Albany, New York

{{Main|History of Albany, New York}}

File:North Pearl Street Albany 1800s.png|alt=A watercolor painting of brown and yellow row houses in front of a dirt road, two of which have classic Dutch stepped gables; a white church spire is seen in the background.]]

The Hudson River area was originally inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Mohican (Mahican), who called it Pempotowwuthut-Muhhcanneuw, meaning "the fireplace of the Mohican nation".McEneny (2006), p. 6 Based to the west along the Mohawk River, the Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk called it Sche-negh-ta-da, "through the pine woods", referring to the path they took there.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bicentennialhis00howegoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/bicentennialhis00howegoog/page/n298 460]|title=Bi-centennial History of Albany|publisher=W. W. Munsell & Company|last1=Howell|first1=George Rogers|year=1886}}{{efn|This name would later be adopted by the city of Schenectady, to the west.{{cite book |title=Notes on the Iroquois; Or, Contributions to American History, Antiquities, and General Ethnology |last=Schoolcraft |first=Henry Rowe |publisher=Erastus H. Pease & Co |year=1847 |location=Albany, New York |page=345 |isbn=9780608402543 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5YGFDGAQ48AC&q=schenectady%20name%20iroquois&pg=PA345}}|group=Note}}

According to Hendrick Aupaumut, the Mohicans came to the area from the north and the west. They settled along the Mahicannituck, which is now called the Hudson River, and called themselves the Muh-he-con-neok, the "People of the Waters That Are Never Still".{{Cite web|title=Origin and Early History|url=https://www.mohican.com/origin-early-history/|access-date=September 13, 2021|website=mohican.com|language=en|archive-date=September 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911195350/https://www.mohican.com/origin-early-history/|url-status=dead}}

The Mohawks, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, were based in the Mohawk valley and noted for their fur trading and their access to trade between the Iroquois and other nations.{{Cite web|title=Culture and History|url=https://www.srmt-nsn.gov/culture_and_history|url-status=live|access-date=|website=Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe|date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028212721/https://www.srmt-nsn.gov/culture_and_history |archive-date=October 28, 2018 }} The Mohawk became strong trading partners with the Dutch and English. It is likely that the area was visited by European fur traders perhaps as early as 1540, but the extent and duration of those visits are unclear.{{cite book |first=Cuyler |last=Reynolds |title=Albany Chronicles |publisher=J. B. Lyon Company |location=Albany, New York |date=1906 |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PA2.w.5.0.0}}

Permanent European claims began when Englishman Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India Company on the Half Moon ({{Langx|nl|Halve Maen}}), reached the area in 1609, claiming it for the United Netherlands."[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/274681/Henry-Hudson Henry Hudson]". (2010). Britannica. Retrieved June 27, 2010. In 1614, Hendrick Christiaensen built Fort Nassau on Castle Island (now called Port of Albany), in the Hudson River. The fort acted as a fur-trading post and was the first documented European structure in present-day Albany. Commencement of the fur trade provoked hostility from the French colony in Canada and among the natives, all of whom vied to control the trade. In 1618, a flood ruined Fort Nassau, but the Dutch replaced it with Fort Orange on the mainland in 1624.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWkJAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA775|title=Bi-centennial History of Albany|last1=Howell|first1=George Rogers|year=1886|page=775}} Both forts were named in honor of the leading family of the Dutch Revolt, members of the House of Orange-Nassau.Venema (2003), p. 13 Fort Orange and the surrounding area were incorporated as the village of Beverwijck ({{Langx|en|Beaverwick or Beaver District}}) in 1652,Rittner (2002), p. 7Venema (2003), p. 12 and the city of Albany in 1686. In these early decades of trade, the Dutch, Mohican, and Mohawk developed relations that reflected differences among their three cultures.[http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staffpubs/docs/20360.pdf James Wesley Bradley, Before Albany: An Archaeology of Native-Dutch Relations in the Capital Region 1660–1664] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223203201/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staffpubs/docs/20360.pdf |date=December 23, 2014 }}, Albany: University of the State of New York, 2007, pp. 2–6{{clarification needed|reason=It is unclear what "developed relations that reflected differences among their three cultures" means.|date=March 2025}}

Albany is one of the oldest surviving European settlements from the original Thirteen Colonies{{cite book|author=Larnard, J.N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTcFAAAAIAAJ&q=french%20fort%201540%20albany&pg=PA195|title=The New Larned History for Ready Reference and Research|publisher=C.A. Nichols Publishing Company|year=1922|editor=Donald E. Smith|volume=I (A-Bak)|page=195}} and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States.{{efn|The Dongan Charter incorporated Albany three months after New York City's charter was ratified. However, the latter forfeited its charter during Leisler's Rebellion, making Albany's the oldest effective charter in the country.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrwZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA137|title=Proceedings of the Conference for Good City Government and the Annual ...|last1=League|first1=National Municipal|year=1896}}{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqCeHOJyK0wC&pg=PA5|title=Albany Guide Book|year=1917|last1=Whish|first1=John D.}}|group=Note}} When New Netherland was captured by the English in 1664, the name was changed from Beverwijck to Albany in honor of the Duke of Albany (later James II).{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historystatenew02brodgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/historystatenew02brodgoog/page/n772 744]|title=History of the State of New York|publisher=Harper & Brothers|last1=Brodhead|first1=John Romeyn|year=1874}}{{efn|James Stuart (1633–1701), brother and successor of Charles II, was both the Duke of York and Duke of Albany before being crowned king in 1685. His title of Duke of York is the source of the name of the province of New York.|group=Note}} Duke of Albany was a Scottish title given since 1398, generally to a younger son of the King of Scots.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Albany, Dukes of |volume= 1 | pages = 487–489, line two|quote=The title of duke of Albany was first bestowed in 1398....}} The name is ultimately derived from Alba, the Gaelic name for Scotland.{{cite book |title=The Historie of Scotland |last=Leslie |first=Jhone |translator=James Dalrymple |editor=E.G. Cody |publisher=William Blackwood and Sons |year=1888 |page=354 |location=Edinburgh |oclc=3217086 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56RHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA354}} The Dutch briefly regained Albany in August 1673 and renamed the city Willemstadt; the English took permanent possession in 1674 with the Treaty of Westminster.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA72|title=Albany Chronicles|year=1906}} On November 1, 1683, the Province of New York was split into counties, with Albany County being the largest: it included all of present New York State north of Dutchess and Ulster Counties in addition to present-day Bennington County, Vermont, theoretically stretching west to the Pacific Ocean;Thorne, Kathryn Ford, Compiler & Long, John H., Editor: New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; The Newbury Library; 1993.{{cite map |title=A Map of the Provinces of New-York and New-Jersey, with a Part of Pennsylvania and the Province of Quebec |publisher=Matthew Albert Lotter |cartography=Claude Joseph Sauthier |scale=ca. 1:1,040,000 |year=1777}} Albany became the county seat.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_R_zHwh4xByQC|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_R_zHwh4xByQC/page/n161 155]|title=Gazetteer of the State of New York|publisher=R. Pearsall Smith|last1=French|first1=John Homer|year=1860}} Albany was formally chartered as a municipality by provincial Governor Thomas Dongan on July 22, 1686. The Dongan Charter was virtually identical in content to the charter awarded to the city of New York three months earlier.{{cite web |title = The Dongan Charter |publisher = New York State Museum |access-date = November 23, 2008 |url = http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/charter.html |archive-date = October 12, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012114158/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/charter.html |url-status = dead }} Dongan created Albany as a strip of land {{convert|1|mi|km}} wide and {{convert|16|mi|km}} long.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA84|title=Albany Chronicles|year=1906}} Over the years Albany would lose much of the land to the west and annex land to the north and south. At this point, Albany had a population of about 500 people.

In 1754, representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Stadt Huys, Albany's city hall, for the Albany Congress; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union there, which was the first formal proposal to unite the colonies.Rittner (2002), p. 22 Although it was never adopted by Parliament, it was an important precursor to the United States Constitution.McEneny (2006), p. 12{{efn|The Plan of Union's original intention was to unite the colonies in defense against aggressions of the French to the north; it was not an attempt to become independent from the British crown.|group=Note}} The same year, the French and Indian War, the fourth in a series of wars dating back to 1689, began. It ended in 1763 with French defeat, resolving a situation that had been a constant threat to Albany and held back its growth.McEneny (2006), p. 56

In 1775, with the colonies in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the Stadt Huys became home to the Albany Committee of Correspondence (the political arm of the local revolutionary movement), which took over operation of Albany's government and eventually expanded its power to control all of Albany County. Tories and prisoners of war were often jailed in the Stadt Huys alongside common criminals.{{cite web |title=The Committee of Correspondence |publisher=New York State Museum |last=Bielinski |first=Stefan |date=March 8, 2010 |access-date=August 19, 2010 |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/coc.html |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818044657/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/coc.html |url-status=dead }} In 1776, Albany native Philip Livingston signed the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.{{cite web |title=Livingston, Philip (1716–1778) |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |publisher=United States Congress |access-date=October 9, 2009 |date= |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000369}}

During and after the Revolutionary War, Albany County saw a great increase in real estate transactions. After Horatio Gates defeated John Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777, the upper Hudson Valley was generally at peace as the war raged on elsewhere. Prosperity was soon seen all over Upstate New York. Migrants from Vermont and Connecticut began flowing in, noting the advantages of living on the Hudson and trading at Albany, while being only a few days' sail from New York City.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/landmarksofrenss00ande#page/n91/mode/2up|title=Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York|publisher=Syracuse, New York, D. Mason & company|year=1897}} Albany reported a population of 3,498 in the first national census in 1790, an increase of almost 700% since its chartering.{{cite web|title=How a City Worked: Occupations in Colonial Albany|publisher=New York State Museum|access-date=January 10, 2009|url=http://www.nnp.org/nnp/publications/ABAFB/4.4.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120005559/http://www.nnp.org/nnp/publications/ABAFB/4.4.pdf|archive-date=November 20, 2008|url-status=usurped}}

On November 17, 1793, fire broke out at a stable belonging to Leonard Gansevoort, destroying 26 homes on Broadway, Maiden Lane, James Street, and State Street. Three were arrested and charged with arson: Pompey, a man enslaved by Matthew Visscher; Dinah, a 14-year-old girl enslaved by Volkert P. Douw; and Bet, a 12-year-old girl enslaved by Philip S. Van Rensselaer. On January 6, 1794, the three were sentenced to death. Governor George Clinton issued a temporary stay of execution, but Dinah and Bet were executed by hanging on March 14, and Pompey on April 11, 1794.{{Cite journal |jstor = 2783709|title = Black Arson in Albany, New York: November 1793|journal = Journal of Black Studies|volume = 7|issue = 3|pages = 301–312|last1 = Gerlach|first1 = Don R.|year = 1977|doi = 10.1177/002193477700700304|s2cid = 220416464}}

In 1797, the state capital was moved permanently to Albany. From statehood to this date, the Legislature had frequently moved the state capital between Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and the city of New York.{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=John Austin |title=The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries |publisher=Historical Publication Co |year=1886 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V7hnlOojVAEC&pg=RA1-PA124}} Albany is the tenth-oldest state capital in the United States and the second-oldest city that is a state capital, after Santa Fe, New Mexico.Rittner (2002), back cover

File:Albany New York 1895 Restored.jpg as it expanded around the former turnpikes.|alt=A yellowed map of the city showing streets, the Hudson River, and municipal boundaries; Albany is shaded to distinguish from neighboring towns.]]

Albany has been a center of transportation for much of its history. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Albany saw development of the turnpike and by 1815, Albany was the turnpike center of the state. The development of Simeon De Witt's gridded block system in 1794—which renamed streets that had originally named after the British royal family with names of birds and mammals instead{{efn|A rough grid pattern was established in 1764, aligning the streets with Clinton Avenue, which marked the northern border of Albany at the time. Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck Stephen Van Rensselaer II followed the same directional system north of Clinton Avenue on his lands; however, the two systems were not related otherwise, which is why cross streets north and south of Clinton Avenue do not align. The stockade surrounding the city was taken down shortly before the Revolutionary War, allowing for expansion. De Witt, city surveyor at the time, continued the grid pattern to the west and renamed on his 1794 map any streets named after the British royal family. Hawk Street is the only road that retained its original name; the rest were renamed after birds and mammals.Waite (1993), p. 185McEneny (2006), p. 68|group=Note}}—was intersected by these major arterials coming out of Albany, cutting through the city at unexpected angles.McEneny (2006), p. 75Waite (1993), p. 201 The construction of the turnpike, in conjunction with canal and railroad systems, made Albany the hub of transportation for pioneers going to Buffalo and the Michigan Territory in the early and mid-19th century.[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12570/Albany Albany]. (2010). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 27, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

File:Albany Steamer.jpg Albany departs for New York City; at the height of steam travel in 1884. 1.5 million passengers took the trip.McEneny (2006), p. 92|alt=A white steam ship is seen near the shore of the Hudson River in front of the downtown area of Albany; the New York State Capitol can be seen in the background.]]

In 1807, Robert Fulton initiated a steamboat line from New York City to Albany, the first successful enterprise of its kind anywhere in the world. By 1810, with 10,763 people, Albany was the tenth-largest urban place in the nation.{{cite web |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab04.txt |title = Population of the 46 Urban Places: 1810 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}} The town and village north of Albany known as "the Colonie"{{efn|"The Colonie" made up the current area of Arbor Hill and was the more urban part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which surrounded Albany. It is the source of the name of the current town and village of Colonie.{{cite web |title=Colonie History: Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Town of Colonie |date=June 19, 2008 |url=http://www.colonie.org/historian/index.html#faq |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923002413/http://colonie.org/historian/index.html#faq |archive-date=September 23, 2010 }} Though retaining the original Dutch spelling, the municipality retains a unique pronunciation—{{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɒ|l|ə|ˈ|n|iː}}—that even a preeminent Beverwijck historian can not explain.{{cite web |title=You say RENseler, I say renseLAR |last=Norder |first=Akum |publisher=Times Union |date=December 27, 2012 |access-date=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/You-say-RENseler-I-say-renseLAR-4149714.php}}|group=Note}} was annexed in 1815.{{cite web|title=Appendix: Annexations 1815–1967 |publisher=City of Albany Department of Urban Redevelopment |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/achor/inout/ichap5.html |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823005023/http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/achor/inout/ichap5.html |archive-date=August 23, 2008 }} In 1825 the Erie Canal was completed, forming a continuous water route from the Great Lakes to New York City. Unlike the current Barge Canal, which ends at nearby Waterford, the original Erie Canal ended at Albany; Lock 1 was north of Colonie Street.{{cite map |last=Andrews |first=Horace |title=City of Albany |year=1895 |publisher=Julius Bien & Company |scale=1 inch per 1000 feet |url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albany_New_York_1895_Restored.jpg}} The Canal emptied into a {{convert|32|acre|ha|adj=on}} man-made lagoon called the Albany Basin, which was Albany's main port from 1825 until the Port of Albany-Rensselaer opened in 1932.{{cite book|title=The People's Welfare: Law and Regulation in Nineteenth-Century America |last=Novak |first=William J |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |location= Chapel Hill|isbn=0-8078-4611-2 |page=139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vQWaL-dT0EC&q=1825%20pier%20albany%20basin&pg=PA139}}{{cite book |title=New York: A Guide to the Empire State |author=New York State Historical Association |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1940 |location=New York City |page=727 |isbn=9781603540315 |oclc=504264143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmbOZd4D-ccC&pg=PA727}} In 1829, while working as a professor at the Albany Academy, Joseph Henry, widely regarded as "the foremost American scientist of the 19th century",{{cite web|url=http://www.nas.edu/history/members/henry.html |title=Joseph Henry |access-date=September 18, 2010 |work=Distinguished Members Gallery, National Academy of Sciences |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209134636/http://www.nas.edu/history/members/henry.html |archive-date=December 9, 2006 }} built the first electric motor. Three years later, he discovered electromagnetic self-induction (the SI unit for which is now the henry). He went on to be the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution."[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/261387/Joseph-Henry Joseph Henry]". (2010). Britannica. Retrieved September 18, 2010. In the 1830 and 1840 censuses, Albany was ranked as the ninth-largest urban place in the nation;{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab06.txt |title = Population of the 90 Urban Places: 1830 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab07.txt |title = Population of the 100 Urban Places: 1840 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}} it dropped back to tenth in 1850.{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab08.txt |title = Population of the 100 Urban Places: 1850 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}} This was the last time the city was one of the top ten largest urban places in the nation.{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/twps0027.html |title = Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}

