ALBANY 



150 



ALBANY 



^] THE STORY OF A L B A M Y ^-. Executive 'Mansion ^ 



LBANY, X. Y., the capital of the 

 state, the county seat of Albany county and 

 a city of historical interest, for it is one of the 

 ;n the Union. It is located on the west 

 bank of the Hudson River, in the eastern part 

 of the state, about midway between its north- 

 ern and southern borders. New York City is 

 145 miles south, and Boston is 165 miles south- 

 east. Albany is the gateway for traffic and 

 travel between Boston and New York and the 

 west and north. It has railway communica- 

 tion through the Boston & Albany, Boston & 

 & Hudson, New York Central 

 Vest Shore railways, and water connec- 

 tion to the interior of the state and to the 

 north by way of the Erie and the Champlain 

 canals. With the ocean it is connected by the 

 Hudson River, navigable to this point by large 

 steamers, smaller ones going six miles farther 

 to Troy. Electric lines communicate with ad- 

 jacent cities. The population increased from 

 100,253 in 1910 to 103,580 in 1915. The area 

 of the city is fifteen square miles. 



Parks and Boulevards. Albany extends for 

 four miles in a narrow plain along the river, 

 and in this section it is frequently flooded in 

 the spring. From this ground it rises to a 

 plateau 200 feet above tide-level, and presents 

 ictivo appearance, with its fine buildings 

 and beautiful parks. There are ninety-five 

 acres of boulevards receiving park care, the 

 most beautiful being Manning Boulevard, in 

 the western section, with a fine driveway and 

 bridlii paths and walks on either side separated 

 by lawns and stately trees. The city is build- 

 ing an extensive concrete pier on the water 

 front, including recreation parks, boat landings, 

 walks, a driveway, etc. Of its eighteen parks, 

 Washington Park is the largest. It contains 

 a lake six acres in area, the massive King 

 Fountain representing "Moses Smiting the 

 Rock," and a fine statue of Robert Burns, 

 mounted on Aberdeen granite. Beaver Park, 

 containing about eighty acres, has a charming 

 driveway built through the rocky bed of an 

 old stream. 



Buildings. The most conspicuous feature 

 of the city is the magnificent Capitol, of solid 

 Maine granite, one of the most remarkable 

 structures in the United States, erected at a 

 cost of $25,000,000; the great western stair- 

 case alone cost nearly $2,000,000. The Mili- 

 tary Museum, on the second floor, contains 

 many relics of the wars of Secession and the 

 Revolution. Opposite the Capitol is the new 

 imposing State Education Building, which con- 

 tains the administrative offices of the Univer- 

 sity of the State of New York, including the 

 State Library of 450,000 volumes; and the 

 State Museum. Other notable structures are 

 the Federal building, state hall, city hall, state 

 armory, a new one-million dollar courthouse, 

 and a new high school. The interior of the 

 State Hall is being extensively modified to 

 make this building a state judicial building, in 

 which the court of appeals of the state is to 

 have its office and to hold court. Albany is 

 noted for its many handsome churches, the 

 most imposing being the Roman Catholic 

 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a 

 Gothic structure with a seating capacity of 

 2,500; All Saints Episcopal Cathedral and 

 Saint Peter's Church, the latter one of the 

 oldest in the United States, Temple Beth 

 Emeth, Saint Joseph's, Saint Paul's, the First 

 Presbyterian (1763), First Reformed (1642) 

 and Madison Avenue Reformed churches are 

 all notable. Van Rensselaer Manor House, 

 erected in 1666, Schuyler Mansion, in 1760, 

 and Ten Broeck Mansion, in 1798, are build- 

 ings of historical interest. 



Educational and Benevolent Institutions. In 

 addition to the public schools, Albany has a 

 State College for Teachers; the Albany Med- 

 ical College, the Albany Law School and the 

 Albany College of Pharmacy, which are de- 

 partments in Union University, at Schenec- 

 tady; the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Al- 

 bany Academy for Girls, Albany Academy for 

 Boys, Saint Agnes School (Episcopal), Dudley 

 Observatory, Albany Institute and Historical 

 and Art Society, and the Y. M. C. A. and 



