-
The Ghost Signs of R.B. Wing
•
The backs of buildings are sometimes as interesting as the fronts, and in Albany’s case, the backs of the row of quite-old buildings along Broadway are absolutely fascinating for their profusion of ghost signs. Ghost signs are generally hand-painted signs that adorned our commercial buildings in abundance in the 19th and 20th centuries, and…
-
Sturgeondom
•
Recent entries brought up the question, “what the heck was ‘Sturgeondom’?” An 1869 article in the Albany Morning Express quoted the Troy Whig, saying that “A bright light in the direction of Albany last evening indicates a big fire in Sturgeondom,” but the Express responded that “Our neighbors will be pleased to learn, we…
-
The Mutual Boat Club of Albany
•
We’ve been talking quite a bit about the early rowing history of Albany, from just before the Civil War and on into the 19th century as rowing grew in popularity. It would help to understand that rowing was once, indeed, very big sporting news. Major races frequently made the front pages of major newspapers,…
-
Sturgeondom’s Pioneer Rowing Club
•
Edgar S. Van Olinda, old time columnist of old times, told us that rowing in Albany began in earnest with a number of clubs around 1857. “Rowing in Albany began with the Pioneer club in 1857, the Knickerbocker club in 1858, along with the Hiawathas and the Excelsiors. That was only the beginning.” He…
-
Peter Kiernan Sr. and Other Oarmen
•
Last time we featured a little bit on the old Albany waterfront and the prominence of rowers of various sorts way back when, and touched on the prowess of the Peters Kiernan, Sr. and Jr. After that, we found this Edgar Van Olinda article from 1943 telling us even more about Kiernan Sr. and,…
-
Rowing on the River
•
Rowers are one of the great sights on the Albany waterfront, and they’ve been part of the scene for a long time, including some prominent citizens. In 1953, the old Times-Union columnist Edgar S. Van Olinda gave us a recounting of how things had changed along the waterfront. The old saying: “All’s quiet along…
-
Ariaantje Coeymans
•
In 1938, the Albany Institute of History and Art was bequeathed one of its more notable portraits, that of Ariaantje Coeymans, from 1723. When it was acquired, curator R. Loring Dunn wrote about it at length in the Times-Union. It tells us a lot about Ariaantje, and is worth printing here in its entirety:…
-
Ward Hennessy and his Raines Hotel
•
Our research on Albany movie star Ward Crane a couple of weeks back led to an interesting reference to the business of his uncle, Ward Hennessy, who ran a hotel on the Albany-Schenectady road, just outside the city limits (you know it as Route 5, Central Avenue). What caught our eye wasn’t so much…
-
The Remarkable Hands of Mary Nash
•
The last (for now) of our little look at famous actors and actresses from Albany. This one, Mary Nash, was said to have been born in Troy in 1884 (the Morning Telegraph begs to differ, as we will see), but grew up and was schooled in Albany. The family appears living on Broadway (the…
-
Harry Lash: Vaudeville Performer, Groucho’s Double
•
Continuing our discussions of 1920s star performers who started out in Albany. Today: Harry Lash, vaudeville performer and a double for Groucho Marx. Harold Lashever was the son of Max and Dora Lashever, immigrants from Russia whose language was German. Max came here in 1890 and worked in clothing manufacturing, living on West Van…