Albany also has significant history with rail transport,{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania RR Chronology |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |year=2005 |url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1826%20Apr%2005.pdf |page=5 |access-date=June 2, 2010}} as the location of two major regional railroad headquarters. The Delaware and Hudson Railway was headquartered in Albany at what is now the SUNY System Administration Building.Waite (1993), p. 245 In 1853, Erastus Corning, a noted industrialist and Albany's mayor from 1834 to 1837, consolidated ten railroads stretching from Albany to Buffalo into the New York Central Railroad (NYCRR), headquartered in Albany until Cornelius Vanderbilt moved it to New York City in 1867.{{cite book |title=The Railroad Builders, A Chronicle of the Welding of the States |first=John |last=Moody |year=1921 |publisher=Yale University Press |page=27 |isbn=9780722227442 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeApAAAAYAAJ&q=The%20Railroad%20Builders&pg=PA26}}{{cite news |title=For a glimpse of the future, backtrack |author=Anderson, Eric |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 17, 2010 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11008144 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707204603/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11008144 }} One of the ten companies that formed the NYCRR was the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, which was the first railroad in the state and the first successful steam railroad running regularly scheduled service in the country.{{cite web |title=History of Railroads in New York State |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/passenger-rail/passenger-rail-service/history-railroads |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214022752/https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/passenger-rail/passenger-rail-service/history-railroads |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2010 }}{{Shaughnessy-DH|page=89}}

File:Albany Lumber Yard 1870s.png was home to the largest lumber market in the nation in 1865.|alt=A flat boat with large, wooden boards piled on it floats in a narrow channel surrounded by more piles of wooden boards. A few men pose on the boat.]]While the key to Albany's economic prosperity in the 19th century was transportation, industry and business also played a role. Largely thanks to the city's Dutch and German roots, beer was one of its biggest commodities. Beverwyck Brewery, originally known as Quinn and Nolan (Nolan being mayor of Albany 1878–1883),{{cite web |title=Nolan, Michael Nicholas |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=June 30, 2010 |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000126}} was the last remaining brewer from that time when it closed in 1972. The city's location at the east end of the Erie Canal gave it unparalleled access to both raw products and a captive customer base in the west.McEneny (2006), pp. 87–88 Albany was known for its publishing houses, and to some extent, still is. Albany was second only to Boston in the number of books produced for most of the 19th century.McEneny (2006), p. 88 Iron foundries in both the north and south ends of the city attracted thousands of immigrants to the city for industrial jobs. Intricate wrought-iron details constructed in those years remain visible on what are now historic buildings. The iron industry waned by the 1890s due to increased costs associated with a newly unionized workforce and the opening of mines in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota.McEneny (2006), pp. 88 & 92

File:BroadwayAlbanyLincoln.jpg for Abraham Lincoln (1865)]]

Albany's other major exports during the 18th and 19th centuries were furs, wheat, meat, and lumber.McEneny (2006), p. 65 By 1865, there were almost 4,000 saw mills in the Albany area and the Albany Lumber District was the largest lumber market in the nation.{{cite book |title=The Albany Lumber Trade: Its History and Extent |last= |first= |year=1872 |publisher=The Argus Company |location=Albany |page=7 |oclc=8260640 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XkDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA7}} The city was also home to a number of banks. The Bank of Albany (1792–1861) was the second chartered bank in New York.{{cite web |title=The Bank of Albany |publisher=New York State Museum |date=January 6, 2008 |access-date=July 19, 2010 |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bankofalbany.html |archive-date=July 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720202819/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bankofalbany.html |url-status=dead }} The city was the original home of the Albank (founded in 1820 as the Albany Savings Bank),{{cite news |title=Trust(Co) Worth Advice? |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 10, 2007 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6462762 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030005/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6462762 }} KeyBank (founded in 1825 as the Commercial Bank of Albany),{{cite news |title=KeyCorp |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=November 10, 2008 |page=C8 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7164396 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025942/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7164396 }} and Norstar Bank (founded as the State Bank of Albany in 1803).{{cite news |title=Bank Merger Clears Last Hurdle |author=Gordon, Marcy |date=March 9, 2004 |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |page=E1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6280718 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030218/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6280718 }} American Express was founded in Albany in 1850 as an express mail business.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA603|title=Albany Chronicles|year=1906}} In 1871, the northwestern portion of Albany—west from Magazine Street—was annexed to the neighboring town of Guilderland{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGkJAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA77|title=Bi-centennial History of Albany|last1=Howell|first1=George Rogers|year=1886}} after the town of Watervliet refused annexation of the territory.{{cite book |title=Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Ninety-Third Session of the Legislature, Begun January Fourth, and Ended April Twenty-Sixth, 1870, in the City of Albany. Volume I |access-date=September 11, 2010 |year=1870 |publisher=State of New York/Weed, Parsons and Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hixAAAAIAAJ&q=watervliet+albany+1870+law+annexation&pg=PA412 |page=412}}{{cite book |title=Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Ninety-Fourth Session of the Legislature, Begun January Third, and Ended April Twenty-first 1871, in the City of Albany. Volume II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ-xAAAAIAAJ&q=guilderland+albany+1871+law+annexation&pg=PA1688 |page=1688 |access-date = September 11, 2010 |year=1871 |publisher=State of New York/The Argus Company}} In return for this loss, portions of Bethlehem and Watervliet were added to Albany. Part of the land annexed to Guilderland was ceded back to Albany in 1910, setting up the current western border.

The train carrying the body of slain President Abraham Lincoln came through Albany on the way to Illinois and some claim the ghostly image of that train remains.{{Cite web|title=Times Union article|work=Times Union |date=October 8, 2021|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/eagle-podcast-ghost-story-lincoln-funeral-train-16518643.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008145010/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/eagle-podcast-ghost-story-lincoln-funeral-train-16518643.php |archive-date=October 8, 2021 |last1=Marshall |first1=Jessica }}

Albany opened one of the first commercial airports in the world, and the first municipal airport in the United States, in 1908.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Originally on a polo field on Loudon Road, it moved to Westerlo Island in 1909 and remained there until 1928.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} The Albany Municipal Airport—jointly owned by the city and county—was moved to its current location in Colonie in 1928.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} By 1916 Albany's northern and southern borders reached their modern courses; Westerlo Island, to the south, became the second-to-last annexation, which occurred in 1926.{{cite web|title=Cutting Ice: Big Business in Bethlehem |publisher=Town of Bethlehem |url=http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/history/historyArticlesIceCutting.asp |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006020426/http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/history/historyArticlesIceCutting.asp |archive-date=October 6, 2010 }}

File:Albany Institute of History and Art Panorama.jpg]]

Erastus Corning 2nd, arguably Albany's most notable mayor (and great-grandson of the former mayor of the same name), was elected in 1941.McEneny (2006), p. 157 Although he was one of the longest-serving mayors of any city in United States history (1942 until his death in 1983), one historian describes Corning's tenure as "long on years, short on accomplishments,"Grondahl (2007), p. 490 citing Corning's preference for maintaining the status quo as a factor that held back potential progress during his tenure.Grondahl (2007), p. 500 While Corning brought stability to the office of mayor, it is said even those who admire him greatly cannot come up with a sizable list of "major concrete Corning achievements."Grondahl (2007), p. 494 Corning is given credit for saving—albeit somewhat unintentionally—much of Albany's historic architecture.{{efn|Grondahl summarizes it as, "This hard-line position of isolationism on the part of the machine was a curse economically – but a strange blessing unintentionally in architectural terms. While downtown went to seed and plans for large-scale construction and improvements came to a virtual standstill in Albany without federal money, pockets of the city's historic housing stock escaped the wrecking ball."|group=Note}}

During the 1950s and 1960s, a time when federal aid for urban renewal was plentiful, Albany did not have growth in its economy or infrastructure. It lost more than 20 percent of its population during the Corning years, as people moved to newer housing in the suburbs, followed by most of the downtown businesses moving there as well.Grondahl (2007), p. 492 While cities across the country grappled with similar issues, the problems were magnified in Albany: interference from the Democratic political machine hindered progress considerably. In 1960, the mayor sold the city's stake in the airport to the county, citing budget issues. It was known from then on as Albany County Airport until a massive upgrade and modernization project between 1996 and 1998, when it was rebranded Albany International Airport.{{efn|Albany International Airport is the public-facing brand of the Albany County Airport,{{cite web|title=Albany Airport History |publisher=Albany International Airport |last=Hakes |first=Chauncey D |url=http://www.albanyairport.com/alb_history.php |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222081857/http://www.albanyairport.com/alb_history.php |archive-date=December 22, 2008 }} which remains overseen by the Albany County Airport Authority.{{cite web |title=Airport Authority |publisher=Albany County Airport Authority |accessdate=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.albanyairport.com/about-alb/airport-authority}}}}

Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1959–1973) (R) tried to stimulate the city with new monumental architecture and large, government-sponsored building projects; he drove construction of the Empire State Plaza, SUNY Albany's uptown campus, and much of the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus.Grondahl (2007), p. 501 Albany County Republican Chairman Joseph C. Frangella once quipped, "Governor Rockefeller was the best mayor Albany ever had."Grondahl (2007), p. 502 Corning, although opposed to the project, was responsible for negotiating the payment plan for the Empire State Plaza. Rockefeller did not want to be limited by the Legislature's power of the purse, so Corning devised a plan to have the county pay for the construction and have the state sign a lease-ownership agreement. The state paid off the bonds until 2004. It was Rockefeller's only viable option, and he agreed. Due to the clout Corning gained from the situation, he gained inclusion of the State Museum, a convention center, and a restaurant, back in the plans—ideas which Rockefeller had originally vetoed. The county gained $35 million in fees and the city received $13 million for lost tax revenue. Having the state offices in the city enabled it to keep good jobs and retain middle-class residents.Grondahl (2007), pp. 467–469

File:Albany Yellow Book cropped.jpeg around Albany.|alt=Black and white map shows the boundaries of Albany and surrounding municipalities, crossed with dark black lines representing planned interstate highways.]]

Another major project of the 1960s and 1970s was the construction of Interstate 787 and the South Mall Arterial.{{efn|The Empire State Plaza was originally known as the South Mall; the South Mall Arterial is the only remnant of that naming scheme.|group=Note}} Construction began in the early 1960s. A proposed Mid-Crosstown Arterial never came to fruition.{{cite web | url = http://www.capitalhighways.8m.com/highways/m-ca/ | title = Mid-Crosstown Arterial | publisher = Capital Highways | year = 2006 | access-date = June 28, 2010 | author = Jordan, Christopher | url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110429085042/http://www.capitalhighways.8m.com/highways/m-ca/ | archive-date = April 29, 2011 | df = mdy-all }} One of the project's main results was separating the city from the Hudson River. Historian Paul Grondahl has described Corning as shortsighted with respect to use of the waterfront, saying the mayor could have used his influence to change the location of I-787, which now cuts the city off from "its whole raison d'être"Grondahl (2007), p. 498 In 1967, the hamlet of Karlsfeld was the last annexation by the city, sourced from the Town of Bethlehem.

When Corning died in 1983, Thomas Whalen assumed the mayorship and was reelected twice. He encouraged redevelopment of historic structures and helped attract federal dollars earmarked for that purpose. What Corning had saved from destruction, Whalen refurbished for continued and new uses.McEneny (2006), p. 191 The Mayor's Office of Special Events was created in an effort to increase the number of festivals and artistic events in the city, including a year-long Dongan Charter tricentennial celebration in 1986.McEneny (2006), p. 192 Whalen is credited for an "unparalleled cycle of commercial investment and development" in Albany due to his "aggressive business development programs".{{cite news |title=Thomas M. Whalen III, 68, Three-Term Mayor of Albany (Obituary) |author=Pace, Eric |work=The New York Times |date=March 8, 2002 |access-date=July 18, 2010 |page= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/08/nyregion/thomas-m-whalen-iii-68-three-term-mayor-of-albany.html}}

Prior to the recession of the 1990s, downtown Albany was home to four Fortune 500 companies.McEneny (2006), p. 193 After the death of Corning and the retirement of Congressman Sam Stratton, the political environment changed. Long-term office holders became rare in the 1980s. Local media began following the drama surrounding county politics (specifically that of the newly created county executive position); the loss of Corning (and eventually the machine) led to a lack of interest in city politics.McEneny (2006), pp. 193–194 The election of Gerald Jennings was a surprise, and he served as mayor from 1994 until his retirement at the end of 2013. His tenure essentially ended the political machine that had been in place since the 1920s.McEneny (2006), p. 198

During the 1990s, the State Legislature approved the $234 million "Albany Plan", "a building and renovation project [that] was the most ambitious building project to affect the area since the Rockefeller era." Under the Albany Plan, renovation and new building projects were initiated around the downtown area. Many state workers were relocated from the Harriman State Office Campus to downtown, helping its retail businesses and vitality. The first decade of the 21st century saw a real possibility for a long-discussed and controversial Albany Convention Center; it opened in 2017 with the goal of making Albany a viable location for large events hosted by statewide organizations.{{cite news |title=Convention center dream becomes reality |last=Downen |first=Robert |publisher=Hearst Media |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=March 1, 2017 |accessdate=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-business/article/Convention-center-dream-becomes-reality-10970544.php}}

Albany remains an important location for business presence, given its role as de facto seat of Tech Valley and being home to the state capitol. Fortune 500 companies with offices in Albany include American Express, J.P. Morgan and Chase,{{Cite web|title = J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. – Albany, 12 Corporate Woods Boulevard, 4th Floor, Albany, 122112344 {{!}} Search Albany Businesses at Albany.com|url = http://www.albany.com/business/jp-morgan-chase-and-co-albany-7767/|website = Albany.com|access-date = November 9, 2015}} Merrill Lynch,{{Cite web|title = Albany, NY – Merrill Lynch Branch Office|url = https://www.ml.com/mlwm/system/viewbranchpage.aspx?pageurl=albany_ny|website = www.ml.com|access-date = November 9, 2015}}{{cite web|title=CGI offices|url=https://www.cgi.com/en/offices|website=CGI.com|access-date=August 27, 2016}} General Electric, Verizon, Goldman Sachs,{{Cite web|title = Ayco|url = http://www.ayco.com/|website = www.ayco.com|access-date = November 9, 2015}} International Paper,{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Cuyler |title=Albany Chronicles |publisher=J. B. Lyon Company, printers |access-date=January 18, 2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XNU0AAAAIAAJ |quote=castle island french fort 1540. |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XNU0AAAAIAAJ/page/n894 603] |year=1906}} and Key Bank.{{cite web |title = A Short History of International Paper |access-date = April 30, 2009 |publisher = Forest History Today |url = http://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/FHT/FHT1998/IP.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090326112052/http://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/FHT/FHT1998/IP.pdf |archive-date = March 26, 2009 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}

Albany won the All-America City Award in both 1991 and 2009.{{cite web |title=All America City Awards: AAC Winners by State and City |publisher=National Civic League |year=2010 |access-date=September 6, 2010 |url=http://ncl.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130&Itemid=186}}

{{Clear}}

{{wide image|AlbanyNYPanorama1906.jpg|1200px|Albany, as viewed from the Capitol looking southeast, {{circa|1906}}. City Hall is left of center; the twin spires of the Immaculate Conception church can be seen on the far right; the future Empire State Plaza is located at the extreme right of the image.|alt=A panorama from 1909, in sepia, shows a view of the city perpendicular to the river; there are numerous church steeples and the city hall tower can be seen left of center.|align-cap=center}}

{{maplink|frame=y|text=City of Albany|frame-align=right|zoom=10|type=shape-inverse|id=Q24861|stroke-color=#001|stroke-width=2}}

Albany is about {{convert|150|mi|km}} north of New York City on the Hudson River. It has a total area of {{convert|21.8|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|21.4|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.4|sqmi|km2}} (1.8%) is water.{{cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3601000.html |title=State & County QuickFacts: Albany (city) |access-date=July 17, 2010 |date=January 2, 2008 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217042746/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3601000.html |archive-date=February 17, 2010 }} The city is bordered on the north by the town of Colonie (along with the village of Menands), on the west by the town of Guilderland, and on the south by the town of Bethlehem.{{cite map |title=New York: Albany Quadrangle (15-Minute Series) |publisher=United States Geological Survey |year=1950 |url=http://docs.unh.edu/NY/alby50ne.jpg |access-date=June 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801074615/http://docs.unh.edu/NY/alby50ne.jpg |archive-date=August 1, 2010 |url-status=dead }} The former Foxes Creek,{{cite web |title=Foxes Creek |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/foxescreek.html |publisher=New York State Museum |date=October 10, 2007 |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527180605/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/foxescreek.html |url-status=dead }} Beaver Kill,{{cite web |title=Beaverkill |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/beaverkill.html |publisher=New York State Museum |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527180751/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/beaverkill.html |url-status=dead }} and Rutten Kill{{cite web |title=Ruttenkill |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/ruttenkill.html |publisher=New York State Museum |date=July 29, 2001 |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050613/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/ruttenkill.html |url-status=dead }} were diverted underground in the 19th century. There are four lakes within city limits: Buckingham Lake; Rensselaer Lake at the mouth of the Patroon Creek; Tivoli Lake, which was formed as a reservoir and once connected to the Patroon Creek; and Washington Park Lake, which was formed by damming the Beaver Kill.

