Category: Albany

Sometimes ya gotta reach into the recent past. This postcard of the SUNY Albany fountain was published in 1986. The text reads: “SUNYA students take time out for some fun at the pool on the academic podium. At times a natural rainbow appears, as in this picture.”

One of the things that may not always be obvious is that in a world that was run on hayburners, someone had to provide the hay, even in the center of the city. E.I. McClasky was one of the feed dealers who kept the horses fed. I’m not at all sure whether “city” hay…

Yesterday we looked at a stove dealer who had ventured across the river into Greenbush territory in 1863. Today we’re back to Albany, and back to 1850, to take a look at the stove dealers and manufacturers. Apparently the top of Green Street was wall to wall stove dealers: there were 13 stove dealers…

T. Lamoure & Sons’ motto was “Quick Sales and Small Profits.” Their grocery and hardware store at 89 Washington Avenue in Albany had a little bit of everything, and was particularly handy for those hardy Civil War-era folks who liked a little gunpowder in with their eggs.

Whoever designed this wonderful ad for Benjamin Payn was obviously quite delighted with his artistry. And it was quite the blend of products that Mr. Payn sold from his location at 7 Broadway. He manufactured tobacco, snuff, and cigars, as well as chocolate and prepared cocoa. In addition, he sold pipes, matches, mustard, plug…

Wouldn’t it be great to be as excited about anything as the 19th century was about steam? We’ve tried before to itemize just a few of the things done by steam power back in mid-19th century Albany. There was steam printing and steam planing, steam soap and steam candy. Even steam crackers. And, here, steam…

In 1863, Washington Avenue dentists The Brockways, the oldest dentists in the city of Albany, pointed out their large experience and their extensive practice, and even gave their price list for whole sets of teeth. Painlessness, they didn’t mention. “Plugging” sounds a lot more painful than “filling.” (By one calculation, $15 in 1863 would…

In 1863 Albany, when it came to funeral supplies, J.W. Netterville had it all. His residence and wareroom at 118 S. Pearl was probably about in the vicinity of Madison Avenue; little of Bleecker Street remains in the Pastures, but it was only a short walk away. As we’ve noted before, it wasn’t uncommon…

In the days before drywall, every wall in town was plaster. A.A. Dunlop was dealing plaster in Albany in 1863 from down on Quay Street, now lost among the ramps of I-787. He dealt in plaster, cement, feeds, flour and grain. He also dealt in Phoenix guano, which was not exactly the droppings of…

Back when Albany Ale was king, Amsdell Brothers were a major brewer and distributor. Their brewery stretched from 135 to 145 Jay Street, in a time when hyphenating addresses was apparently not in vogue. “The Empire State: Its Industries and Wealth” explains that: “An opinion once prevailed among certain classes of the community, that…