Capital District
Encyclopedia
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York
that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany
, the capital of the state: Albany County
, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County
, and Saratoga County. Often the other counties of the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam Combined Statistical Area
and Greene County
are included, especially for economic and demographic compilations and regional planning.
The Capital District is notable for many historical and industrial events. The Battle of Saratoga
and the Albany Plan of Union are two historical events from before American independence which are now considered of national and sometimes also of international importance. Many multinational corporations were founded in the Capital District including New York Central Railroad
, American Express
, General Electric
, American Locomotive Company
, and International Paper
.
The Capital District was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century and came under British control in 1664. Albany has been the permanent capital of the state of New York since 1797.
, Troy
, Rensselaer
, Watervliet
, and Cohoes
; along with what are now the towns of Colonie
(including the villages of Colonie
and Menands
), Green Island
, North Greenbush
, and East Greenbush. Later, Schenectady
was added to this district as well.
In the 1910s several organizations covering the area of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and in between used the name Capital District in their name, such as the Capital District Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1913, the Capital District Life Underwriters Association also in 1913, and the Capital District Recreation League. The Capital District Recreation League, formed in 1916, proposed a Capital District Park (also referred to as the Six City Park) to be roughly 8 miles (12.9 km) from each of the six cities (Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Troy, and Watervliet). The location proposed was the area of the Shaker settlement
. The park was never created, though in 1928 the location was used for the Albany County Airport
for the same reason of its central location to those same cities.
and Northeastern New York (NENY) are terms or nickname
s sometimes used to refer to the Capital District in combination with counties surrounding the area (usually those to the north, and to a lesser degree west of the four core counties of the District). Capital-Saratoga is used for tourism purposes to promote Albany, Fulton, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties. Different definitions or uses of the names Capital District, Capital Region, and NENY may sometimes be used on regions that include Hamilton County
; and the extreme northern portions of the Mid-Hudson Valley
, usually Ulster
and Dutchess
counties; or extreme southern sections of Essex County
.
The Capital District is a part of the area marketed under the name Tech Valley in recognition of the technology companies that have moved to the region, or are being wooed by governmental or educational institutions to relocate to the area. The 19-county region, which extends from the Canadian border south to Orange County
, is marketed by organizations such as the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth.
The first European settlers in the area were French
fur traders; in 1540 they built a fort on Castle Island in Albany, but it was soon destroyed by the annual freshet
. Permanent European claims and settlement began in 1609 when Henry Hudson
sailed
north up the Hudson River
in the name of the Dutch
. During the same year, Samuel Champlain explored south down Lake Champlain
and Lake George
in the name of France. Conflict soon ensued between the French and Dutch for control of the fur trade and both made alliances with different Native American
tribes
. In 1630, Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a Dutch patroonship in the area, which encompassed much of the area that is now the Capital District. In 1664 the English successfully conquered the Dutch while rivalry with the French continued. The Dutch, and then the English, maintained focus on settlement and farming while the French incursion into this area was limited to hunting for furs, trading with the natives, and building a few forts. Conflict arose when the French-built Fort Carillon
and the British-built Fort William Henry
near each other, both in order to control the route between the Hudson River Valley and the Champlain Valley
.
Through the Dongan Charter
, Governor Thomas Dongan
granted Albany the right to purchase 500 acres (2 km²) in "Schaahtecogue" (today Schaghticoke, in Rensselaer County) and 1000 acres (4 km²) at "Tionnondoroge" (today Fort Hunter
, in Montgomery County
).
Arent van Curler
founded Schenectady in 1662; Fort Saratoga was built at present-day Schuylerville
in 1691; and Greenbush (present-day city of Rensselaer) was settled in the 1620s. South of Albany, settlement occurred quickly at first, but slowed as growth on the frontier pushed people north and west of Albany and left the southern reaches of the Capital District behind. Hudson
, in Columbia County
, was purchased from the natives in 1662 by Dutch farmers and speculators but did not see actual settlement and growth until 1783 when New England
ers, mainly from southeastern Massachusetts
and Rhode Island
, arrived. It was chartered as a city in 1785, becoming only the third city in the state.
The French and Indian War
saw several major battles in the Capital District, including at the aforementioned forts. In the end, the French were defeated, freeing the land for further settlement to the west and north of Albany. During the American Revolution
the area again saw fighting and Fort Ticonderoga experienced notable action. The Battle of Saratoga
, which took place in the present-day town of Stillwater
, is considered the turning point of the war. In 1776, General Philip Schuyler
built a small fleet of ships at Whitehall
. They were used by Benedict Arnold
in the Battle of Valcour Island
. The event led to Whitehall's modern-day claim to be the birthplace of the United States Navy
.
