All credit for finding this gem goes to Julie O’Connor over at the Albany… The Way It Was page on Facebook, and all thanks go to whoever found it and […]

The Albany Hand-book of 1884 has this less than flattering description of the city’s parks: Albany has one spacious and beautiful park (see Washington Park); but most of the others […]

In 1881, the stockyards at West Albany were among the largest in the country, as noted in these paragraphs from “The Albany Hand-book”: Cattle Market. – The stock yards at […]

In 1881 (and really, perhaps today, because I haven’t checked the city code lately), ball playing and “shinney” playing in the public streets were punishable by a fine of $1 […]

The Albany Hand-book of 1881 reported that not only was State Street then a crowded market, but it was home to all sorts of auctions. “The principal auction houses are […]