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
are North Pearl Street and Broadway which run north-south from Arbor Hill and Downtown to Menands. Most other streets in the neighborhood are cross streets that intersect either or both of those main streets. North Pearl Street is also part of NY 32. Loudonville Road connects North Pearl Street and Broadway northwest to US 9 and Van Rensselaer Boulevard. Van Rensselaer Boulevard on the western border of North Albany travels north to Menands and the 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,...
, at the intersection with Northern Boulevard and Lawn Avenue it becomes New York Route 377 (NY 377). I-90 cuts through the neighborhood and intersects with I-787 along the Hudson River crossing the Patroon Island Bridge
Patroon Island Bridge
The Patroon Island Bridge is a major crossing of the Hudson River in Albany, New York. The bridge carries Interstate 90, in the east-west direction, over the Hudson River between Albany and Rensselaer Counties....
into the city and county of Rensselaer. I-787 travels along the Hudson River at the eastern edge of North Albany and at exit 4A at Water and North Ferry streets allows access to the southern edge of the neighborhood.
Landmarks
Built in 1954 for the RTA Corp., a distributor for RCARCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, Nipper
Nipper
Nipper was a dog that served as the model for a painting titled His Late Master's Voice. This image was the basis for the dog and trumpet logo used by several audio recording and associated brands: His Master's Voice, HMV, RCA, Victor Talking Machine Company, RCA Victor and JVC.- Biography :Nipper...
is a 4–ton (3.6 metric ton), 24 feet (7.3 m) tall replica of the RCA mascot. He is currently the tallest known replica of the dog in existence. Nipper is composed of a composite body over a steel frame, and sports an aircraft warning beacon on his left ear, the dog can be seen as far as 5 miles (8 km) away in East Greenbush.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York
The National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York represent the history of Albany from the Dutch colonial era, through the British colonial era, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and World War II, in addition to various periods of immigration into New York's...
(NRHP) in 2000, the Miss Albany Diner
Miss Albany Diner
Miss Albany Diner is a historic diner in Albany, New York built in 1941 and located at 893 Broadway, one of the oldest streets in Albany. Used as a set for the 1987 film Ironweed starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, it was added to the U.S...
has been located in North Albany along Broadway since 1941. It hosted Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
and Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
during their filming of the movie Ironweed
Ironweed (film)
Ironweed is a 1987 film directed by Argentine-born Brazilian Héctor Babenco.The picture is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by William Kennedy and concerns the relationship of a homeless couple: Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman during the Great...
. A movie called Grazing Miss Albany is scheduled to be filmed in the diner.
Central Warehouse is a refrigeration warehouse in North Albany along Colonie Street at the very southern edge of North Albany. Built in 1927 it is 11-stories tall with 40000 square foot of space, and is considered a landmark of the community and city. The building has a rail line that enters the second floor and the walls are 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick concrete. In 1981 the building began to have signs placed on it seen from I-787, and in 1983 one in particular "Year of the Bible" received numerous complaints and the state began proceedings to have it removed. The signs violated the Federal Highway Beautification Act and was removed in 1986. Previous signs from 1981 to 1983 were not disputed by the state because Albany Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
had personally approved them and the New York State Department of Transportation
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...
(NYSDOT) chose not to enforce the law since it would be against Corning's wishes, Corning died in 1983. In 1996 the building, which by then had been abandoned, was found to have up to 18 inch of ice built up on some floors. The ice it was believed was keeping the ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
of the refrigeration system from expanding, bursting pipes, and being released into the atmosphere. The building was abandoned in the early 1990s. The ammonia was subsequently drained from the pipes. On October 22, 2010 a fire began in the warehouse and lasted for days, the current owners claimed no structural damage was done to the building and that plans to renovate the building into a residential and retail complex were still possible, over $1 million had already been invested in cleaning the insides of the building.
Notable residents
- AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Walter F. Doran (Retired)- Former commander of the US Pacific Fleet - William KennedyWilliam Kennedy (author)William Joseph Kennedy is an American writer and journalist born and raised in Albany, New York. Many of his novels feature the interaction of members of the fictional Irish-American Phelan family, and make use of incidents of Albany's history and the supernatural...
- Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author, a native of North Albany, many of his novels feature the neighborhood such as IronweedIronweedIronweed is a 1983 novel by William Kennedy. It received the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is the third book in Kennedy's Albany Cycle...
which became a film of the same name featuring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. - Mayor Jerry Jennings- 74th mayor of Albany, and third-longest serving at 18 years as of 2011.