Albany, NY Summary

Albany, which has a population of 108,600, is the oldest city in New York State and one of the oldest in the nation. It is in central eastern New York and is its capital city.

Albany sits on the western shores of the Hudson River, and marks the southern end of the magnificent Hudson Valley. It is the gateway city for resort areas in the Catskill, Adirondack, and Berkshire Mountains and is also a major shipping and industrial center.

It is one of the oldest European settlements in the United States — the first permanent European settlement in the area was Fort Orange. The British captured the town in 1664 and, in 1686, the name was changed to honor the Duke of York and Albany (later James II). In 1754, the Albany Congress met here and adapted Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, the first formal proposal to unite the colonies, and thus earned itself the nickname “Cradle of the Union.” Albany was chosen as the permanent state capital in 1797.

Albany grew rapidly in the nineteenth century with the opening of the Champlain Canal, the Erie Canal, and the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad. At this time it became the financial and industrial center of upstate New York. In 1930, a deepwater channel was dredged to accommodate 250 ocean-going vessels per year. By the 1950s, city dwellers and their manufacturing jobs moved out to the suburbs, leaving a decaying urban core.

Fortunately, the construction of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza and other government facilities has served to revitalize the city. Its economy revolves primarily around government activities.

Points of interest found in the city include the Albany Institute of History and Art; the New York State Library, which exhibits the original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation; and the New York State Museum, the oldest museum in the state.

The Empire State Plaza has a cultural center, museums, shopping areas, and also an office tower that is the tallest structure in the state outside of New York City.

The Hudson-Mohawk Bikeway offers pleasant biking and jogging paths along the two rivers. Albany offers some above-average dining options, attributed, at least in part, to the nearby Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park. Saratoga Springs and the Adirondacks are to the north, while the Hudson River Valley and New York City are to the south via I-87. Albany County Airport, plus buses and trains, service the area.