File:Albany Pine Bush.jpg is the only sizable inland pine barrens sand dune ecosystem in the United States.|alt=A few pine trees are surrounded by a number of low-lying oak-scrub bushes and trees during summer months.]]

The highest natural point in Albany is a USGS benchmark near the Loudonville Reservoir off Birch Hill Road, at {{convert|378|ft|m}} above sea level. The lowest point is at the Hudson River—which is still technically an estuary at Albany and is affected by the Atlantic tide{{cite book |title=The Hudson River Estuary |last=Levinton |first=Jeffery S. |author2=John R. Waldman |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York City |year=2006 |page=3 |isbn=0-521-84478-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EjpxuZAsH0C&q=%22hudson%20river%22%20estuary&pg=PA3}}—at an average of {{convert|2|ft|m}} above sea level at low tide and {{convert|4|ft|m}} at high tide.{{cite web |title=The Hudson River Basin |publisher=United States Geological Survey |author=National Water Quality Assessment Program |date=December 16, 2009 |access-date=October 10, 2010 |url=http://ny.water.usgs.gov/projects/hdsn/fctsht/su.html |archive-date=November 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117201230/http://ny.water.usgs.gov/projects/hdsn/fctsht/su.html |url-status=dead }} The interior of Albany consists of rolling hills which were once part of the Albany Pine Bush, an area of pitch pine and scrub oak, and has arid, sandy soil that is a remnant of the ancient Lake Albany. Due to development, the Pine Bush has shrunk from an original {{convert|25000|to|6000|acre|ha}} today. A preserve was set up by the State Legislature in 1988 and is on the city's western edge, spilling into Guilderland and Colonie;Burger (2006), pp. 27–36 it is the only sizable inland pine barrens sand dune ecosystem in the United States,{{cite web|title=Virtual Exhibit |publisher=Save the Pine Bush |date=January 12, 2008 |access-date=June 14, 2010 |url=http://www.savethepinebush.org/Exhibit/Exhibit.html}} and is home to many endangered species, including the Karner Blue butterfly.Burger (2006), p. 58

Albany is in the humid continental climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Dfa),{{cite journal

|last1=Kottek |first1=Marcus

|last2=Greiser |first2=Jürgen

|last3=Beck |first3=Christoph

|last4=Rudolf |first4=Bruno

|last5=Rubel |first5=Franz

|display-authors=2

|title=World Map of Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification

|date=June 2006

|journal=Meteorologische Zeitschrift

|volume=15 |issue=3 |page=261

|doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130

|url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/frontdoor/index/index/docId/40083

}} and features cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers; the city experiences four distinct seasons. Albany is in plant hardiness zone 6a near downtown and along the shore of the Hudson and 5b at its western end.{{cite web |title=USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map |author=United States Department of Agriculture |publisher=United States National Arboretum |url=http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html |access-date=June 14, 2010 |author-link=United States Department of Agriculture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303152208/http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html |archive-date=March 3, 2015 |url-status=dead }} Albany receives {{convert|40.7|in|mm}} of precipitation per year, with 138 days of at least {{convert|0.01|in|mm|abbr=on}} of precipitation each year. Snowfall is significant, totaling {{convert|59.4|in|cm}} per season, but with less accumulation than the lake effect areas to the north and west, as it is farther from Lake Ontario. However, Albany is close enough to the Atlantic coast to receive heavy snow from Nor'easters and the city occasionally receives Alberta clippers.{{cite news |title=It's Winter, So Warm Up to It |author=Scruton, Bruce A. |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=January 18, 2005 |page=B1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6318487 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030243/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6318487 }} Winters can be very cold with fluctuating conditions; temperatures drop to {{convert|0|°F|0}} or below on nine nights per annum. Summers in Albany can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures of {{convert|90|°F|0}} or hotter on nine days per year. Record temperature extremes range from {{convert|-28|°F|0}}, on January 19, 1971, to {{convert|104|°F|0}} on July 4, 1911.

{{Albany, New York weatherbox}}

{{wide image|Albany Panorama.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Panorama of Albany and the Hudson River from Rensselaer, looking southwest|alt=A panorama shows a river in the bottom half, crossed by a highway bridge on left; building towers are seen around the center, where a green zone on the bank of the river is seen, which extends to the right extreme of the image.}}

{{Main|Neighborhoods of Albany, New York}}

File:Ten Broek Triangle.jpg neighborhood|alt=Rowhouses with arts-and-crafts styled porches (on both first and second floors) sit on a street across from a park.]]

The neighborhoods of Albany{{cite web|title=Albany's Neighborhoods|publisher=City of Albany|access-date=July 6, 2010|url=http://www.albanyny.org/Residents/Neighborhoods.aspx}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.albany.com/neighborhoods/|title=Albany NY Neighborhoods: Mansion, Pine Hills, Center Square & More|website=www.albany.com}} include Arbor Hill;{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Arbor-Hill-named-one-of-America-s-10-great-5792627.php|title=Arbor Hill named one of America's 10 great neighborhoods|first=Paul|last=Grondahl|date=October 1, 2014|website=Times Union}} Center Square, "[an] eclectic mix of residential and commercial [buildings], including bars, night clubs, restaurants, and stores";{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2017/10/13/a-guide-to-the-coolest-places-to-live-eat-and-play.html#g/421163/1 |title=A guide to the coolest places to live, eat and play in the Albany region |work=Albany Business Review |last=Diana |first=Chelsea |date=October 13, 2017 |access-date=July 22, 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925013042/https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2017/10/13/a-guide-to-the-coolest-places-to-live-eat-and-play.html |archive-date=September 25, 2020 }} Pine Hills;{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/How-can-troubles-in-Albany-s-student-ghetto-be-1308967.php|title=How can troubles in Albany's student ghetto be fixed?|date=March 27, 2011|website=Times Union}} and the South End.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/South-End-development-13474824.php|title=South End community vigor aims to revive Albany neighborhood|first=Mallory|last=Moench|date=December 30, 2018|website=Times Union}}

{{US Census population

| 1790 = 3498

| 1800 = 5349

| 1810 = 10762

| 1820 = 12630

| 1830 = 24209

| 1840 = 33721

| 1850 = 50763

| 1860 = 62367

| 1870 = 69422

| 1880 = 90758

| 1890 = 94923

| 1900 = 94151

| 1910 = 100253

| 1920 = 113344

| 1930 = 127412

| 1940 = 130577

| 1950 = 134995

| 1960 = 129726

| 1970 = 115781

| 1980 = 101727

| 1990 = 101082

| 2000 = 95658

| 2010 = 97856

| 2020 = 99224

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 101228

| footnote = Sources: 1790–1950,{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch08.pdf|pages=32–8 (64 in PDF file)|title=1950 Census of Population; Volume 1: Characteristics of the Population|access-date = September 6, 2010|year=1950|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}
1960–1980,{{cite book|title=1980 Census of Population; Volume 1: Characteristics of the Population|page=34-10|access-date=September 6, 2010|year=1980|publisher=United States Census Bureau|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpUXAAAAYAAJ&q=roessleville%201980%20census&pg=SA34-PA10}} 1990–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website }}

2010–2020{{cite web|title=QuickFacts; Albany, New York; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/albanycitynewyork/POP010220|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 23, 2021}}

}}

File:Race and ethnicity 2020 Albany, NY.png

Historically, Albany's population has been mixed. First dominated by Mohican and Mohawk, then Dutch and Germans, it was overtaken by the British in the early 19th century. Irish immigrants soon outnumbered most other ethnicities by the mid-19th century, and were followed by Italians and Poles. In the mid-to-late 20th century, the African-American population increased with thousands of people from the rural South, as part of the Great Migration. As historian (and Albany Assemblyman) John McEneny puts it,

{{blockquote|Dutch and Yankee, German and Irish, Polish and Italian, black and Chinese—over the centuries Albany's heritage has reflected a succession of immigrant nationalities. Its streets have echoed with a dozen languages, its neighborhoods adapting to the distinctive life-style and changing economic fortunes of each new group.McEneny (2006), p. 102}}

Until after the Revolution, Albany's population consisted mostly of ethnic Dutch descendants. Settlers migrating from New England tipped the balance toward British ethnicity in the early 19th century.McEneny (2006), p. 103 Jobs on the turnpikes, canals, and railroads attracted floods of Irish immigrants in the early 19th century, especially in the 1840s during the Great Famine, solidifying the city's Irish base. Michael Nolan became Albany's first Irish Catholic mayor in 1878,{{cite web|title=Michael N. Nolan|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000126|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=February 18, 2023}} two years before Boston.McEneny (2006), p. 104 Polish and Italian immigrants began arriving in Albany in the wave of immigration in the latter part of the 19th century. Their numbers were smaller than in many other eastern cities mainly because most had found manufacturing jobs at General Electric in Schenectady.McEneny (2006), p. 107 The Jewish community had been established early, with Sephardic Jewish members as part of the Beverwijck community. Its population rose during the late 19th century, when many Ashkenazi Jews immigrated from eastern Europe. In that period, there was also an influx of Chinese and east Asian immigrants, who settled in the downtown section of the city. Many of their descendants have since moved to suburban areas.McEneny (2006), p. 108 Asian immigration all but halted after the Immigration Act of 1924.McEneny (2006), p. 111

Albany saw its last large immigration pattern as part of the Great Migration when many African Americans moved there from the American South before and after World War I to fill industrial positions and find other opportunities. In the early years, African-Americans lived together with Italians, Jews, and other immigrants in the South End, where housing was older and less expensive.[https://www.questia.com/library/p18/afro-americans-in-new-york-life-and-history/i2464161/vol-32-no-1-january Lemak, Jennifer A. "Albany, New York and the Great Migration"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310073941/https://www.questia.com/library/p18/afro-americans-in-new-york-life-and-history/i2464161/vol-32-no-1-january |date=March 10, 2018 }}, Afro – Americans in New York Life and History, Vol. 32, Iss. 1, (Jan 2008): 47–74 The black community has grown as a proportion of the population since then; African Americans made up three percent of the city's population in 1950, six percent in 1960, 12 percent in 1970, and 30 percent in 2010. The change in proportion is related mostly to middle-class white families moving to the suburbs and black families remaining within city limits during the same time period.

Since 2007, the number of Burmese refugees to Albany has increased. The Burmese refugee community consists mostly of people of Karen ethnicity. An estimated 5,000 Burmese refugees reside in Albany {{as of|2015|January|lc=y}}.{{cite news |last=McKibben |first=Matthew |title=Albany's Karen community celebrates New Year |url=http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2015/jan/12/karen-new-year/?print |newspaper=The Daily Gazette |date=January 12, 2015 |access-date=November 23, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Grondahl |first=Paul |title=They nail the American Dream |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/They-nail-the-American-Dream-4340962.php |newspaper=Times Union (Albany) |date=March 9, 2013 |access-date=November 23, 2015}}

File:Dutch Church Albany.jpg is the oldest congregation in Upstate New York.|alt=A brick church with two tall, symmetric steeples is seen in front of a city street, to the right of a wooded park.]]

Like most cities of comparable age and size, Albany has well-established Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities. Albany is home to the oldest Christian congregation in Upstate New York and the Mother Churches of two Christian dioceses. {{As of|2010|06}}, eight churches or religious buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Places,{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places: Weekly List Actions |publisher=National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior |access-date=June 19, 2010 |date=June 18, 2010 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/nrlist.htm}} one of which—St. Peter's Episcopal Church on State Street—is a National Historic Landmark.{{cite web |author=National Park Service |author-link=National Park Service |title=National Historic Landmarks Survey: Database |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/default.cfm |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040606195612/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/default.cfm |archive-date=June 6, 2004 |url-status=dead }} Established in 1642,{{cite web |title=The First Church in Albany |publisher=New York State Museum |date=May 1, 2009 |access-date=June 19, 2010 |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/drc.html#second |archive-date=July 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706055033/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/drc.html#second |url-status=dead }} the congregation of the First Church in Albany (Reformed), also known as the North Dutch Church (on North Pearl Street), is the second-oldest Reformed Church in America.{{cite journal |last=Hoeven |first=James W. Van |title=The First Church in Albany |url=http://www.reformedworship.org/article/december-1987/first-church-albany |publisher=Faith Alive Christian Resources |journal=Reformed Worship |issue=6 |date=December 1987 |access-date=July 31, 2011}} The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Eagle Street and Madison Avenue, built 1852) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, led by Bishop Edward Scharfenberger,Waite (1993), pp. 120–121{{cite web |title=Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany: A Brief History |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany |url=http://www.rcda.org/history.html |access-date=May 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430200024/http://www.rcda.org/history.html |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |url-status=dead }} and the Cathedral of All Saints (South Swan Street and Elk Street, built 1888) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany.Waite (1993), pp. 83–84{{cite web |title=The Diocese of Albany: A Brief History of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany |publisher=Episcopal Diocese of Albany |url=http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/about/history.html |access-date=May 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422074058/http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/about/history.html |archive-date=April 22, 2006 }} As of 2023, the city was home to twelve Catholic churches{{cite web |title=Parish Search |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany |url=https://www.rcda.org/parishes/find |access-date=February 18, 2023}} and four Episcopal churches.{{cite web |title=Find a Church: Albany |publisher=Episcopal Diocese of Albany |url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/find-a-church/albany/ |accessdate=February 18, 2023}} Despite its history of Christendom, in 2019 the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA was found to be among the most post-Christian cities in the United States in a study by Christian polling firm The Barna Group.{{cite web |title=The Most Post-Christian Cities in America: 2019 |publisher=The Barna Group |url=https://www.barna.com/research/post-christian-cities-2019/ |access-date=February 18, 2023 }}