After the Revolution, settlements continued to proliferate west and north of the Albany area. North of Albany, along the river, settlements grew quickly: Waterford (oldest continuously incorporated village in the US, incorporated in 1794), Troy (settled in 1787, chartered as a village 1801, city in 1816), Lansingburgh (a village in 1763, annexed to Troy in 1900), and Watervliet (settled in 1643 and incorporated as a village in 1836 as West Troy, city in 1897). West from Schenectady, land purchases in the 1750s led to settlements at Fonda
and Fultonville
in Montgomery County, but land purchases elsewhere, such as at Gloversville
in Fulton County
did not see settlement until the end of the 18th century when the Iroqouis threat had been eliminated by the Sullivan Expedition
in 1779, which came as retaliation for the Cherry Valley Massacre
in nearby Otsego County
.
on November 1, 1683; it was one of the original 12 counties. In 1772, Charlotte County
and Tryon County
were both formed from parts of Albany County. Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in 1784, and from part of that, Warren County was created in 1813. Tryon County was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, and from part of that, Fulton County was created in 1838. Tryon County was large: it encompassed the lands from five miles (8 km) west of Schenectady to the western indeterminate boundary of the Province of New York.
What remained of Albany County in 1774 became the most populated county in the state with a population of 42,921 and it continued to be the most populous county until at least 1790, when the population was 75,921. Albany lost population as new counties were created from within: Columbia County was created in 1786; Rensselaer and Saratoga counties were formed in 1791; Schoharie County was created in 1795 from parts of both Albany and Otsego
counties (Otsego having been created from part of Montgomery County in 1791); Greene County was formed in 1800 from parts of both Albany and Ulster
counties; Schenectady County was created in 1809; and Warren County was formed in 1813 from Washington County. Fulton County was the last county in the Capital District to be formed. A graphical representation of the county breakup timeline can be seen below.
Many geographical features weighed heavily in the area's early industrialization. The abundance of small creeks with waterfalls led to early adoption of the waterwheel, while water navigation south on the Hudson and land routes west along the relatively flat Mohawk Valley
allowed for easy access to and from resources and markets in those areas. In the late 1790s stage lines began to connect the various cities and villages in the area; this network would then connect the area to the rest of the country in the early 19th century. The early 19th century also saw the rise of turnpikes (the Great Western Turnpike
would be the first in 1799), plank road
s, and post roads. It was in Albany in 1809 that Robert Fulton
first demonstrated that steam boats could be economically successful with a trip to the city of New York
. In 1813, to support the army in the War of 1812
, the US government built the Watervliet Arsenal
in West Troy, one of the earliest large scale industrial complexes in the Capital District. In 1823 the Federal Dam
was built on the Hudson, allowing for navigation north past Troy to Waterford and Cohoes. The Champlain
and Erie
canals were opened in 1823 and 1825, respectively. Their completion connected the area to the Great Lakes
and Saint Lawrence River
, leading to a large influx in industrialization and immigration. Shortly after the completion of the canals, in 1831, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company (M&H) built the Albany and Schenectady Railroad
between those two cities. This was the first railway in the state. Railroads, like the plank/post roads and canals before them, made Albany an even more important transportation hub. In 1853 Erastus Corning
consolidated 10 railroads stretching from Albany to Buffalo as the New York Central Railroad
, headquartered in Albany until Cornelius Vanderbilt
took over in 1867 and moved the company to New York City.
Manufacturing consequently became prominent in the area. Gloversville was labeled the "headquarters of the glove and mitten industry" and became the preeminent glove-manufacturing and leather-working region in New York. Cohoes became known as the Spindle City for its large cotton mills, due mainly to Harmony Mills
, the largest cotton mill complex in the world when it opened in 1872. Troy became famous for its iron works due to Burden Iron Works, though later Troy would earn the nickname of Collar City due to Cluett, Peabody & Co., which made Arrow
brand shirts at the largest collar, cuff, and shirt factory in the world at the time. In 1887 Thomas Edison
moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady, and in 1892 Schenectady became the headquarters of the General Electric Company (GE). Schenectady Locomotive Works
, along with seven other locomotive manufacturers, merged in 1901 and the American Locomotive Company
(ALCO) was formed and headquartered in Schenectady. Due to the dominance of GE and ALCO in their respective industries, Schenectady would gain the nicknames of Electric City and "The City that Lights and Hauls the World". The nature of this industry lent itself to the creation of many labor-saving inventions, such as the horseshoe machine of Henry Burden
, the pre-shrinking fabric machines of Sanford Cluett, the power knitting loom of Timothy Bailey, the railroad air-brake of George Westinghouse
, and the hundreds of electricity-related improvements of General Electric Company scientists.
and Kiplingers magazines as having the highest annual property burden rates nationwide!
