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Josiah Stanford, prosperous farmer, innkeeper, estate-builder
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Leland Stanford may be one of the most famous, or most important, people ever to come from Albany (born in the town of Colonie in 1824), although he found his fortune way out west — a little thing called the Central Pacific Railroad, the governorship of California, a US Senator’s seat, and much more.…
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Television on the Big Screen — A Schenectady First
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Just inside the entry to Proctor’s Arcade in Schenectady is this plaque, prominently and proudly proclaiming that an important first in technology took place right there in the historic Proctor’s Theatre: “On May 22, 1930, Proctor’s Theatre was the site of the first projected television show on a giant screen before a large audience.…
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The Illustrious Madame Albani
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Well, if we’re going to mention Professor DuMouchel, long a key part of the (sacred) music scene in Albany, we’re going to have to mention someone who, after performing with DuMouchel very early in her career, carried the name of the city into international fame. She was Marie Louise Emma Cécile Lajeunesse, in Chambly,…
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Professor DuMouchel, Cathedral Organist
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When we first learned of the old Albany character of Dr. DuMouchel, about all we knew about him was that he was the organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and favored a frock coat and top hat which gained him a comparison to Dr. Mary Walker. Well, Dr. DuMouchel was much more…
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The Colorful Characters of Old Albany
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When we were telling the tale of Dr. Dodge, one of old Albany’s well-known characters, we ran across the names of a number of other characters of the type that either don’t exist any more or just don’t get known. Perhaps it goes back to a time when the city was smaller (or more…
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Troy’s Musical Koninsky Family
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Andrew Mace hepped us to one of those fascinating facts that we can’t believe we didn’t know. One of the Troy Facebook groups posted the cover of sheet music for Uncle Sam’s Boys, composed by Jerome Hartman, “composer of the famous ‘Beneath the Starry Flag,’ ‘On to Victory,’ etc.,” and published by the Koninsky…
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Dr. Dodge, Albany’s Harbinger of Spring
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Does Albany still have characters? The old Dutch town used to be awash in them. One such character, way back when, was Dr. Dodge, a pitchman familiar to thousands who walked State Street hill. The Times-Union on Sept. 6, 1934, warned on its front page that “Dr. Dodge, Famed for Hat Collection, Seriously Ill.”…
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Philip Schuyler High School – It’s Temporary
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Last time we talked about how Albany developed its first “cosmopolitan” high school, Philip Schuyler, which opened in 1934. But we hadn’t gotten to the bottom of how it came to be in the old Public School 14, instead of in a new high school building. Confusing, because in all the years leading up…
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Albany’s Cosmopolitan High School
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We will admit, before working on this story, we’d never before heard of the term “cosmopolitan high school.” But in Albany in the ‘30s, it was a term everyone would have been familiar with, as the future of schools was being debated and the city tried to deal with an ever-growing young population. A…
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We Just Want To Weave and Fold Some Asbestos
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Well, weren’t we surprised to learn that there was once a company that began with the bold and (eventually) regrettable name of The Asbestos Spinning & Weaving Corporation. We were even more surprised to find out that, in some way, it still existed when we first posted this. The Asbestos Spinning and Weaving Corporation…