A significant Jewish presence has existed in Albany as early as 1658. As of 2010, Albany is home to two Conservative synagogues, a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue, and two Reform synagogues.{{cite web |title=Synagogues in Albany |publisher=MavenSearch (Jewish Web Directory) |url=http://www.mavensearch.com/synagogues/C3329Y3783RX |access-date=June 22, 2010 |year=2010 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501112202/http://www.mavensearch.com/synagogues/C3329Y3783RX |url-status=dead }} Albany is also home to one of the few Karaite synagogues outside Israel.{{cite web |title=Homepage |publisher=Karaite Jewish Congregation Oraḥ Ṣaddiqim |year=2010 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://www.orahsaddiqim.org/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414060746/http://www.orahsaddiqim.org/ |archive-date=April 14, 2009 }} This link is not active during Shabbat, which begins on Friday at sundown, local time, and ends the following Saturday night.{{verify source|date=February 2022}} As of 2008, the total membership in Albany's synagogues was estimated at 12,000–13,000, with half the members residing outside the city.{{cite web |title = Albany (re-published from Encyclopedia Judaica) |url = https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0001_0_00672.html |publisher = The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise |access-date = June 26, 2010}} Since the early 2000s, there has been an increase in Orthodox Jews moving to Albany from the New York Metro area, largely due to cheaper housing prices and closer walking proximity to synagogues.{{cite web|title=Orthodox Jews recruit city dwellers to Albany|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Albany-beckons-to-Orthodox-Jews-14908756.php#photo-2802846|publisher=Times Union (Albany)|first=Lynda|last=Edwards|date=December 15, 2019|access-date=May 9, 2021}}

The Islamic community in Albany and its surrounding suburbs is represented by at least four major mosques in the region. The Muslim population increased substantially starting in the late 2000s, with the arrival of many refugees from countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Albany schools consider closing for Muslim holy days |last=Bump |first=Bethany |publisher= Hearst Media |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=March 10, 2017 |accessdate=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Albany-schools-consider-closing-for-Muslim-holy-10994116.php}}

Exact numbers on religious denominations in Albany are not readily available. Demographic statistics in the United States depend heavily on the United States Census Bureau, which cannot ask about religious affiliation as part of its decennial census.{{cite web |title=Religion |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119172319/http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm |archive-date=January 19, 2009 }} It does compile some national and statewide religious statistics,{{cite web |title=The 2010 Statistical Abstract (Population: Religion) |publisher=United States Census Bureau |year=2010 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/religion.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225193720/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/religion.html |url-status=dead|archive-date=December 25, 2007 }} but these are not representative of a city the size of Albany. One report from 2000 offers religious affiliations for Albany County. According to the data, 59.2% of Albany County residents identified as Christian: 47% are Roman Catholic, 8.4% are mainline Protestants, 2.7% are Evangelical Protestants, and 1.1% are Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Christians. Residents who practice Judaism make up 4.2% of the population and Muslims represent 0.2%.{{cite web |title=Albany County, New York Denominational Groups, 2000 |publisher=The Association of Religious Data Archives |year=2000 |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/36001_2000_Theology.asp |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140933/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/36001_2000_Theology.asp |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }}

{{update section|date=September 2021}}

As of April 1, 2020, Albany's population was 99,224.{{Cite web|title=US Census 2020|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/albanycitynewyork/POP010220|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209235325/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/albanycitynewyork/POP010220 |archive-date=December 9, 2021 }}

With a 2013 Census-estimated population of 1.1 million,{{cite web|url=http://esd.ny.gov/regionaloverviews/capital/InsideRegion.html |title=Inside the Capital |access-date=November 9, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913073300/https://www.esd.ny.gov/RegionalOverviews/Capital/InsideRegion.html |archive-date=September 13, 2015 }} the eight county Capital District, encompassing Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Saratoga, is the third-most populous metropolitan region in the state.

As of the 2010 census, Albany's population density was {{convert|4572.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 46,362 housing units at an average density of {{convert|2166.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}; 5,205 of these units (11.2%) were vacant. The racial makeup of the city residents was 52.3% white; 27% black or African American; 0.06% Native American or Native Alaskan; 7.4% Asian; 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; .06% from other races; and 3.6% from two or more races. A total of 9.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.{{efn|The percentages listed here were calculated using the raw population data given by the Census Bureau divided by the total population, rounded to the nearest hundredth. These percentages were calculated using the total population value of 97,856 as the divisor, not the 94,233 people claiming one race.|group=Note}} Non-Hispanic Whites were 52.0% of the population in 2010, compared to 87.0% in 1970.{{cite web|title=New York – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |access-date=May 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 }}

As of 2010, 20.0% of Albany's population was under the age of 18, 19.3% was aged 18 to 24, 29.2% was aged 25 to 44, 18.1% was aged 45 to 64, and 13.4% was aged 65 years or older. The median age was 31.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males. Some 81.3% of the population had completed high school or earned an equivalency diploma.

As of the 2000 census, the top five ancestry groups in the city were African American (27%), Irish (18.1%), Italian (12.4%), German (10.4%), and English (5.2%); (33.1%) of the population reported "other ancestries". Albany is home to a Triqui language-speaking community of Mexican-Americans.{{Cite news |last=Claudio Torrens |title=Some NY immigrants cite lack of Spanish as barrier |work=UTSanDiego.com |access-date=February 10, 2013 |date=May 28, 2011 |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/may/28/some-ny-immigrants-cite-lack-of-spanish-as-barrier/}}{{Cite news|last = Carleo-Evangelist|first=Jordan|title =Keeping a language alive: Dictionary project aims to save native tongue of the Triqui community|work = Times Union (Albany)|access-date = June 4, 2016|date = April 14, 2014|url = http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Keeping-a-language-alive-5399660.php}}

There were 40,709 households in Albany in 2000, of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.3% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.8% were non-families. 41.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50041|1999}}}}, and the median income for a family was ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|51935|1999}}}} (male, year-round worker) and ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|47112|1999}}}} (female, year-round worker). The per capita income for the city was ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|38281|1999}}}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_06.html#a |title=Uniform Crime Reports: Table 6 Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2008 |access-date=September 8, 2015 |work=2008 Crime in the United States |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823044323/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_06.html |archive-date=August 23, 2010}}{{efn|These values were given in 1999 dollars; here they have been adjusted for inflation.|group=Note}} About 16.0% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over. The rate of reported violent crimes for 2008 (1,095 incidents per 100,000 residents) were more than double the rate for similarly sized US cities. Reported property crimes (4,669 incidents per 100,000 residents) were somewhat lower.{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_06.html#a |title=Uniform Crime Reports: Table 6 Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2008 |access-date=September 8, 2010 |work=2008 Crime in the United States |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823044323/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_06.html |archive-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_16.html |title=Uniform Crime Reports: Table 16 Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2008 |access-date=September 8, 2010 |work=2008 Crime in the United States |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818181335/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_16.html |archive-date=August 18, 2010}}

Demographically speaking, the population of Albany and the Capital District mirrors the characteristics of the United States consumer population as a whole better than any other major municipality in the country. According to a 2004 study conducted by the Acxiom Corporation, Albany and its environs are the top-ranked standard test market for new business and retail products. Albany, Rochester, and Syracuse all scored within the top five.{{cite news |title=Cincinnati Among Top 20 at Average: N.Y. Cities Head Test Market List |author=Paeth, Greg |work=The Cincinnati Post |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |date=June 3, 2004 |access-date=June 6, 2010 |url=http://www.cincypost.com/2004/06/03/aver060304.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312042230/http://www.cincypost.com/2004/06/03/aver060304.html |archive-date=March 12, 2007}}

According to the 2020 American Community Survey, the Latino population was: 4.57% Puerto Rican, 1.45% Dominican, .84% Ecuadorian, .77% Mexican, .69% Salvadoran, .22% Cuban.{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Stamford+city,+Connecticut+Race+and+Ethnicity&g=0500000US36119_1600000US3655530,3656979&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B03001 |access-date=December 5, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}

Albany's violent crime rate was 837/100,000 residents in 2018,{{Cite web |title=Crime incident rate per 100,000 people Data for Albany, NY – Crime on the Open Data Network |url=https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/1600000US3601000/Albany_NY/crime.fbi_ucr.rate?crime_type=Violent%20crime&year=2018&ref=related-sibling |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=www.opendatanetwork.com}} compared to 1,043 in Buffalo,{{Cite web |title=Crime incident rate per 100,000 people Data for Buffalo, NY – Crime on the Open Data Network |url=https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/1600000US3611000/Buffalo_NY/crime.fbi_ucr.rate?crime_type=Violent%20crime&year=2018&ref=related-sibling |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=www.opendatanetwork.com}} 778 in Rochester, 703 in Syracuse,{{Cite web |title=Crime incident rate per 100,000 people Data for Syracuse, NY – Crime on the Open Data Network |url=https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/1600000US3673000/Syracuse_NY/crime.fbi_ucr.rate?crime_type=Violent%20crime&year=2018&ref=related-sibling |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=www.opendatanetwork.com}} and 541 in New York City.{{Cite web |title=Crime incident rate per 100,000 people Data for New York, NY – Crime on the Open Data Network |url=https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/1600000US3651000/New_York_NY/crime.fbi_ucr.rate?crime_type=Violent%20crime&year=2018&ref=related-sibling |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=www.opendatanetwork.com}} New York State had statewide violent crime rate of 358/100,000 people in 2019.{{cite web |date= |title=FBI releases crime rates for New York State |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-5 |access-date= }} Total violent crime rate in the US in 2019 was 367.{{Cite web|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-1|title=Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 2000–2019|website=FBI}}

{{Main|Economy of New York's Capital District}}

File:One Commerce Plaza.jpg{{cite web|title=Senior Management Team |publisher=Carrow Real Estate Services, LLC |url=http://www.carrowrealestateservices.com/carrow-management-team.html |access-date=June 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326160830/http://www.carrowrealestateservices.com/carrow-management-team.html |archive-date=March 26, 2010}}|alt=A tall, white, steel-framed building with black windows.]]

Albany's economy, along with that of the Capital District in general, is heavily dependent on government, health care, education, and more recently, technology. Because of these typically steady economic bases, the local economy has been relatively immune to national economic recessions in the past.{{cite news |title=Headed Toward Recovery |author=Karlin, Rick |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8756855 |url-status=dead |date=September 27, 2009 |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025848/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8756855 }} In 2009, more than 25 percent of the city's population worked in government-related positions.Rittner (2009), p. 13 Albany's estimated daytime population is more than 162,000. Companies based in Albany include Trans World Entertainment, AMRI Global and Clough Harbour. In 2019, Albany had the fourth-highest amount of lawyers in its employment pool (7.5 lawyers per 1,000 jobs) compared to the rest of the nation, behind Washington, D.C., Trenton, New Jersey, and New York City, respectively.{{cite news| author = Jackson Lewis | title = The Present and the future of law in Albany | newspaper = Albany Business Review | location = Albany, New York | page = 7 | date = January 11, 2019}}

{{clear}}

{{main|Tech Valley}}

File:SUNY Nanotech Center.jpg Polytechnic Institute's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering embodies Albany's emerging high-tech industry.|alt=A round white building with dark blue windows, three stories tall.]]

Since the 2000s, the economy of Albany and the surrounding Capital District has been directed toward high technology, a growing fourth sector of the area's economic base. Tech Valley is a marketing name for the eastern part of New York State, encompassing Albany, the Capital District, and the Hudson Valley.{{cite web|title=About Tech Valley |publisher=Tech Valley Chamber Coalition |access-date=October 27, 2015 |url=http://techvalley.org/Pages/Live/About%20Tech%20Valley.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103032600/http://www.techvalley.org/Pages/Live/About%20Tech%20Valley.html |archive-date=November 3, 2008 }} Originated in 1998 to promote the greater Albany area as a high-tech competitor to regions such as Silicon Valley and Boston, it has since grown to represent the counties in the Capital District and extending to 19 counties from IBM's Westchester County plants in the south to the Canada–US border in the north.

The area's high technology ecosystem is supported by technologically focused academic institutions including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute.{{cite news |last=Rulison |first=Larry |url=http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Made-in-Albany-IBM-reveals-breakthrough-chip-6376816.php |title=Made in Albany: IBM reveals breakthrough chip made at SUNY Poly |newspaper=Albany Times-Union |date=July 10, 2015 |access-date=October 27, 2015}} Tech Valley encompasses 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway, and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the computer hardware side of the high-technology industry, with great strides in the nanotechnology sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing.{{cite news |last=Clukey |first=Keshia |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/print-edition/2014/06/27/better-than-advertised-hip-plant-beats.html |title=Better than advertised: Chip plant beats expectations |newspaper=Albany Business Review |date=June 27, 2014 |access-date=October 27, 2015}} A notable video game development cluster has grown in and around Albany starting in the 2010s.{{cite news |title=CEG study shows growing clout of local video game cluster |last=Rulison |first=Larry |publisher=Hearst Media |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=January 13, 2022 |accessdate=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/CEG-study-shows-growing-clout-of-local-video-game-16773081.php}}

{{Main|Culture in New York's Capital District}}

File:Albany July 4th Paul Gallo.jpg fireworks show at the Empire State Plaza (2009 show pictured)|alt=Blue and red fireworks explode over a complex of buildings after dusk.]]

Albany's geographic situation—roughly equidistant from New York City to the south and Montreal to the north—makes it a convenient stop for nationally touring artists and acts. The Palace Theatre and The Egg are mid-sized forums for music, theater, and spoken-word performances; the Capital Repertory Theatre is smaller.{{cite news |title=City Bringing the Fun Downtown |author=Furfaro, Danielle T. |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=September 3, 2000 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6036923 |url-status=dead |page=B3 |access-date=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030002/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6036923 }} The MVP Arena is the city's largest musical venue for nationally and internationally prominent bands. It also hosts trade shows, sporting events, and other large gatherings.{{cite news |title=The New Center of Attention |author=DeMare, Carol |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=December 31, 2006 |page=E1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6375919 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030233/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6375919 }} Some people praise the cultural contributions of Albany and the greater Capital District; others suggest that the city has a "cultural identity crisis" due to its widespread geography, which requires a car to reach most of what the area has to offer, a necessity not seen in larger and more densely populated metropolitan areas such as New York and Boston.{{cite news |title=Big Picture: The Arts in Our Daily Lives |author=Janairo, Michael |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 21, 2010 |access-date=July 27, 2010 |url=http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts/big-picture-the-arts-in-our-daily-lives/5880/}}

In recent years, the city's government has invested resources to cultivate venues and neighborhoods that attract after-hours business. Madison Avenue, Pearl Street, Delaware Avenue and Lark Street are the most active entertainment areas in the city. Many restaurants, clubs, and bars have opened since the mid-1990s, revitalizing areas that had once been abandoned and reclaiming old row houses, businesses, and a pump station. Bars are concentrated in three areas: about two blocks on Park Street, downtown; along Lark Street, home to smaller bars, which fit the neighborhood's artistic and eclectic style; and Western and Madison Avenues, in midtown, centered on the College of Saint Rose and SUNY Albany's downtown campus and drawing younger people.{{cite web |title=Albany New York Nightlife |publisher=Best Western Sovereign Hotel |date=January 4, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/City-urges-bar-owners-to-have-last-call-earlier-935186.php}} Much of the bar restaurant scene features classic Irish Pubs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/restaurants/2020/01/dining-oldies-but-goodies-in-and-around-albany.html|title=Dining oldies – but goodies! – in and around Albany|date=January 17, 2020}}

File:Artist at Albany Tulip Fest.JPG at Washington Park.|alt=A woman in a large hat is doing a watercolor painting of pink tulips in front of her.]]

