-
The Detailed Specifications of the Maiden Lane Bridge
•
We’ve written before about the Maiden Lane Bridge, giving some of the history of what was the second bridge built across the Hudson at Albany. In that story, we included a number of specifications that were published when the contract to build the bridge was awarded to Charles Newman of Hudson in 1870. Now…
-
Albany, the Winter Resort
•
This, from the New York Press in 1888: Mayor John Boyd Thacher boosting Albany as the winter place to be. “For the past few years the city has been at a standstill. The rich people – and we have many of them – were simply content to cut coupons and share a small dividend…
-
The Science Fiction Writer Next Door: P. Schuyler Miller
•
Growing up, my family lived next to a four-unit apartment house in Scotia, one of those places that was oddly transient on a street of homes where people generally lived for decades. There were young couples just starting out, divorcees figuring out their next steps, old people at the end. An interesting mix. And…
-
Henry Hart and Bret Harte
•
We were pleased and surprised to be wandering through the galleries of Lancaster, PA this weekend and to come across a prominently displayed set of Bret Harte books that made the connection to Harte’s origins in Albany. If he’s remembered at all today, it’s probably for “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” an 1869 short…
-
Corning Your Beef
•
While not entirely Albany specific, we thought this article from the Albany Argus in 1862 was a good lesson in what life was like before refrigeration. It’s hard to fathom now what people went through to keep meat “fresh.” This supposed letter (which may just be an editorial contrivance; they were common enough in…
-
The Destruction of Tweddle Hall (and more of its history)
•
We’ve talked before about Tweddle Hall, the center of Albany civic life for what turns out to have been a mere 21 years. Malt merchant John Tweddle built it at the Elm Tree Corner to meet the need for a public hall for lectures, entertainment, and meetings in the booming city, with the building…
-
R.S.V.P. to V.R.S.P.; or, the Young Lady Didn’t Invite Him to Skate
•
In 1870, the St. Lawrence Republican (of Ogdensburg) ran a story headed “R.S.V.P., or the Van Rensselaer Skating Park,” and promised that “The following ‘local story,’ taken from the Albany Evening Journal, is told in good enough style to make it interesting to the general reader.” Since we were already on the topic of…
-
The Van Rensselaer Skating (and Curling) Park
•
Stare at an old map long enough, and eventually you’ll be faced with a mystery you have to solve. We’ve stared at the Hopkins map of Albany from 1876 more than a sane person should admit, and every now and then a little detail jumped out at us, calling for attention. We ignored it…
-
Let’s Look at the Record
•
This panel is from a comic book called “Cliff Merritt Sets the Record Straight,” a production of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen from 1965 extolling the safety benefits the BRT brought to both workers and society. The fictional Cliff was being honored by the BRT for his years of service, and in conversation with…
-
