Finishing up the wonders of Albany as it approached the 20th century:
20th. The Tweddle building, which rose from the
ashes of the old Tweddle Hall since the decade began.
The Tweddle building is one of those references you see over and over in old Albany papers, and “Tweddle” never stops sounding a littlegiggly. John Tweddle was a prominent malt-maker, founder of the Merchants Bank, and benefactor of St. Peter’s Church on State Street. Tweddle Hall, the predecessor of the Tweddle building, was at 81 State Street, at North Pearl. It was reknowned for its acoustics, but it burned in 1883.
27th. The Greenbush bridge and the horse railroad
to the other side of the river, are products of this remarkable decade.
The ferry lobby held off the establishment of a bridge
between Albany and Greenbush (you may know it as Rensselaer today) for decades.
The ferry lobby. Not a damn thing ever changes.
34th. Keeler’s new hotel.
I really need to spend a lot of time writing about Keeler’s, which was at Broadway and Maiden Lane.
Albany had a number of leading hotels, each with its own personality, each a
key to the civic life of the city. Keeler’s burned for the last time in 1919 and was never rebuilt. (And if you want to see that picture in astonishing detail, check it out over at Shorpy.)
These are some of the changes that have taken place and the
enterprises that have been originated in the last ten years – not all, by any
means; only those which have occurred to us haphazard in writing this article.
The list does not include many business blocks, or may beautiful private residences
that have been erected. It take sno note of the great improvements made in the
paving and sewerage in many parts of the city; but it does show that Albany has
made rapid advance sin the past decade. It demonstrates conclusively that a new
and progressive spirit actuates the community; that fresh and powerful forces
are at work; that there is a willingness on the part of our citizens to make
the city desirable to live in; a city of homes where as much is to be enjoyed
as in any other place on earth.
“Accept then, the New Albany as a reality; enjoy, and help
others to enjoy, its fair and beneficent existence.”