Alive at 5 is a free, weekly concert series held downtown during the summer on Thursdays;{{cite web |title=Events: Alive at 5 |publisher=City of Albany Office of Special Events & Volunteer Services |url=http://www.albanyevents.org/events/event_detail.cfm?ID=3 |access-date=June 22, 2010}} with 10 concerts in 2010, total attendance was roughly 100,000. The Tulip Festival is set in Washington Park and celebrates the city's Dutch heritage, which began with Pinkster Festival, an African-Dutch Celebration.{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2017 |title=Pinksterfest: Albany's Dutch-African Spring Festival – New York Almanack |url=https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2017/04/pinksterfest-albanys-dutch-african-spring-festival/ |access-date=November 30, 2022 |language=en-US}} This traditional Albany event marks the beginning of spring as thousands of tulips bloom in the park in early May;{{cite web |title=Events: Tulip Festival |publisher=City of Albany Office of Special Events & Volunteer Services |url=http://www.albanyevents.org/events/event_detail.cfm?ID=2 |access-date=June 22, 2010}} attendance to the Tulip Festival in 2010 was approximately 80,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.albanyny.org/_files/dgs2.pdf|page=2|title=Department of General Services 2010 Yearly Message|author=Department of General Services|publisher=City of Albany, New York|access-date=May 19, 2011|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720071443/http://www.albanyny.org/_files/dgs2.pdf|url-status=dead}} Another large festival in Albany is the Capital Pride Parade and Festival, a major gay pride event held each June, attended by an estimated 30,000 spectators annually from across Upstate New York.{{cite web|url=https://www.tripsavvy.com/albany-gay-pride-1417732|title=Capital Gay Pride Festival in Albany, NY|author=Andrew Collins|publisher=tripsavvy|date=July 7, 2017|access-date=December 21, 2017}}

File:Capital Gay Pride parade in Albany New York 2009.jpg Parade and Festival is the largest celebration of LGBTQ culture in Upstate New York.]]

The Price Chopper Fabulous Fourth and Fireworks Festival at the Empire State Plaza celebrates Independence Day with musical performances and the region's largest fireworks display.{{cite press release |title=OGS Announces at the Plaza Summer Concert and Festival Dates |publisher=New York State Office of General Services |date=June 17, 2010 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/PIO/AtThePlaza.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5qvVNY7py?url=http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/PIO/AtThePlaza.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2010 }} Freihofer's Run for Women is a 5-kilometer run through the city that draws more than 4,000 participants from across the country; it is an annual event that began in 1978.{{cite web |title=Women's 5K Run |publisher=USATF Adirondack Association, Inc |access-date=July 18, 2010 |url=http://www.freihofersrun.com/womens_5k.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328044403/http://www.freihofersrun.com/womens_5k.htm |archive-date=March 28, 2010 }}[http://www.albanywinefest.com The Albany Chefs' Food & Wine Festival: Wine & Dine for the Arts] is an annual Festival that hosts more than 3500 people over 3 days. The Festival showcases more than 70 Regional Chefs & Restaurants, 250 Global Wines & Spirits, a NYS Craft Beer Pavilion, 4 competitions (The Signature Chef Invitational, Rising Star Chef, Barista Albany and Battle of the Bartenders) and one Grand Gala Reception, Dinner & Auction featuring 10 f Albany's Iconic Chefs. The Albany Chefs' Food & Wine Festival donates all net proceeds to deserving Albany Arts Organizations and is held the Thursday-Saturday preceding Martin Luther King Weekend. Smaller events include the African American Family Day Arts Festival each August at the Empire State Plaza; the Latin Fest, held each August at the Corning Preserve;{{cite news |title=This Fest Did Not Rest |author=O'Brien, Tim |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=August 30, 2009 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8590614 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 23, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030213/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8590614 }} the Albany Jazz Festival, an annual end-of-summer event held at the Corning Preserve;{{cite web |title=Events: Jazz Festival |publisher=City of Albany Office of Special Events & Volunteer Services |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://www.albanyevents.org/events/event_detail.cfm?ID=5}} and Lark Fest, a music and art festival held each fall.{{cite web |title=LarkFEST 2010 |publisher=Mannix Marketing, Inc |date= |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://www.albany.com/news/larkfest.cfm}}

{{Main|National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York}}

File:New York State Cultural Education Center.jpg on Empire State Plaza housing the State Museum, Library, and Archives]]

Because of Albany's historical and political significance, the city has numerous museums, historical buildings, and historic districts. Albany is home to the New York State Museum, the New York State Library and the New York State Archives; all three facilities are in the Cultural Education Center at the south end of Empire State Plaza and are free to the public.{{cite web|url=http://www.oce.nysed.gov/visit.html |title=Directions, parking and visitor information for the Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY |work=nysed.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323025952/http://www.oce.nysed.gov/visit.html |archive-date=March 23, 2015 }} The USS Slater (DE-766), a decommissioned World War II destroyer escort that was restored in 1998, is a museum ship docked in the Hudson River at Quay Street. It is the only ship of its kind still afloat.{{cite web |title=USS Slater History |publisher=Destroyer Escort Historical Museum |date=July 9, 2002 |access-date=July 2, 2010 |url=http://www.ussslater.org/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523234348/http://www.ussslater.org/history.html |archive-date=May 23, 2010 |url-status=dead }} The Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Broadway at Quackenbush Square, hosts a museum, gift shop, and the Henry Hudson Planetarium.{{cite web |title=Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center |publisher=Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau |access-date=July 12, 2010 |url=http://www.albany.org/VisitorCenter.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404071845/http://www.albany.org/VisitorCenter.aspx |archive-date=April 4, 2009 |url-status=dead }} In early 2012, the Irish American Heritage Museum opened in downtown Albany. The museum is home to exhibits highlighting the contributions of the Irish people in America.{{cite web|title=About the Irish American Heritage Museum |url=http://www.irishamericanheritagemuseum.org/about-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211201812/http://www.irishamericanheritagemuseum.org/about-us |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 11, 2012 |publisher=Irish American Heritage Museum |access-date=September 23, 2012}}

The Albany Institute of History and Art, on Washington Avenue near the Center Square Neighborhood and State Capitol, is "dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art, culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region." The museum's most notable permanent exhibits include an extensive collection of paintings by the Hudson River School and an exhibit on Ancient Egypt featuring the institute's "Albany Mummies."{{Cite web |title=Albany Institute of History and Art |url=https://www.tfaoi.org/newsmu/nmus92.htm |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=www.tfaoi.org}}

File:TenBroeckMansionBack.jpg is home to the Albany County Historical Association.|alt=The rear of a classic, red-brick building with beige trim is shown beyond a driveway.]]

Albany is home to 57 listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and five National Historic Landmarks. The Ten Broeck Mansion, a 1797 Federal-style mansion (later renovated in the Greek-Revival style) built for Abraham Ten Broeck (mayor of Albany 1779–1783 and 1796–1798){{cite web |title=Abraham Ten Broeck |last=Bielinski |first=Stefan |publisher=New York State Museum |date=December 15, 2008 |access-date=July 9, 2010 |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/t/abtbroeck6.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621195431/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/t/abtbroeck6.html |archive-date=June 21, 2010 |url-status=dead }} is a historic house museum and the headquarters of the Albany County Historical Association;{{cite web |title=Historic Ten Broeck Mansion |publisher=Albany County Historical Association |access-date=July 9, 2010 |url=http://sites.google.com/site/tenbroeckmansion/Home}} it was added to the NRHP in 1971.{{cite web |last=Liebs |first=Chester H |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Ten Broeck Mansion |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=355 |date=August 1970 |access-date=July 10, 2010 |publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429084637/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=355 |archive-date=April 29, 2011 }} Later known as "Arbor Hill", it gave the current neighborhood its name.{{cite web |title=Historic Arbor Hill's Changing Fortunes |author=Keeney, Irene Gardner |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=August 3, 1986 |access-date=July 10, 2010 |page=G1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5449215 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030041/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5449215 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }}

Albany has been the subject, inspiration, or location for many written and cinematic works. Many{{vague|date=March 2025}} non-fiction works have been written on the city. One of the city's more notable claims to fame is Ironweed (1983), the 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Albany native William Kennedy. Ironweed was the third in a series of books by Kennedy known as the "Albany Cycle".{{cite news |title=Kennedy Pleased to Accept Fitzgerald Award |author=Grondahl, Paul |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 11, 2007 |page=D7 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6423023 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025919/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6423023 }}{{cite news |title=Books of the Times |author=Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher |work=The New York Times |page= |date=January 10, 1983 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/books/books-of-the-times-152691.html}} The elusive author Trevanian also grew up in Albany and wrote The Crazyladies of Pearl Street (2005), about a North Albany neighborhood along Pearl Street. The book is considered a semi-autobiographical memoir.{{cite web |title=Trevanian Books/The Crazyladies of Pearl Street |publisher=Gravity Publishing |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url=http://www.trevanian.com/books/crazyladies.htm}}

In 1987, the film version of Ironweed premiered at the Palace Theatre.{{cite news |title=At Last, 'Ironweed' Plays the Palace |author=Grondahl, Paul |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |page=A1 |date=December 18, 1987 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5442819 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030038/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5442819 }} The movie starred Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, each of whom were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances;{{cite web|title=The Official Academy Awards Database |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearchInput.jsp |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208011732/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearchInput.jsp |archive-date=February 8, 2009 }} much of the filming was done on location in Albany. Most recently the downtown area was the site of filming for the action-thriller Salt, starring Angelina Jolie,{{cite news |title=Lights, Camera, Detour |author=Karlin, Rick |page=A1 |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=April 22, 2009 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7903242 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030153/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7903242 }} and the action-comedy The Other Guys, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.{{cite news |author=Churchill, Chris |title=Bright Lights, Our City |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 8, 2009 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8820193 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030221/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8820193 }}

Authors Herman Melville and Henry James lived with their families in Albany when young, before their careers. James identified his character Isabel Archer, the heroine of his novel The Portrait of a Lady, as being from Albany.{{cite magazine|last1=Lane|first1=Anthony|title=Out of the Frame|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/03/out-of-the-frame|magazine=The New Yorker|publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=August 18, 2016}} Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (adapted for the Broadway hit Wicked), grew up in North Albany{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Steve |title=Albany Book Festival Showcases Power of Storytelling |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |page= |date=April 11, 2010 |url=}} and graduated from SUNY Albany.{{cite web |title=Inspiring Students: Maguire Explores the Creative Life |publisher=University at Albany, State University of New York |date=March 3, 2008 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url=http://www.albany.edu/news/feature_1079.shtml}}

{{Main|Architecture of Albany, New York}}

{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Albany, New York}}

File:NYSCapitolPanorama.jpg]]

File:Albany.jpg

File:SUNYAdminBuildingAlbany.jpg of the State University of New York]]

The Empire State Plaza, a collection of state agency office buildings, dominates almost any view of Albany. Built between 1965 and 1978 at the hand of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and architect Wallace Harrison, the complex is a powerful example of late American modern architectureWaite (1993), pp. 81–82 and remains a controversial building project both for displacing city residents and for its architectural style. The most recognizable aspect of the complex is the Erastus Corning Tower, the tallest building in New York outside of New York City. Juxtaposed at the north end of the Plaza is the 19th-century New York State Capitol, the seat of the New York State Legislature and the home of the Governor's office.Waite (1993), pp. 68–70

File:Dutch Rowhouses Albany 1789.jpg

Albany's initial architecture incorporated many Dutch influences, followed soon after by those of the English.Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen (eds.), Exploring Historic Dutch New York. Museum of the City of New York/Dover Publications, New York 2011 Quackenbush House, a Dutch Colonial brick mansion, was built {{Circa|1736}};{{cite web|last=Brooke|first=Cornelia E.|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Quackenbush House|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=390|date=February 4, 1972|access-date=May 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429084706/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=390|archive-date=April 29, 2011}} Schuyler Mansion, a Georgian-style mansion, was built in 1765;Waite (1993), pp. 48–49 and the oldest building in Albany is the 1728 Van Ostrande-Radliff House at 48 Hudson Avenue.{{cite news |title=This Old House Under Our Noses |author=Grondahl, Paul |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=December 23, 2008 |page= |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7306654 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030100/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7306654 }} Albany's housing varies greatly, with mostly row houses in the older sections of town, closer to the river. Housing type quickly changes as one travels westward, beginning with two-family homes of the late 19th century, and one-family homes built after World War II in the western end of the city.{{cite news |title=City's Architectural Heritage Diverse, Extensive |author=Scruton, Bruce A. |publisher=Hearst Newspapers (online publisher) |work=Knickerbocker News |date=July 6, 1986 |page=T52 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5445709 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 2, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030117/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5445709 }}

Albany City Hall, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, was opened in 1883. The New York State Capitol was opened in 1899 (after 32 years of construction) at a cost of $25 million, making it the most expensive government building at the time.{{cite web |title=Building Big: New York State Capitol |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |year=2001 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/ny_state_capitol.html |access-date=June 19, 2010}} Albany's Union Station, a major Beaux-Arts design,Waite (1993), p. 106 was under construction at the same time; it opened in 1900. In 1912, the Beaux-Arts styled New York State Department of Education Building opened on Washington Avenue near the Capitol. It has a classical exterior, which features a block-long white marble colonnade.Waite (1993), pp. 79–80 The 1920s brought the Art Deco movement, which is illustrated by the Home Savings Bank Building (1927) on North Pearl StreetWaite (1993), p. 98 and the Alfred E. Smith Building (1930) on South Swan Street,Waite (1993), p. 82 two of Albany's tallest high-rises.{{cite web |title=Albany: Buildings of the City |publisher=Emporis |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=103012&bt=5&ht=2&sro=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514215353/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=103012&bt=5&ht=2&sro=0 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |access-date=June 9, 2010}}

Architecture from the 1960s and 1970s is well represented in the city, especially at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus (1950s and 1960s) and on the uptown campus of the University at Albany (1962–1971). The state office campus was planned in the 1950s by governor W. Averell Harriman to offer more parking and easier access for state employees.{{cite news |title=Dirt, Not Ivy, Covers This Campus |page=A1 |last=McGuire |first=Mark |date=September 28, 1997 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5831612 |url-status=dead |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030126/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5831612 }} The uptown SUNY campus was built in the 1960s under Governor Rockefeller on the site of the city-owned Albany Country Club. Straying from the popular open campus layout, SUNY Albany has a centralized building layout with administrative and classroom buildings at center surrounded by four student housing towers. The design called for much use of concrete and glass, and the style has slender, round-topped columns and pillars reminiscent of those at Lincoln Center in New York City.Waite (1993), pp. 241–242

Downtown has seen a revival in recent decades, often considered to have begun with Norstar Bank's renovation of the former Union Station as its corporate headquarters in 1986.{{efn|In 2009, Bank of America (which now owns FleetBank, the bank that eventually bought Norstar) consolidated its operations in an office building on State Street, leaving the former train station vacant.{{cite news |title=A Landmark Soon to Fall Empty |author=Churchill, Chris |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 21, 2009 |page= |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8887655 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025958/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8887655 }} Mayor Corning made great efforts to save the building, which had been owned by his great-grandfather's railroad a hundred years before. He was able to do it when governor Rockefeller brought state money in to purchase the building.|group=Note}} The Knickerbocker Arena (MVP Arena) was originally slated for suburban Colonie,McEneny (2006), p. 194 but was instead built downtown and opened in 1990.{{cite news |title=The Knick: Post-Debut Review Despite Glitches, Arean Withstands First Night |author=McKeon, Michael |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |page=B1 |date=February 1, 1990 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5551617 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 2, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030229/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5551617 }} Other development in downtown includes the construction of the State Dormitory Authority headquarters at 515 Broadway (1998);{{cite news |title=DEC Firms Up Plans for Tower |author=Benjamin, Elizabeth |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=February 4, 1999 |page=B7 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5971129 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030051/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5971129 }} the State Department of Environmental Conservation building, with its iconic green dome, at 625 Broadway (2001);{{cite news |title=Workers, DEC Tussle Over Office |author=Cappiello, Dina |page=D3 |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=September 2, 2001 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6125633 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030009/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6125633 }} the State Comptroller headquarters on State Street (2001);{{cite news|title=New Kid on the Block Stands Tall Amid Neighbors|author=Woodruff, Cathy|publisher=Hearst Newspapers|work=Times Union (Albany)|date=January 1, 2002|page=B1|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6154361|url-status=dead|access-date=June 18, 2010|archive-date=April 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030148/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6154361}} the Hudson River Way (2002), a pedestrian bridge connecting Broadway to the Corning Preserve;{{cite web|title=Hudson River Way |publisher=Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau |access-date=June 15, 2010 |url=http://www.albany.org/pages/listings/show_listingDetail.asp?ent_id=2763&mem_id=Yes&sort=Attractions&hd=Attractions&showSub= |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014423/http://www.albany.org/pages/listings/show_listingDetail.asp?ent_id=2763&mem_id=Yes&sort=Attractions&hd=Attractions&showSub= |archive-date=September 28, 2007}} and 677 Broadway (2005), "the first privately owned downtown office building in a generation".{{cite news |title=Eat, drink, be merry. Now what? |author=Barnes, Steve |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 8, 2006 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6362176 |url-status=dead |page=A1 |access-date=July 8, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025949/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6362176 }}{{cite web|title=Completed Projects |publisher=BBL Development Group |access-date=July 7, 2010 |url=http://www.bbldev.com/projects/results.asp?status=2 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518154550/http://www.bbldev.com/projects/results.asp?status=2 |archive-date=May 18, 2007 }}

{{Main|Sports in New York's Capital District}}

File:Siena Saints BBall 2010.jpg guard Ronald Moore dribbles toward the basket in a game against Loyola in January 2010.{{cite web |title=2009–2010 Siena Saints Yearbook |publisher=Siena College |year=2010 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://content.yudu.com/A1i64y/09-10MBBYearbook/}}{{cite news |author=McGuire, Mark |date=January 22, 2010 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9321018 |title=Streaking Siena |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |page=B1 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711125750/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9321018 }}|alt=A man in a white jersey with green "SIENA" and "25" on front dribbles a basketball past another man in a forest-green jersey with white "LOYOLA" and "31" on front.]]

