In its 51 years or so, the Albany Morning Express saw some tremendous changes, which it chronicled in its 50th anniversary coverage. They noted that when they began publication in 1847, the city of Albany contained 45,000 inhabitants, making it the 10th largest city in the United States at the time. There was only a single railroad connecting it with New York City. “The traveler to Boston took passage on the Boston, Albany and Troy road, and a line of railway connected Albany, Troy and Saratoga. Trains for the west left the railway terminus on State street at the top of the hill, from which point the cars descended to Broadway, received their passengers and were drawn back by means of windlass and tackle.” It was a very different city.
“Fifty years ago, all the streets in Albany were paved with cobblestones. For this purpose cobblestones are but little better than watermelons or overripe eggs. At the present time Albany has many miles of granite blocks, brick and concrete pavement. Albany is fast becoming one of the best paved cities in the country. Properly paved streets, added to our beautiful parks drives and boulevard [sic] are fast making Albany a very desirable city to visit and reside in.”
In 1897, the offices of the Morning Express and the Evening Journal, both owned by political boss William D. Barnes, were in the Journal building at 59 and 61 State Street, and an adjoining building on James Street. Here’s a look at how they were arranged:
“The entrance to the counting room is on State street, to the editorial rooms, the president’s offices and the composing rooms at No. 7 James street; to the office of the weekly edition of the Express, No. 9 James and the mailing and press rooms, No. 5 James.
The business offices occupy the main floor. No paper in the state has a better arranged and more pleasantly fitting up counting room. The large force of clerks requires considerable room and they have it. Every convenience is afforded for transacting business with the public expeditiously. The general manager’s room adjoining, which is furnished with good taste and affords pleasant accommodations for those who have business to transact with the head of the business department, communicates directly with the president’s offices above. The rear of the ground floor is occupied by the mailing and city carriers’ department, No. 5 James street.
The president’s suite of chambers occupy [sic] the second and third floors. They are suitably furnished and decorated and have ready communication with all parts of the building. By means of speaking tubes the president is able to communicate ith the head of each department at his desk.
On the fourth floor is the library, including tiers of racks in which are kept bound volumes of the files of Albany and New York papers for the exclusive use of the establishment, and the proof readers’ department. The bulletin department is on the fourth floor.
The editorial room of the Weekly Express is at No. 9 James street. In the rear are the press and stereotyping rooms of the establishment. On the floors above are the editorial and the composing rooms.”
The Morning Express would be sold off and merged with the Press and Knickerbocker in 1899, but the Evening Journal would continue, eventually moving to its extremely impressive new building on the south end of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad headquarters building.
While they remained at their offices on State, the newspapers printed large headlines and posted them with the news of the day:
“The large, colored headlines, which appear twice a day on the bulletin boards of the Journal and the Express at the State street entrance, which are eagerly scanned by hundreds of people, who, in the hurry of business hours, have time only to catch bare announcements of important events, are an important and indispensible feature of the daily routine. They have given the local public many ‘beats’ of notable interest. The first announcement of the execution of ‘Bat’ Shea reached not only the Albany public but the papers through the state from the bulletin posted in front of the Journal office, notwithstanding the fact that the correspondents of two great news associations sent out full reports directly from the prison.”