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So, what’d all this cost?
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Chancellor Whitelaw Reid, at the State Education Building’s dedication ceremonies in 1912, said, “We are proud that the great structure comes to us absolutely free. There is no debt on it. They issued no bonds for it and anticipated no income. The people of New York have equipped their Board of Regents and Department…
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They all came to Albany
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If you were an academic, from pretty much anywhere, Albany was apparently the place to be one hundred years ago as the State Education Building was dedicated. Across the three days, there were six formal sessions, a major reception, open house at the Governor’s Mansion, attended by representatives from 120 higher education institutions throughout…
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The Dedication of the State Education Building
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The State Education Building, an indispensable and unforgettable part of the Albany streetscape, one of the most distinctive pieces of classical architecture in the country and purportedly the longest Corinthian colonnade, was dedicated precisely one hundred years ago. In the century that has passed, the State Museum that once drew throngs of schoolchildren into…
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John Harrigan’s Sons
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From 1898, an advertisement for John Harrigan’s Sons (whose names, it would appear were Harvey, Daniel and Joseph), undertakers. This lovely building was at the corner of Chapel and Canal streets; Canal is now known as Sheridan Avenue. I can’t tell which corner this was on, but the only surviving building from that era…
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A Tourist’s Guide Through Albany
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Among the delights and pleasures of the worldwide web, Google Books, and public domain is the ability to discover, dissect, and disseminate tomes from yesteryear that were otherwise moldering in the locked “local history” room of the public library, available only to those willing to submit to the suspicions of the collections librarian and…
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Cluett Pianos
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In 1898, Cluett & Sons was one of the major piano dealers in a town that could fairly have been called “The Piano City.” (Or so I keep trying to convince people.) But in this ad you can see the onward march of technology, as the piano company was also headquarters for “the wonderful…
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William H. Hallenbeck, Popular Milliner
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There just aren’t enough milliners in today’s world. Or at least they don’t go by that name. It specifically referred to one who designed, made or trimmed women’s hats. According to Amasa Parker’s “Landmarks of Albany County,” William Henry Hallenbeck was born in Knox in 1859, and was of an old Albany Dutch family.…
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Librarian Law
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English: New York State Library–Facilities–1880-1900. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The New York State Legislature is somewhat famous for setting forth laws regarding its own conduct that are sometimes a bit more yielding than laws applied to the rest of the public. But no one is above the law of the librarian. The 1855 “Catalogue of…
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Nailed it!
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Also from the 1898 history of Albany’s Central Federation of Labor, a very useful guide to how many nails one might need for a particular carpentry task. From having done extensive renovations on old houses, I can attest that a pound of nails in a single doorframe wasn’t considered excessive.
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Blackboard Jungle
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The Illustrated History of the Central Federation of Labor of Albany from 1898 is a delightful collection of the informative, historical, and unusual. Not apropos of Albany in any way, but Hoxsie was tickled to find this recipe for creating liquid slating to coat blackboards. Yes, the liquid could be purchased ready for use,…