Albany has teams in three top-level professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada (Albany FireWolves, New York Atlas, and Albany Firebirds), and several minor-league sports teams with varying levels of support.{{cite news |title=Area Fans Are Hard to Please |author=Campbell, Steve |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 22, 2002 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6140212 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030107/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6140212 }}

The Albany Devils were a minor league ice hockey team that moved to the city for the 2010–11 season. They played in the American Hockey League and were affiliated with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.{{cite news |title=AHL Hockey Back in Albany |author=Dougherty, Peter |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 11, 2010 |page=B1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10919719 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030133/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10919719 }}{{cite news |title=AHL Devils Lose Debut |author=Dougherty, Peter |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 10, 2010 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=12333217 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030157/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=12333217 }} The Devils replaced the Albany River Rats, who played in the Capital Region from 1990 to 2010, when they relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Albany Devils moved to Binghamton, New York in 2017.{{cite web |last1=Schott |first1=Ken |title=It's official: Albany Devils moving to Binghamton |url=https://dailygazette.com/2017/01/31/it-s-official-albany-devils-moving-to-binghamton/#:~:text=New%20Jersey%20Devils%20president%20Hugh,moving%20from%20Albany%20to%20Binghamton. |website=dailygazette.com |date=January 31, 2017 |publisher=The Daily Gazette |access-date=April 6, 2022}}

The Times Union Center has previously hosted arena football teams including the Albany Firebirds in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1990 to 2000 and then a team originally known as the Albany Conquest and later the Firebirds in the af2, the AFL's developmental league, from 2002 to 2009. The Albany Empire played in the AFL from 2018 through the 2019 season when the league folded. A new Albany Empire was relaunched in the National Arena League for the 2021 season. In 2023, Antonio Brown bought the team; after a series of problems with payments and personnel, the NAL suspended the franchise in the middle of the 2023 season.{{cite news |last1=Singelais |first1=Mark |date=June 15, 2023 |title=Albany Empire kicked out of National Arena League |work=Times Union |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/national-arena-league-terminates-albany-empire-s-18154225.php |access-date=June 17, 2023}} A relaunched Albany Firebirds franchise began playing in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Singelais |first=Mark |date=September 28, 2023 |title=Firebirds back? Arena football returning to MVP Arena in 2024 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/arena-football-returning-mvp-arena-2024-18394410.php |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}

The Tri-City ValleyCats short season minor league baseball team have played at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in North Greenbush since 2002. Prior to the ValleyCats' arrival, the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs (1995–2002) played at Heritage Park in Colonie; due to financial pressures, and facing impending competition from the ValleyCats, the franchise folded in 2002.{{cite news |title=Dogs' Only Sellout Was Political |author=LeBrun, Fred |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=October 25, 2002 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6140783 |url-status=dead |page=B1 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025938/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6140783 }}

The Albany Legends (International Basketball League), played in the Washington Avenue Armory from 2010 to 2014 before moving to Schenectady.{{cite press release |url=http://www.iblhoopsonline.com/albany_legends/documents/New_professional_basketball_team_in_Albany.pdf |title=International Basketball League Expands to Albany (NY) |first=Mikal |last=Duilio |publisher=International Basketball League |date=October 27, 2009 |access-date=June 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102103343/http://iblhoopsonline.com/albany_legends/documents/New_professional_basketball_team_in_Albany.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2010 |url-status=dead }} The Albany Patroons have played at the Armory on and off since 1982 and currently play in The Basketball League.{{cite news |author=Wilkin, Tim |title=Legends See Success |publisher=Hearst Corporation |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10966455 |url-status=dead |page=C1 |date=June 14, 2010 |access-date=June 28, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025928/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10966455 }}

With the large number of local colleges and universities around Albany, college sports are popular. The University at Albany's Great Danes play at the Division I level in all sports. The football team is a member of the Coastal Athletic Association while all other sports teams play as members of the America East Conference.{{cite press release |title=UAlbany & the America East Conference |publisher=University at Albany |date=January 31, 2001 |url=http://www.ualbanysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15800&KEY=&ATCLID=838922&SPID=9797&SPSID=82634 |access-date=June 22, 2010}} In 2006, UAlbany became the first SUNY-affiliated school to send a team to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.{{cite news |title=Welcome to the Party |author=Iorizzo, Pete |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=March 12, 2006 |page=A1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6388342 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030017/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6388342 }} The Siena Saints saw a rise in popularity after their men's basketball team made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2008, 2009, and 2010.{{cite press release |title=Saints Heading to Spokane |publisher=Siena College |date=March 14, 2010 |access-date=June 22, 2010 |url=http://www.sienasaints.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031410aaa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513142110/http://www.sienasaints.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031410aaa.html |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |url-status=dead }} All 18 Saints teams are Division I and play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.{{cite web |title=FAQs for Athletics |publisher=Siena College |url=http://www.siena.edu/pages/414.asp |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504001324/http://www.siena.edu/pages/414.asp |archive-date=May 4, 2011 |url-status=dead }} Although Siena's campus is in nearby Colonie, the men's basketball team plays at the Times Union Center.

UAlbany hosted the New York Giants training camp from 1996 to 2012.{{cite web |last1=Wilkin |first1=Tim |title=Giants take a pass on keeping camp in Albany |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Giants-take-a-pass-on-keeping-camp-in-Albany-4167956.php |website=timesunion.com |date=January 4, 2013 |publisher=Hearst |access-date=April 6, 2022}}{{cite news |title=Giants Keeping Camp at UAlbany |author=Singelais, Mark |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 9, 2010 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10889881 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025852/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10889881 }}

On February 23, 2021, it was announced that the National Lacrosse League (NLL) would return to the city with the relocation of the New England Black Wolves.{{cite news|url=https://vancouverwarriors.com/news/nll-relocates-new-england-to-albany/|title=NLL relocates New England to Albany|date=February 23, 2021|publisher=Vancouver Warriors|access-date=September 27, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927214102/https://vancouverwarriors.com/news/nll-relocates-new-england-to-albany/|archive-date=September 27, 2021}} The team was named the Albany FireWolves on April 15, 2021.{{cite news|url=https://albanyfirewolves.com/news/new-albany-nll-name-and-logo-revealed/|title=New Albany NLL name and logo revealed|publisher=Albany FireWolves|date=April 15, 2021|access-date=September 27, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415213009/https://albanyfirewolves.com/news/new-albany-nll-name-and-logo-revealed/|archive-date=April 15, 2021}} This is the second NLL team to be based in the area; the first, the Albany Attack, played in the city from 2000 to 2003.{{Cite web |title=Albany Attack lacrosse Statistics and Roster on StatsCrew.com |url=https://www.statscrew.com/lacrosse/t-ALB |access-date=November 14, 2022 |website=www.statscrew.com |language=en}}

In 2023, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) selected cities for their 8 franchises, and Albany was chosen as the primary home for the New York Atlas.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In 2024, the Albany Firebirds began playing in the AFL at the MVP Arena. After one season in the AFL, the team moved to the AF1.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The 518 Ballers (American Basketball Association) have played at Our Savior's Christian School since 2023.{{cite web | title=518ballers | website=518ballers | url=https://www.518ballers.com/ | access-date=November 15, 2023}}

File:Washington Park Playhouse.jpg replaced a wooden lake house built in 1876.Waite (1993), pp. 158–159|alt=An orange-red mission-style building is seen on the banks of a lake, surrounded by trees.]]

Albany has more than 60 public parks and recreation areas.{{cite web|title=Park Maintenance |publisher=City of Albany, New York |url=http://www.albanyny.gov/Government/Departments/GeneralServices/Beautification/ParkMaintenance.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614234804/http://www.albanyny.gov/Government/Departments/GeneralServices/Beautification/ParkMaintenance.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2008 |access-date=July 4, 2010 }} Washington Park was organized as the Middle Public Square in 1806. Its current location has been public property since the Dongan Charter of 1686 gave the city title to all property not privately owned. Washington Park was designed by John Bogart and John Cuyler in 1870,Waite (1993), p. 155 and opened for public use the following year. The original lake house, designed by Frederick W. Brown, was added in 1876. The park had previously been used as a cemetery; its graves were moved to Albany Rural Cemetery. Washington Park is a popular place to exercise and play sports; skate during the winter; people-watch during Tulip Fest; and attend plays at the amphitheater during the summer.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bicentennialhis00howegoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/bicentennialhis00howegoog/page/n373 517]|title=Bi-centennial History of Albany|publisher=W. W. Munsell & Company|last1=Howell|first1=George Rogers|last2=Tenney|first2=Jonathan|year=1886}}{{cite web |title=Washington Park Historic District |last=Brooke |first=Cornelia E. |publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |date=May 1972 |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=485 |access-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012174912/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=485 |archive-date=October 12, 2012 }}{{cite web |title=Chronological History of Washington Park |publisher=Washington Park Conservancy |access-date=June 1, 2010 |url=http://www.washingtonparkconservancy.org/Park_History.htm}}

File:Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza.jpg

File:Lincoln Park Albany.jpg is flanked on the north by the Empire State Plaza.|alt=A green space with trees and rolling lawns is flanked by tall, modern-style buildings in the background on a sunny day.]]

Other parks in Albany include Lincoln Park, Buckingham Park, the Corning Preserve, the Albany Skyway and the Pine Bush. Lincoln Park, southwest of the Empire State Plaza, was organized in 1886 and was originally known as Beaver Park.{{cite web |title=Lincoln Park |publisher=Washington Park Conservancy |access-date=June 3, 2010 |url=http://www.washingtonparkconservancy.org/Lincoln_Park.htm}} Today, the park has a pool that is open during the summer months. Buckingham Lake Park is between Manning Boulevard and Route 85 in the Buckingham Pond neighborhood; it contains a pond with fountains, a footpath, a playground, and picnic tables.{{cite news |title=Buckingham Pond, Albany |author=Lisi, Michael |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=July 22, 2007 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6469313 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030047/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6469313 }} The Albany Riverfront Park at the Corning Preserve has an 800-seat amphitheatre that hosts events in non-winter months, most notably the Alive at 5 summer concert series. The Preserve's visitors center details the ecology of the Hudson River and the local environment.{{cite web |title=Albany Riverfront Park at the Corning Preserve |publisher=City of Albany, New York |access-date=July 4, 2010 |url=http://www.albany.org/pages/listings/show_listingDetail.asp?ent_id=422&mem_id=Yes&sort=Attractions&hd=Attractions&showSub=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007013325/http://www.albany.org/pages/listings/show_listingDetail.asp?ent_id=422&mem_id=Yes&sort=Attractions&hd=Attractions&showSub=|archive-date=October 7, 2006}} The park has a bike trail and boat launch and was effectively separated from downtown by Interstate 787 until the opening of the Hudson River Way in 2002.

Other public parks include Westland Hill Park, Hoffman Park, Beverwyck Park,{{cite web |title=Playgrounds and Recreational Facilities |publisher=City of Albany Recreation Office |url=http://www.albanyny.gov/_files/Recreation_facilities.pdf |access-date=July 4, 2010 |year=2010 |archive-date=October 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026185440/http://albanyny.gov/_files/Recreation_facilities.pdf |url-status=dead }} and Liberty Park, today a small circular grassy patch in downtown on Hudson Avenue, which is Albany's oldest park.{{cite book |title=The Patroon's Garden and Liberty Park, Albany, New York |last=Huey |first=Paul R |publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |year=2002 |oclc=77589030 |location=Waterford}} Ridgefield Park is home to the clay courts of the Albany Tennis Club, one of the oldest tennis clubs in the United States.{{cite web|last1=Abukhalaf|first1=Jackie|title=Albany Tennis Club in full swing|url=http://blog.timesunion.com/pinehills/albany-tennis-club-in-full-swing/3927/|website=Times Union|date=May 6, 2011|access-date=November 17, 2016|archive-date=November 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118041250/http://blog.timesunion.com/pinehills/albany-tennis-club-in-full-swing/3927/|url-status=dead}} The municipal golf course, New Course at Albany, was constructed in 1929 as the Albany Municipal Golf Course, later renamed the Capital Hills at Albany, and remodeled in 1991.{{cite book |last=Bryant |first=Eric |title=Bogies and Billygoats: A History of the Albany Municipal Golf Course |page=6 |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSy8BTBTYWwC |isbn=9780595264506 |publisher=Writer's Club Press}}

{{See also|Government of New York (state)|List of mayors of Albany, New York|Mayoral elections in Albany, New York}}

File:AlbanyNYCityHall.jpg, an 1883 Richardsonian Romanesque structure, is the seat of Albany's government.|alt=A brown and tan brick building with dark brown trim. The building has a tall bell tower on the nearest corner.]]

