A cantankerous and opinionated look at New York's
State Capitol 
Geography>THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ALBANYThe City of Albany lies on land that, when Henry Hudson first spied it in 1660, consisted of rolling hills, sharp embankments, and rocky ravines running steeply down to a sandy riverbank. Its most obvious and important geographical feature is its location adjacent to the Hudson River, 140 miles north of Manhattan. The Hudson is deep, wide, and easily navigable from the Atlantic to Albany by large shipping vessels and sailing ships alike. Its presence was the impetus for Albany's growth in the early period when roads through Colonial America were little more than dirt paths, and the major rivers functioned as the only long distance transportation system. 10 miles north of the present-day city lies the junction of the Hudson and the Mohawk, a tributary which meanders from Western New York State and empties into the Hudson in a series of dramatic cascades.
Picturesque as they were, the Falls of the Mohawk presented an insurmountable barrier to ships of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Erie Canal, when it opened in 1825, cut the corner between the Hudson and the Mohawk, and joined the Hudson in Albany City near the foot of what is now Clinton Street; the neighborhood there became known as the Lumber District, for the enormous quantities of freshcut timber brought Eastward on the Canal to be milled and cut by Albany workers. The Canal ran 363 miles from Buffalo to Albany, and circumvented inconvenient elevation changes with an amazing system of 83 enormous stone locks and 18 aqueducts along its route. The original colonial town was built on several ridges
rising sharply up from the river bank. These ridges became the sites
of latter-day Madison Ave., Clinton Ave., and State Street, of which
the latter was the most important and centrally located. Colonial State
Street rose so sharply up the ridge that in the muddy springs vehicles
often careened out of control down its slope; modern day engineering
has softened its grade considerably. Little else remains of the natural topography the Dutch found here in 1660. The Albany riverfront, one of the nation's most thriving ports throughout the lumber and brewery years, is now confined to a small area at the bottom of Madison; the Basin, which once filled 32 acres of artificially enclosed "boat parking", has been filled in, lay unused for many years, and has lately been re-opened as the Corning Nature Preserve. A pedestrian bridge connects Downtown with this nature preserve, though there is something a little less than bucolic about a "preserve" that sits alongside and underneath the gigantic hulking concrete form and rushing traffic roar of Interstate 787! Two obligatory Olmsted-style romantic parks provide Albany City denizens with an acceptable facsimile of nature: Washington Park, which was actually planned, though not built, by Olmsted himself, and the later Lincoln Park. Washington Park adjoins the (relatively) prosperous Center Square neighborhood and faces the mansions of Upper State Street; it hosts summer concerts and plays at the charming Boathouse, as well as the Holiday Lights display each Christmas season. Lincoln Park, like the neighborhoods which adjoin it, is less frequented, less appealing, and in the view of most Albanians, less than safe. THE CAPITAL REGIONAlbany is one of only three fairly large cities that, along with a fair amount of suburban sprawl, comprise the Capital District. Troy, to the north, and Schnectady, to the West, both grew up later than Albany, and with a more exclusive focus on pure industry as the motor driving their growth. Albany added industry to its already exisiting base of banking and of course state government--which is one reason why its modern day problems, as large as they are, are actually minor in comparison with its two failed, gutted, unemployment-wracked neighbors. Troy and Schnectady are industrial ghost towns turned reservations for a permanently dysfunctional underclass. Each has its bright spots, a rich history, and groups of committed citizens trying to turn things around. But like so many Northeast towns built quickly in the first rush of industrialization, their viability in the 21st century is anything but assured.
The rest of the capital region consists of suburbs, comparatively prosperous towns circling the capitol like Colonie, Guilderland, and Bethlehem, and farmland. Dairy farming continues in large parts of Albany and Rensselaer Counties. Interstate Highways 87, 787, and 90, and large state roads including Routes 7 and 85, funnel automobiles around the region. They have largely replaced the function of roads like Western and Central Avenues, the major arteries between Albany and Schnectady in the pre-Interstate period, whose decline as commercial areas coincides exactly with the building of the elevated Interstate bypasses, and whose function now consists largely of frontage for miles of shopping malls, car dealerships, and convenience stores. Prosperous Saratoga Springs lies 40 minutes to the north up I-87. To the northeast is the rolling farmland of Washington County, and, beyond it, Vermont. To the northwest are the Adirondacks, a largely protected forested mountain range. Along the Hudson to the South are more prosperous farmland counties, where towns like Hudson, Kinderhook, Rhinebeck, and Woodstock are drawing residents up from New York City. The Big city lies just under three hours South of Albany by car; a three hour drive in other compass directions will bring you to Boston, Buffalo, or, if you head due north, the Canadian border, with Montreal not far beyond. CLIMATEThe Albany climate is typical of the Northeastern U.S.: wet and muddy springs give way to gorgeous and temperate summers, which yield in turn to frigid and inhospitable winters. Powerful arctic wind currents originating around Canada's Hudson Bay sweep down the funnel of the Hudson Valley throughout the winter, chilling Albany's pedestrians (especially those who venture out on the unprotected, inhospitable marble slab of Nelson Rockefeller's Empire State Plaza). Major snowstorms incapacitate the city two or three times a winter on average, piling drifts 6 feet high along sidewalks and burying parked cars, and presenting a formidable challenge to the city in terms of plowing and salting.
Seasonal Averages Temperatures (ºF)
The climate here does provide a bit of a tourism boost to the area both with ski areas and winter sports in the Adirondacks and the Fall Foliage season up and down the Hudson Valley. Proximity to the major rivers gives the Capital region a bit more cloud cover and precipitation than some other parts of New England, and throughout the year there are an average of only 5 or 6 clear sunny days a month. DISTANCE TO....?
Amtrak rail service, still clinging to its government subsidy by a thread, can take you up and down the Hudson, either to Montreal or, more likely, South to Manhattan. If you want to travel East to Boston or West to Buffalo you'll be doing it in a car, along Interstate 90. Albany International Airport, totally renovated in the last ten years, is an excellent facility for a city of Albany's size and serves as a hub for Continental, Southwest, Delta, and US Airways. It's not always easy to get around the City of Albany, due to the lack of any meaningful public transportaion system. Leaving Albany for other destinations, of course, is easy and convenient! |
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