The decline of manufacturing from the northeastern United States contributed to a general decline as well. Watervliet, Cohoes, and especially Troy lost the competitive edge that came with being at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers: the location no longer meant better access to markets, waterfalls no longer made the cheapest power, and cheap labor in the southern and western parts of the nation became important to companies. General Electric moved their headquarters to Connecticut from Schenectady in the mid-70s. Within the Capital District manufacturing shifted to the suburbs as well since the suburbs had large open spaces for larger warehouses, factories, and office parks, while the cities were constrained in available land. Albany International, with their headquarters and factory straddling the Menands
and Albany border, built a new factory in 1987 in rural East Greenbush, as did Garden Way, headquartered in Troy. The region's first technology park was built in the 1980s in rural North Greenbush by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI).
Not only was there a shift in population and manufacturing to the suburbs, there was also a shift in retail shopping as well; retail sales in the cities declined 1 percent between 1972 and 1987, having increased 63 percent in the suburbs. In 1957 Westgate Plaza became the first "suburban"-style shopping center in the area; it was and still is within the city limits of Albany however, but then two years later in 1959 Stuyvesant Plaza
was built outside Albany in the neighboring town of Guilderland
. 1966 saw the opening of Colonie Center
, the area's first enclosed shopping mall. When built it drew shoppers from hundreds of miles from Albany. Macy's
and Sears originally wanted to build in downtown Albany, but interference from Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
led to those stores choosing to move into Colonie Center instead. Problems with Mayor Corning would also force the Albany Times Union newspaper to move from Albany to Colonie in the 1970s.
Five more enclosed malls were built in the next ten years, all outside of city limits: Mohawk Mall
outside Schenectady, Northway Mall
across from Colonie Center, Pyramid Mall outside Saratoga Springs, Aviation Mall
outside Glens Falls, and Clifton Country Mall in Clifton Park. In 1977 the first mall built within a city was completed: the Amsterdam Mall in Amsterdam. This destroyed much of Amsterdam's downtown. The next year, Troy opened the Uncle Sam Atrium, and in 1986 Cohoes attempted an urban mall. All three failed and ended up as office space.
a plan (referred to as the "Albany Plan") was devised to move state workers out of the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
and move them to the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Wolf Road in Colonie. Just prior to and as part of the Albany Plan regional headquarters of NYSDOT were built on the corner of State and Broadway in Schenectady, state workers were moved to the Troy Atrium in Troy, and the DEC and Comptrollers buildings were built in Albany. Along with new state workers and buildings Albany also saw the refurbishment and renovation of the State Education Building, State Capitol, Smith Building, and the NY Court of Appeals. New construction also occurred at other levels of government with the building of the Albany County Family Court and with the city refurbishing the Palace Theatre.
Private investment in downtown Albany saw an influx of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs; especially on Pearl Street and the first new privately owned office tower in 20 years was built on Broadway. In Schenectady the Metroplex Authority allowed for massive private investment on State Street in the vicinity of Proctor's Theatre. Along with Proctor's being expanded, two new hotels, a large movie theater, and the headquarters of Price Chopper moving Downtown
from the suburbs of neighboring Rotterdam, that downtown area has seen a huge revival.
The Capital District's most prominent geological features were formed by glaciers creating its major rivers and valleys through ancient mountain ranges. The Hudson River forms the Hudson Valley
which is a north-south running valley through the core of the Capital District while its tributary the Mohawk River forms the Mohawk Valley
which runs west from Schenectady, the Schoharie Creek
, a tributary of the Mohawk, forms the Schoharie Valley
which runs through Schoharie County. Major mountain ranges are the Adirondack Mountains
in the northwestern area and the Appalachian Mountains
along the southern and eastern sections. The Appalachians include the Rensselaer Plateau
in Rensselaer and southeastern Washington counties; the Taconic Mountains
along the Washington, Rensselaer, and Columbia counties' borders with Vermont
, Massachusetts
, and Connecticut
; the Allegheny Plateau
in Schoharie, Greene, and western Albany counties, which includes the Helderberg Escarpment
in Albany County; and the Catskill Mountains
in Greene County. Major lakes include the Great Sacandaga Lake
in Saratoga and Fulton counties, Saratoga Lake in Saratoga County, and Lake George
in Warren and Essex counties.
, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. Albany receives around 36.2 inches of rain per year, with 135 days of at least .01 inches of precipitation
. Snowfall is significant, totaling about 63 inches annually, but with less accumulation than the lake-effect areas to the north and west, being far enough from Lake Ontario
. The core of the region is however, close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from Nor'easter
s, and the region gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. The region also occasionally receives Alberta clipper
s. Winters are often very cold with fluctuating conditions, temperatures can drop to below 0 °F (−18 °C) at night. Summers in the region can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures above 90 °F (32.2 °C) and dew points near 70. Severe thunderstorms are common but tornadoes are rare.
Albany receives on average per year 69 sunny days, 111 partly cloudy days, and 185 cloudy days; and an average, over the course of a year, of less than four hours of sunshine per day, with just over an average of 2.5 hours per day over the course of the winter. The chance during daylight hours of sunshine is 53%, with the highest percentage of sunny daylight hours being in July with 64%, and the lowest month is November with 37%.
The Capital District, having a history of settlement stretching back 400 years, has had many different architectural styles built over the years. Early Dutch farmhouses are still standing in the rural towns, especially west of Albany, such as the Mabee House
. The Van Ostrande-Radliff House
(1728) in Albany and the Rosa House in Schenectady (before 1700) are the oldest houses in each city. In 1885 American Architect and Building News, a magazine with national circulation, polled its readers asking what the nation's Top Ten most beautiful buildings were. Two buildings in the city of Albany made the list: Albany City Hall
and the New York State Capitol
; both finished in 1883 and designed by Henry Hobson Richardson
.
Troy has many distinctive features in architecture that sets it apart, such as its ornamental ironwork, cast-iron storefronts such as the Arts Center of the Capital Region, and the abundance of windows by Tiffany such as St. John's Episcopal Church, Troy Public Library
, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church
. The Capital District also has a large selection of brownstone
buildings especially in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany and the Washington Park neighborhood
in Troy. Washington Park in Troy is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the state.
Schenectady's Stockade
neighborhood has representations of residential architecture from all periods in its 300 year history including Dutch, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian. Also in Schenectady is the GE Realty Plot
built by General Electric as homes for their employees, the houses are in revival styles such as Tudor, Georgian, Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial, and Spanish Colonial. The first all electric house was built by GE in the Realty Plot to showcase its products. In Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood is a style of residential architecture that is rare in the rest of the Capital District, bungalows in the Spanish revival style, with red tile roofs and stucco walls, only 27 still exist and are the remnants of the Winchester Gables development.
For recreation the Capital District has many state and local parks, preserves, hiking trails, public pools, and ice skating rinks.
The following state parks are in the Capital District: Cherry Plain
, Max V. Shaul
, Saratoga Spa
, Grafton Lakes
, Mine Kill
, Schodack Island
, Hudson River Islands
, Moreau Lake
, Thompson's Lake
, John Boyd Thacher
, and Peebles Island. While they are frequently referred to as state parks, the Adirondack Park and Catskill Park have much more in common with a national forest: they mix private with public land and have year-round residents within their boundaries in long-established settlements. The boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks are often referred to as the Blue Line
. Parts of Fulton, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties are in the Adirondack Park. Much of Greene County is in the Catskill Park
The various municipalities of the Capital District have established many parks, small and large, for the recreational enjoyment of the residents and visitors of the area. Central Park in the city of Schenectady has over 4,000 individual rose bushes of between 300 and 400 different varieties in its rose garden at the Wright Avenue entrance. Washington Park in Albany is home to many festivals, including the TulipFest and the LatinFest.
One of the largest events in the Capital District is the Tulip Fest
held in Albany every spring at Washington Park
. The tradition stems from when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
got a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip
as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. In addition, he sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
to name a variety as Albany's tulip. On July 11, 1948 her reply was "Her Majesty gladly accepts the invitation to designate a tulip as the official flower of Albany." She picked the variety "Orange Wonder", a bronzy orange shaded scarlet. The first Tulip Fest was celebrated the next year on May 14, 1949 with opening ceremonies still carried on today as tradition, such as the sweeping of State Street and the crowning of a Tulip Queen. The African-American tradition of Pinkster
fest, whose origins are traced back even further to Dutch festivities, was later incorporated into the Tulip Fest. Attendance to the festival in 2010 was approximately 80,000.
The largest Flag Day
parade in the United States is held every year in Troy. The 42nd annual parade in 2009 is along a two mile (3 km) long route. First Night
celebrations are held in Saratoga Springs, while in 2006 Albany decided to eliminate its First Night celebrations in favor of a new "Albany WinterFestival" (WinterFest).