Albany has a strong mayor-council government, which functions under the Dongan Charter, granted by colonial governor Thomas Dongan in 1686 when Albany was incorporated. A revised charter was adopted by referendum in 1998, but was legally reckoned as an amendment to the Dongan Charter. This gives Albany the distinction of having the oldest active city charter in the United States and "arguably the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere." The mayor, who is elected every four years, heads the executive branch of city government.{{cite web |title=The Charter |author=City of Albany |date=November 3, 1998 |access-date=June 19, 2010 |url=http://www.ecode360.com/ecode3-back/getSimple.jsp?custId=AL0934&guid=12064948 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The current mayor, Kathy Sheehan, was first elected in 2013.{{cite web|title=Mayor Gerald D. Jennings' Biography |author=City of Albany |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/MayorsOffice/MayorsBio.aspx |access-date=May 25, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825091812/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/MayorsOffice/MayorsBio.aspx |archive-date=August 25, 2010 }} The Common Council represents the legislative branch of city government and is made up of fifteen council members (each elected from one ward) and an at-large Common Council President.{{cite web |title=City Charter |author=City of Albany |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityCharter.aspx |access-date=May 25, 2010 |archive-date=September 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917181635/http://albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityCharter.aspx }} The current president is Corey Ellis;{{cite web|url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil/CommonCouncilPresident.aspx|title=President – Hon. Corey Ellis|access-date=January 27, 2018|archive-date=January 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127205851/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil/CommonCouncilPresident.aspx|url-status=dead}} he began his term in January 2018.{{cite news |title='Spirit of the Day' Faces a Tough Road |author=Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9216035 |url-status=dead |date=January 1, 2010 |page=A1 |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030033/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9216035 }}

While Albany has its own city government, it has also been the seat of Albany County since the county's formation in 1683 and the capital of New York since 1797. As such, the city is home to all branches of the county and state governments, as well as its own. Albany City Hall sits on Eagle Street, opposite the State Capitol,{{cite web |title=Welcome to City Hall |publisher=City of Albany, New York |url=http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityHall.aspx |access-date=May 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727062528/http://www.albanyny.org/Government/CityHistory/CityHall.aspx |archive-date=July 27, 2017 |url-status=dead }} and the Albany County Office Building is on State Street.{{cite web |title=Departments and Offices |publisher=County of Albany, New York |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/departmentlist.asp |access-date=May 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214183624/http://albanycounty.com/departmentlist.asp |archive-date=February 14, 2006 |url-status=dead}} The state government has offices scattered throughout the city.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Albany is in the 20th Congressional district, represented by Paul Tonko (D) in the United States House of Representatives. The city is represented by Chuck Schumer (D){{cite web |title=Schumer, Charles Ellis (Chuck) |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000148 |access-date=July 18, 2010}} and Kirsten Gillibrand (D){{cite web |title=Gillibrand, Kirsten |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000555 |access-date=July 18, 2010}} in the United States Senate. On the state level, the city is in the 44th district in the New York Senate, represented by Patricia Fahy (D). In the New York Assembly, western Albany is in the 109th district, represented by Gabriella Romero (D) while downtown and eastern Albany are in the 108th district, represented by John T. McDonald III (D). As the seat of Albany County, the city is the location of the county's courts including Family Court, County Court, Surrogate Court, Supreme Court, and New York Court of Appeals.{{cite web|title=Albany County Telephone Directory |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/PhoneDirectory.pdf |publisher=Albany County, New York |date=May 4, 2010 |access-date=May 30, 2010 |pages=7–8 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915113814/http://albanycounty.com/PhoneDirectory.pdf |archive-date=September 15, 2010 }} Albany is the site of a federal courthouse that houses the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.{{cite web|title=Court Address Information |publisher=United States District Court – Northern District of New York |url=http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/CourtAddress.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525045027/http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/CourtAddress.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2010 }}

Albany's politics have been dominated by the Democratic Party since the 1920s; Daniel (Uncle Dan) O'Connell established a political machine in the city with the election of William Stormont Hackett as mayor in 1922.Grondahl (2007), p. 48 Prior to that, William Barnes Jr. had set up a Republican machine in the 1890s. Barnes' success is attributed to the fact that he owned two newspapers in Albany and that he was the grandson of Thurlow Weed, the influential newspaper publisher and political boss.Grondahl (2007), p. 165 O'Connell's organization overcame Barnes' in 1922 and survived well into the 1980s (even after his death). In many instances, votes were outright bought.Grondahl (2007), p. 458

Gerald Jennings' upset in the 1993 Democratic mayoral primary over Harold Joyce, who had the Democratic Party's formal endorsement and had only recently been its county chairman, is often cited as the end of the O'Connell era in Albany.{{cite news |title=As Joyce Goes Down in Defeat, So Does the Machine |author=Jochnowitz, Jay |date=September 15, 1993 |page=A1 |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5690985 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030025/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5690985 }} In the early 21st century, Albany continued to be dominated by the Democratic Party. Democratic Party enrollment in the city was 38,862 in 2009, while Republican enrollment was 3,487.{{cite news |title=Albany contenders |author=O'Brien, Tim |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=January 10, 2009 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7354525 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030055/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7354525 }} As of 2022, every elected city position had been held by a Democrat since 1931.McEneny (2006), pp. 201–202

In November 2013, Kathy Sheehan became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Albany.{{cite web|url=http://albany.wnyt.com/news/news/554052-meet-kathy-sheehan-albanys-first-female-mayor|title=Meet Kathy Sheehan: Albany's first female Mayor|work=WNYT.com|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131118022626/http://albany.wnyt.com/news/news/554052-meet-kathy-sheehan-albanys-first-female-mayor|archive-date=November 18, 2013|access-date=November 17, 2013|url-status=dead}}

{{See also|List of colleges and universities in New York's Capital District|List of school districts in New York's Capital District}}

File:AHSCourtyard.JPG is the central high school of the City School District of Albany. |alt=A brick courtyard is flanked by three-story brick buildings with a black glass bridge between them. Trees are visible to the right.]]

The City School District of Albany (CSDA) operates the city's public school system, which consists of 17 schools and learning centers;{{cite web |title=Our Schools |publisher=Albany City School District |url=http://www.albanyschools.org/schools/index.htm |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017021513/http://albanyschools.org/schools/index.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2016 |url-status=dead }} in addition, there are 7 charter schools,{{cite web|url=http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/csdirectory/county/county/albany.html|title=Charter Schools in Albany County|website=www.p12.nysed.gov|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619153835/http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/csdirectory/county/county/albany.html|url-status=dead}} including Green Tech Charter High School,{{cite web |title=green-tech-high |url=http://www.greentechhigh.org/ |website=green-tech-high |access-date=March 13, 2019 |language=en}} and Albany Leadership High School.{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.albanyleadershiphigh.org/ |website=Albany Leadership High |access-date=March 13, 2019}}{{Efn|Albany was once home to 12 charter schools{{cite news |author=Waldman, Scott |date=June 20, 2010 |page=A1 |title=Failed School Offers Lesson |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11062177 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707153301/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11062177 }} until the closing of New Covenant Charter School in 2010.{{cite news|title=Again, Board Says Close |author=Waldman, Scott |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=March 30, 2010 |url=http://alb.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10087585 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501052458/http://alb.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10087585 |url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2011 |access-date=April 26, 2010 |page=B1 }} It was announced in July 2010 that the Harriet Gibbons High School, an alternative high school for at-risk ninth graders, would close after a negative report from the State Department of Education demanded the elimination of ineffective programs.{{cite news |title=A New Direction Closes a School |author=Waldman, Scott |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=July 8, 2010 |page=D1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11313799 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030138/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11313799 }}|group=Note}} In the 2015–2016 school year, over 9,000 students were enrolled in the public school system. The district had an average class size of 18,{{cite web|title=The New York State District Report Card: Accountability and Overview Report 2008–09 |publisher=State of New York Education Department Office of Information and Reporting Services |year=2010 |url=http://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2009/90/AOR-2009-010100010000.pdf |access-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323021634/https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2009/90/AOR-2009-010100010000.pdf |archive-date=March 23, 2012 }} an 81-percent graduation rate,{{efn|The Accountability and Overview Report puts the class of 2009 at 513 students and the Comprehensive Information Report states that 416 of them graduated.|group=Note}} and a 5-percent dropout rate.{{cite web|title=The New York State District Report Card: Comprehensive Information Report 2008–09 |publisher=State of New York Education Department Office of Information and Reporting Services |year=2010 |url=http://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2009/90/CIR-2009-010100010000.pdf |access-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323021801/https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2009/90/CIR-2009-010100010000.pdf |archive-date=March 23, 2012 }} The district's 2010–11 budget is $202.8 million.{{cite web |title=City voters approve $202.8 million spending plan for 2010–11 |publisher=Albany City School District |date=May 20, 2010 |url=http://www.albanyschools.org/Budget/2010-11/10-11%20budget.htm |url-status=dead|access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620202242/http://albanyschools.org/Budget/2010-11/10-11%20budget.htm |archive-date=June 20, 2010 }} Although considered by the state to be one of the lowest-achieving high schools in New York, Albany High was listed as the nation's 976th best high school in a 2010 Newsweek/Washington Post report.{{cite news |title=Newsweek Says Albany High One of Nation's Best Schools |author=Waldman, Scott |publisher=Hearst Corporation |work=Times Union (Albany) |url=http://blog.timesunion.com/schools/newsweek-says-albany-high-one-of-nations-best-schools/909/ |date=June 17, 2010 |access-date=June 17, 2010}} Albany also has a number of private schools, including the coed Bishop Maginn High School and Albany Free School; the all-boys Albany Academy;{{efn|Christian Brothers Academy was located in various Albany locations throughout the 19th century and then moved to the University Heights neighborhood in 1937. The school moved out of the city to Colonie in 1998 and has remained there since.{{cite web |title=CBA Homepage |publisher=Christian Brothers Academy |url=http://www.cbaalbany.org |access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607131631/http://cbaalbany.org/ |archive-date=June 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}|group=Note}} and the all-girls Academy of the Holy Names and Albany Academy for Girls.{{cite web |title=Albany County Private Schools |publisher=Private School Review |url=http://www.privateschoolreview.com/county_private_schools/stateid/NY/county/36001 |access-date=June 7, 2010}}

File:UAlbanyStateQuad.jpg Uptown Campus.|alt=A single modern-style tower is surrounded by a lower open-air pavilion with trees accenting the area.]]

The Albany Medical College (private), today part of Albany Medical Center, was founded in 1839.{{Cite AMB1920|wstitle=Armsby, James H.}} Albany Law School (private) is the oldest law school in New York and the fourth-oldest in the country; it was opened in 1851. President William McKinley was an alumnus.{{cite book |author=Elizabeth K. Allen |title=Albany Law School 1851–2001: A Tradition of change |author2=Diana S. Waite |date=2000 |publisher=Albany Law School |pages=3, 14–16}} The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (private) is the second-oldest pharmacy school in New York and the fifteenth-oldest in the United States.{{Cite web |title=About the capital district area in Albany, New York |url=https://thevillageanimalclinic.com/resources/albany-pet-care.php |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=thevillageanimalclinic.com}}

The New York State Normal School, one of the oldest teachers colleges in the United States, opened in 1844; it was later known as the State Teachers College. It eventually evolved into the University at Albany, also known as SUNY Albany (public), which inherited the Normal School's original downtown campus on Western Avenue. The center of the campus moved to its current Uptown Campus in the west end of the city in 1970. SUNY Albany is a unit of the State University of New York and one of only four university centers in the system.McEneny (2006), pp. 122–124 Other colleges and universities in Albany include Empire State College, The College of Saint Rose, Excelsior College, Maria College, Mildred Elley, and Sage College of Albany. Nearby Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) fills the community college niche in the Albany-Troy area.{{cite news |title=Visit Fuels Tech Talk |author=Rulison, Larry |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |page=D1 |date=September 22, 2009 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8726789 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 18, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030021/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8726789 }} The effect of the campuses on the city's population is substantial: Combining the student bodies of all the aforementioned campuses (except HVCC) results in 63,149 students, or almost 70 percent of the 2008 estimate of Albany's permanent population.{{cite web |title=Colleges in Albany, New York |publisher=National Center for Educational Statistics |url=http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/index.asp?search=1&State=NY&city=Albany&zipcode=&miles=&itemname=&sortby=name&College=1&CS=A120109F |access-date=June 8, 2010}}

{{Main|Media in New York's Capital District}}

File:WTEN Headquarters.jpg (headquarters pictured), WXXA, and Spectrum News broadcast from within city limits.|alt=A two-story, dark- and white-brick building with tall, dark windows. On its flat roof is a white satellite dish and in the background is seen a tall radio tower. Over the entrance are the letters "WTEN".]]

The Times Union is Albany's primary daily newspaper and the only one based close to the city; its headquarters moved from within city limits to suburban Colonie in the 1960s after a dispute with Mayor Corning over land needed for expansion.{{cite web |title=The Media Business; Albany Afternoon Paper Closing After 145 Years |work=The New York Times |date=April 15, 1988 |first=James |last=Barron |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/15/business/the-media-business-albany-afternoon-paperclosing-after-145-years.html |access-date=April 23, 2010}} Its circulation totals about 73,000 on weekdays and 143,000 on Sundays.{{cite web |url=http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp |title=eCirc for US Newspapers |access-date=April 25, 2010 |date=September 30, 2009 |publisher=Audit Bureau of Circulations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001095406/http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp |url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2010 }} Serving Albany to a lesser degree are The Daily Gazette, based in Schenectady,{{cite web |title=dailygazette.com |publisher=The Daily Gazette Co |year=2010 |url=http://www.dailygazette.com/ |access-date=June 17, 2010}} and The Record, of Troy.{{cite web |title=The Record |publisher=Journal Register Company |year=2010 |url=http://www.troyrecord.com/ |access-date=June 17, 2010}} Metroland is the alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday,{{cite web |title = Metroland |publisher = Association of Alternative Newsweeklies |url = http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A51 |access-date = April 24, 2010 |url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100424030022/http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A51 |archive-date = April 24, 2010 |df = mdy-all }} while The Business Review is a business weekly published each Friday.{{cite web |title = The Business Review subscription page |url = https://secure.bizjournals.com/subscribe/selectTerm?market=albany |publisher = American City Business Journals, Inc |access-date = April 24, 2010 |archive-date = July 27, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120727083103/https://secure.bizjournals.com/subscribe/selectTerm?market=albany |url-status = dead }} The Legislative Gazette, another weekly newspaper, focuses exclusively on issues related to the Legislature and the state government.{{cite web |title=The Legislative Gazette |publisher=Weekly Albany, NY Legislative Gazette Newspaper |url=http://www.legislativegazette.com/ |access-date=April 25, 2010}}

As of 2010, the Albany-Schenectady-Troy media market is the 63rd-largest in the country in terms of radio{{cite web |title=Arbitron Market Ratings: Spring 2010 |url=http://www.arbitron.com/home/mm001050.asp |date=April 1, 2010 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |publisher=Arbitron}} and the 57th-largest in terms of television audiences.{{cite web |title=Local Television Market Universe Estimates: Comparisons of 2008–09 and 2009–10 Market Ranks |publisher=Nielsen Media Research |url=http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-2010-dma-ranks.pdf |year=2009 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317170600/http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-2010-dma-ranks.pdf |archive-date=March 17, 2011 }} It is a broadcast market with historical significance. The pioneering influence of General Electric in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television with WRGB; the station was also the first affiliate of NBC.{{cite news |title=Got History? We Do! Schenectady Firsts |author=Rittner, Don |work=Times Union (Albany) |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=July 1, 2009 |access-date=June 1, 2010 |url=http://blog.timesunion.com/rittner/got-history-we-do-schenectady-firsts/221/ |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501063526/http://blog.timesunion.com/rittner/got-history-we-do-schenectady-firsts/221/ |url-status=dead }} In 1947, the region was home to the first independently owned and operated commercial FM radio station in the United States: W47A. WGY was the second commercial radio station in New York and the twelfth in the nation. The Capital District is home to ABC affiliate WTEN 10,{{cite web |title=News 10 |publisher=WorldNow and WTEN |url=http://www.wten.com/ |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609060810/http://www.wten.com/ |archive-date=June 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }} CBS affiliate WRGB 6 (also operating CW affiliate WCWN 45),{{cite web |title=News 6: WRGB |publisher=Freedom Communications, Inc |url=http://www.cbs6albany.com/ |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616232008/http://www.cbs6albany.com/ |archive-date=June 16, 2010 }} Fox affiliate WXXA 23,{{cite web |title=Fox 23 News |publisher=Newport Television, LLC |url=http://www.fox23news.com/default.aspx |access-date=June 17, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625034250/http://www.fox23news.com/Default.aspx |archive-date=June 25, 2010 }} NBC affiliate WNYT 13 (also operating MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYA 51),{{cite web |title=News Channel 13 |publisher=WNYT-TV, LLC |url=http://wnyt.com/index.shtml |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-date=June 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611135920/http://wnyt.com/index.shtml |url-status=dead }} and PBS member station WMHT 17. Charter Communications hosts Spectrum News Capital Region, the area's only local 24-hour news channel.{{cite web |title=YNN: Your News Now |publisher=TWEAN News Channel of Albany, LLC |url=http://capitalregion.ynn.com/ |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617101819/http://capitalregion.ynn.com/ |url-status=dead }} The area has numerous{{vague|date=March 2025}} radio stations.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

{{See also|Streets of Albany, New York}}

File:2024-07-14 12 09 09 View north along Interstate 787 (Riverfront Route) from the overpass for the ramp to Empire Plaza in Albany, Albany County, New York.jpg

The New York State Thruway is the most prominent highway serving Albany. From Albany westward, it is part of Interstate 90, connecting Albany with major cities such as Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. To the south, it becomes part of Interstate 87 and leads to New York City. A short un-tolled section of Interstate 90 extends around the northern and eastern portions of Albany before linking back up with the Berkshire extension of the Thruway, which leads to the Massachusetts Turnpike and ultimately to Boston. North of Albany, Interstate 87 follows the Northway to Canada at Champlain; Autoroute 15 continues into Quebec, linking Albany to Montreal. Interstate 787 links downtown Albany to the southbound I-87/Thruway to the south, while to the north, it links with the free portion of Interstate 90 before continuing to Troy, Watervliet, Colonie, and Menands. By way of Route 7, I-787 connects to the Northway.{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.694801,-73.840313&spn=0.072041,0.181789&t=h&z=13 |title=Albany, New York, United States |access-date=June 1, 2010}}{{better source needed|date=February 2022}}

File:RensselaerRailStation.JPG|alt=Three-story brick building with three gables on roof; large clock tower made of green glass seen at center of left gable.]]

