In 1883, the City of Albany reported that it had $3,191,000 in bonded debt. This covered a variety of purposes. There was $3,000 for the relief of drafted men in 1864. There was $150,000 for the purchase of the Congress Hall block, which was torn down to make room for the new State Capitol. There was $115,000 for the new post office site, and $20,000 for the high school, and more for the improvement of Western Avenue and South Pearl Street. There was more than a million dollars in “water debt,” presumably to pay for Albany’s water supply system. And, right around the same as water debt and all other debt, there were bonds to pay for Washington Park, totaling $1,048,000.
Most of this money was borrowed at six or seven percent.