Category: Albany

From The Albany Hand-Book of 1881: Abattoir, The, or public slaughterhouse is situated on Brevator st., nearly three miles west of the City Hall. Slaughtering is prohibited (except by consent of the Common Council) within the limits of 160 rods west of Allen st., on the west; Warren st., Delaware ave., Second ave. and…

In the very back pages of the endlessly fascinating “Albany Hand-Book” for 1881 (“A Strangers’ Guide and Residents’ Manual”) is an appendix chronicling local events for 1880. So let’s see what was going on at the Capitol that year, when it was under the supervision of its second architect, Leopold Eidlitz, and had only…

It would appear that I have never before taken in the florid advertising stylings of Hiram Ferguson, designer, photographer, and engraver in wood, who worked out of the “Bank Building” at 448 Broadway. This is from the 1881 “Albany Hand-book.”

While we’re on the subject of the 1881 “Albany Hand-book,” let’s note its peculiar entry regarding birds: “The bird-stores of a city are always interesting places to visit, especially to those who are fond of the feathered songsters. There are usually some curious foreign birds on exhibition, and always good singers to be heard.…

I really have no idea what Henry L. Smith & Bro. meant when they said there’s “Lots of Meat in this!” They were referring, in 1891, to their sale on boys’ skating coats or reefers, knee pants, and short-pants suits. “This will be a week for the boys.” Smith’s place had previously been known…

1900: Horace F. Westcott of 27 Howard St. in Albany. Neat and intelligent plumbers. Up to date! And, apparently, quite dapper. And I’m reminded of this wonderful image that used to hang in the window of Farrell Bros. Plumbing on Delaware Avenue. The plumber protects the health of the nation!

Discussions about the tangle of aerial concrete that serves as downtown Albany’s highway system inevitably center on the blindness of the planners and urban “renewal” advocates who saved our cities by making it much easier to commute to them and much harder to live in them. And so we curse the visionaries of the…

Seems like wherever there’s a tall structure, people will end up flinging themselves off of it. The Hawk Street Viaduct was no exception. From the Albany Evening Journal, March 6, 1900: “The body of Harvey M. Hidley, jr., was found on Sheridan avenue under the Hawk street viaduct this morning. “Mrs. John Grogan, who…

Make no mistake, the Albany of a century ago was a tough town. There was murder, drunkenness, and larceny of all kinds. And there was also at least a little rabbit-related crime, as related in this Albany Evening Journal story from April 11, 1914: “Coogan Worried Over an Unexpected Easter Gift “It might be…

In the newspaper world, there’s a thing called “burying the lede,” where you gloss over what is actually the most newsworthy part of the story because you’re focused on something else. Well, in my excitement yesterday over the possibility of a Hawk Street Viaduct elevator, I kinda buried the lead on the actual story…