Since the closure of Union Station on Broadway, area passenger-rail service is provided by Amtrak at the Albany-Rensselaer station across the river in Rensselaer. In 2009, the station saw more than 720,000 passengers, making it Amtrak's second-busiest in New York, behind Manhattan's Penn Station.{{cite web |title=Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2009 – State of New York |publisher=Amtrak |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url=http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/NEWYORK09.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501185501/http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/NEWYORK09.pdf |archive-date=May 1, 2011 }} Amtrak provides service south to New York City; north to Montreal, and Burlington (Vermont); west to Niagara Falls, Toronto and Chicago; and east to Boston.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

File:Albany International Airport.jpg|alt=Three-story brick building with blue windows; a glass pedestrian bridge travels from building to unseen parking garage on left, crossing entrance road. "ALBANY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT" sign is visible on side.]]

Albany's major airport is Albany International Airport in Colonie. Major airline service to Albany includes service by: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, and United Airlines; Million Air is the local fixed-base operator.{{cite web|title=Airlines and Destinations |publisher=Albany International Airport |url=http://www.albanyairport.com/alb_airlines.php |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723110033/http://www.albanyairport.com/alb_airlines.php |archive-date=July 23, 2010 }} In 2010, Albany had the highest average airfare in New York, though the per-mile cost on its busiest routes was second-lowest in the state.{{cite news |title=Albany had highest average air fare in state, DOT study finds |author=Anderson, Eric |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=August 2, 2010 |access-date=August 2, 2010 |url=http://blog.timesunion.com/business/albany-had-highest-average-air-fare-in-state-dot-study-finds/20768/}}

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Albany and the surrounding area, including Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs.{{cite web|title=Routes and Schedules |publisher=Capital District Transportation Authority |url=http://www.cdta.org/schedules.php |access-date=June 3, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511222432/http://www.cdta.org/schedules.php |archive-date=May 11, 2011 }} The city was once served by an urban streetcar service maintained by the United Traction Company. As in many American cities, after the advent of the automobile, light rail services declined in Albany and were replaced by bus and taxi services.{{cite news |title=Trip to Recall the Day the Trolley Died |author=Grondahl, Paul |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=August 29, 1991 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5612208 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025909/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5612208 }} Greyhound Lines,{{cite web |title=Greyhound Terminal Locations (New York) |publisher=Greyhound Lines, Inc |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url=http://www.greyhound.com/home/TicketCenter/en/locations.asp?state=ny |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702074358/http://www.greyhound.com/home/TicketCenter/en/locations.asp?state=ny |url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2008 }} Trailways,{{cite web|title=Trailways Bus Terminal Locations |publisher=Adirondack Transit Lines, Inc |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url=http://www.trailwaysny.com/html/english/locations.asp |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724163418/http://www.trailwaysny.com/html/english/locations.asp |archive-date=July 24, 2010 }} Peter Pan,{{cite web|title=Peter Pan Bus Lines Bus Terminals, Stations, and Stops |publisher=Peter Pan Bus Lines |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url=http://www.peterpanbus.com/tickets/bus-ticket-information/terminal-listings/ |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630075815/http://www.peterpanbus.com/tickets/bus-ticket-information/terminal-listings/ |archive-date=June 30, 2010 }} Short Line, Vermont Translines, and Yankee Trails{{Cite web|url=http://www.yankeetrails.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123222214/http://charter.yankeetrails.com/Corporate/Bennington.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Bus Tours, Cruise Vacations, Casinos, Sports, Travel Agency, Cruise Express|archive-date=November 23, 2015|website=Yankee Trails}} buses all serve a downtown terminal. Brown Coach provides commuter service.{{cite web|url=http://www.browntours.com/index.php/commuters|title=Commuters|website=www.browntours.com}} Low-cost curbside bus service from the SUNY Albany campus and the Rensselaer station is also provided by Megabus, with direct service to New York City.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

File:PortOfAlbany.JPG adds $428 million to the Capital District's $70.1 billion gross product.{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Eric |title=Port of Albany 'still thriving' |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=November 20, 2008 |access-date=July 18, 2010 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7198939 |page=C1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713000938/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7198939 |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}|alt=Aerial view of an industrial zone; large silos, cranes, storage tanks, and a highway are seen.]]

Albany, long an important Hudson River port, today serves domestic and international ships and barges through the Port of Albany-Rensselaer, on both sides of the river. The port has the largest mobile harbor crane in the state of New York.{{cite web|title=I-87 Multimodal Corridor Study. |publisher=Parsons-Clough Harbour and NYSDOT |access-date=January 3, 2009 |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/regional-offices/region1/project-repository/i87MultiModalStudy/documents/chapter_2-11_intermodal_facilities_and_operations.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416213600/https://www.dot.ny.gov/regional-offices/region1/project-repository/i87MultiModalStudy/documents/chapter_2-11_intermodal_facilities_and_operations.pdf |archive-date=April 16, 2014 }} The New York State Barge Canal, the ultimate successor of the Erie Canal, is in use today, largely by tourist and private boats.{{cite web |title=History and Education |publisher=New York State Canal Corporation |date= |access-date=September 6, 2010 |url=http://www.canals.ny.gov/cculture/index.html |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818041140/http://www.canals.ny.gov/cculture/index.html |url-status=dead }}

The city of Nijmegen, Netherlands connected with Albany following World War II. With the help of the Catholic university in Albany, the Catholic University of Nijmegen (Radboud University Nijmegen) rebuilt its partly destroyed library, with over 50,000 books being donated to the Dutch university. To show its gratitude for post-war assistance, the city sent Albany 50,000 tulip bulbs in 1948; this act led to the establishment of the annual Tulip Festival. Most of the other connections were made in the 1980s during Mayor Whalen's term in office as part of his cultural expansion program.

Albany's sister cities are:{{cite web|title=Sister City US Listings |publisher=Sister Cities International |url=http://www.sister-cities.org/directory/index.cfm |access-date=April 25, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629184627/http://www.sister-cities.org/ |archive-date=June 29, 2007 }} Permalinking to search results is not possible. Search under New York to access the list.{{cite web |last1=Justin |first1=Raga |title=Albany's newest sister city is war-torn Bucha in Ukraine |url=https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/albany-s-newest-sister-city-war-torn-bucha-ukraine-17766810.php |publisher=Times Union |access-date=February 7, 2023 |date=February 6, 2023}}

• {{flagicon|UKR}} Bucha, Ukraine
• {{flagicon|BHS}} Nassau, Bahamas
• {{flagicon|NED}} Nijmegen, Netherlands
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Tula, Russia
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Verona, Italy
• {{flagicon|IDN}} South Tangerang, Indonesia

• List of people associated with Albany County, New York

• Albany's Golden Cue Billiard Lounge
• List of capitals in the United States
• List of cities in New York
• List of incorporated places in New York's Capital District
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany, New York
• Neighborhoods of Albany, New York
• USS Albany, several ships

{{notelist|30em}}

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |author=Anderson, George Baker |title=Landmarks of Rensselaer County New York |publisher=D. Mason and Company |location=Syracuse, New York |year=1897 |url=https://archive.org/stream/landmarksofrenss00ande#page/n5/mode/2up |oclc= 1728151}}{{via|IA}}
• {{cite book |author=Brodhead, John Romeyn |title=History of the State of New York |publisher=Harper & Brothers, Publishers |year=1874 |location=New York City |oclc=458890237 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEAOAAAAIAAJ}}
• {{cite book |author=Burger, Joanna |title=Whispers in the Pines: a Naturalist in the Northeast |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2006 |location=Piscataway, New Jersey |isbn=0-8135-3794-0}}{{via|GB}}
• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Albany (New York) |volume= 1 | pages = 489–491 }}
• {{cite book |author=French, John Homer |title=Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State |publisher=R. Pearsall Smith |location=Syracuse, New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_zHwh4xByQC |year=1860 |oclc= 224691273}}{{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Grondahl, Paul |title=Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2007 |location=Albany |isbn=978-0-7914-7294-1}}
• {{cite book |author=Howell, George Rogers |title=Bi-centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany, N.Y. from 1609 to 1886 (Volume I) |author2=Jonathan Tenney |publisher=W. W. Munsell & Co |location=New York City |year=1886 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGkJAQAAIAAJ |oclc=11543538}}{{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Howell, George Rogers |title=Bi-centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany, N.Y. from 1609 to 1886 (Volume II) |author2=Jonathan Tenney |publisher=W. W. Munsell & Co |location=New York City |year=1886 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWkJAQAAIAAJ |oclc=11543538}}{{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=McEneny, John |title=Albany, Capital City on the Hudson: An Illustrated History |publisher=American Historical Press |location=Sun Valley, California |year=2006 |isbn=1-892724-53-7 |author-link=John McEneny}}
• {{cite book |author=National Municipal League |title=Proceedings of the Conference for Good City Government and the Annual Meeting of the National Municipal League (Volume 5) |year=1896 |publisher=Selheimer Printing Company |location=Philadelphia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrwZAQAAIAAJ |oclc=40371852 |pages=137–148}}{{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Reynolds, Cuyler |title=Albany Chronicles: A History of the City Arranged Chronologically, From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time |publisher=J. B. Lyon Company |year=1906 |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ |oclc= 457804870}}{{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Rittner, Don |author-link=Don Rittner |title=Then & Now: Albany |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2002 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=0-7385-1142-0}}
• {{cite book |author=Rittner, Don |title=Remembering Albany: Heritage on the Hudson |publisher=History Press |location=Charleston, South Carolina |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-59629-770-8}}
• {{cite book |title=Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652–1664 |author=Venema, Janny |year=2003 |publisher=Verloren |location=Hilversum |isbn=0-7914-6079-7}}
• {{cite book |author=Waite, Diana S. |title=Albany Architecture: A Guide to the City |publisher=Mount Ida Press |year=1993 |location=Albany |isbn=0-9625368-1-4}}
• {{cite book |author=Whish, John D. |title=Albany Guide Book |publisher=J.B. Lyon Company |year=1917 |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqCeHOJyK0wC |oclc= 17438709}}{{via|GB}}

• {{cite book |title=The Albany Lumber Trade: Its History and Extent |year=1872 |publisher=The Argus Company |oclc=8260640 |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XkDAAAAYAAJ}} {{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |title=The Charter of the City of Albany; and the Laws and Ordinances Ordained and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the Said City, in Common Council Convened |publisher=Barber and Southwick |location=Albany |year=1800 |oclc=55813771 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8epBAAAAYAAJ}} {{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Button, Daniel Evan |title=Take City Hall! |year=2003 |location=Albany |publisher=Whitston Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-87875-542-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/takecityhallmayo0000butt }}
• {{cite book |author=Gehring, Charles T. |title=Fort Orange Records 1656–1678 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, New York |year=2000 |url= |isbn=978-0-585-30922-4}}
• {{cite book |author=Kennedy, William |title=O Albany! Improbable City of Political Wizards, Fearless Ethnics, Spectacular Aristocrats, Splendid Nobodies, and Underrated Scoundrels |publisher=Viking Press |year=1983 |location=Albany |isbn= 978-0-670-52087-9 |author-link= William Kennedy (author)}}
• {{cite book|author=McEneny, John|title=Albany: Capital City on the Hudson|year=1998|publisher=American Historical Press|isbn=978-0-965-47549-5|location=Sun Valley, California}}
• {{cite book |author=Munsell, Joel |title=The Annals of Albany |publisher=Joel Munsell |year=1869 |edition=2nd |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nc0pAAAAYAAJ |oclc= 11500714}}
• {{cite book |author=Munsell, Joel |title=Collections on the History of Albany: From its Discovery to the Present Time (Volume 1) |publisher=Joel Munsell |year=1865 |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BdkRAAAAIAAJ |oclc=2750413}} {{via|GB}}
• {{cite book |author=Rittner, Don |title=Images of America: Albany |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2000 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=0-7385-0088-7}}
• {{cite book |author=Roberts, Warren |title=A Place in History: Albany in the Age of Revolution, 1775–1825 |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2010 |location=Albany |isbn=978-1-4384-3329-5}}
• {{cite book |editor=Scheltema, Gajus |editor2=Westerhuijs, Heleen|title=Exploring Historic Dutch New York|publisher=Museum of the City of New York / Dover Publications|location=New York|year=2011|isbn=978-0-486-48637-6}}
• {{cite book |author=Weise, Arthur James |title=The History of the City of Albany, New York, from the Discovery of the Great River in 1524 by Verrazzano to the Present Time |publisher=E.H. Bender |year=1884 |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJl4AAAAMAAJ |oclc=337558}}

{{Sister project links |commonscat=yes |b=no |d=Q24861 |q=no |s=Category:Albany, New York |v=no |voy=Albany (New York) |wikt=Albany}}

• {{Official website|http://www.albanyny.gov/}}

{{Hudson Valley navigation}}

{{Albany, New York}}

{{Geographic location

|Center = City of Albany

|North = Town of Colonie

Hamlets of Loudonville, West Albany, and Roessleville; Village of Menands

|Northeast = Hudson River

Town of North Greenbush

|East = Hudson River

City of Rensselaer

|Southeast = Hudson River

Town of East Greenbush

|South = Town of Bethlehem

Hamlets of Normansville, Delmar, Elsmere, Bethlehem Center, and Glenmont

|Southwest = Town of Bethlehem

Hamlets of North Bethlehem and Slingerlands

|West = Town of Guilderland

Hamlets of McKownville and Westmere

|Northwest = Town of Colonie

Hamlet of Karner; Village of Colonie

}}

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{{Albany County, New York}}

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{{good article}}

Category:1614 establishments in North America

Category:1614 establishments in the Dutch Empire

Category:Cities in New York (state)

Category:Cities in Albany County, New York

Category:County seats in New York (state)

Category:New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River

Category:Populated places established in 1614

Category:State capitals in the United States