Albany Through Time

Explores the city's rich past through surviving landmarks along its historic main street.

Albany, New York, can be considered an eccentric city. While it is rich in history, those in power over the years have seen no reason to save it. Albanians love their history, yet politicians and business leaders, it seems, do not. Albany's four centuries of history can be revealed by simply walking up and down one street: Albany's main street, named State Street, originally called Yonkers Street ("Gentleman's Street" in Dutch). State Street is 1,100 feet long and 100 feet wide, packed with standing relics of this history. This book will take you through the centuries by showing maps, illustrations, and photos of that time period, with interesting bits of history associated with each. Many of the landmark buildings have been demolished over the years, so we can only honor and appreciate the ones that have survived with hopes that the wrecking ball will not take the rest.