Other major festivals in the Capital District include ethnic festivals. The Albany LatinFest, which has been held since 1996, drew 10,000 people to Washington Park in 2008. In Schenectady the growing Guyanese
community has celebrated the Guyanese Family Fun Day for several years in that city's Central Park. PolishFest is a three day celebration of Polish culture in the Capital District, held in the town of Colonie for the past eight years.
The Capital District has many enclosed malls that are regional malls (malls over 400000 sq ft (37,161.2 m²) ), and two that are classified as super-regional malls (malls with over 800000 sq ft (74,322.4 m²) ). Crossgates Mall
in Guilderland
and Colonie Center
in Colonie are the two super-regional malls with over 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²) of rentable space in each. Regional malls are located in Schenectady, Saratoga, and Warren counties.
In the Capital District are several regional amusement parks and water parks. The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
is a Six Flags
park in Queensbury
with an indoor waterpark and hotel across the street. Zoom Flume Water Park is in East Durham. Hoffman's Playland in the town of Colonie is a children's amusement park.
During the winter months the Capital District has many places to go for such cold-weather activities as skiing, snowboarding
, tubing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice climbing
. Some downhill ski centers include Maple Ridge in Schenectady County, Willard Mountain in Washington County, Windham Mountain and Hunter Mountain in Greene County, West Mountain and Hickory Ski Center in Warren County which has the sixth highest vertical drop in the state. In addition to downhill skiing most also have cross-country skiing
trails as well. There are also cross-country trails at the state parks in the area, the Schenectady County Forest in Duanesburg
and Pine Ridge XC Ski Area in Rensselaer County. There are over 18 miles (29 km) of official trails for snowshoeing at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
The 11 counties of the Capital District are divided into 13 cities and 143 towns, with 62 villages that are inside one or more towns. One village, Green Island is coterminous with its town and share only one government institution. The municipalities in the Capital District range in size from villages with a few hundred residents to Albany (the largest city) with over 95,000 and Colonie (the largest town) with over 79,000.
in the United States including the first written reference to Santa (Sinterclaas) in 1675 and the first publishing of 'Twas the Night before Christmas
in 1823.
, the 56th largest in the United States, includes all of the 11 counties of the Capital District, along with Hamilton County, New York
, as well as Berkshire County
, Massachusetts
, and Bennington County, Vermont
. In total, there are 16 AM/MW
stations, 30 full-power FM stations, 14 low-power FM translators, 8 full power analog TV stations, 5 low-power TV translators, and 8 full power digital TV (DTV
) stations licensed to communities within 30 miles (48 km) of downtown Albany.
In terms of broadcast media, Albany is part of Arbitron
market #63 (radio), and Nielsen
DMA #57 (television), and is a broadcast market with historical relevance. The pioneering influence of General Electric
in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television (WRGB
), WRGB also has the distinction of being the very first affiliated station of the NBC
Television Network. In 1947, this region was also home to the first independently owned and operated stand-alone FM radio station in the United States, W47A and one of the earliest FM broadcast stations (today's WRVE
), in addition to the first federally licensed radio station in upstate New York, WGY. In the early 2000s, the greater Albany market had the distinction of having the highest concentration of FM
broadcast stations east of the Mississippi River
. There are no radio stations in the Albany area that provide programming in languages other than English on a full-time basis. A few individual programs; in languages including Spanish, Italian, and Arabic; are scheduled primarily on college owned and operated stations.
The Albany Times Union is the area's primary daily newspaper; its headquarters moved to suburban Colonie from Albany in the 1970s after a dispute with then-Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
over land needed for expansion. More localized are the Daily Gazette
, which focuses primarily on Schenectady; the Troy Record
, which focuses on Troy; The Post-Star
, which focuses on Washington, Warren, and northern Saratoga counties; The Saratogian
, which focuses on Saratoga County; the Amsterdam Recorder for Montgomery and Fulton County; the Gloversville Leader-Herald for Fulton County; the Daily Mail for Greene County; and the Register-Star for Columbia County. Metroland
is the alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday, while The Business Review is a business weekly published each Friday. Capital Region Living is a monthly magazine available in Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington counties in New York; Bennington and Rutland counties in Vermont
; and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
.
The Capital District has been the birthplace of several important foods in American food culture. Potato chips were invented by African-American/Native American
chef George Crum
, at the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant in Saratoga Springs. The club sandwich
was also invented in Saratoga Springs, at the Saratoga Club-house, today the Canfield Casino
, in 1894. Pie à la Mode
was first made at the Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge
, Washington County in the 1890s.
Sturgeon
in the Hudson River was once so plentiful that the fish was referred to as "Albany beef".
team in the National League
for four seasons from 1879
to 1882
. In 1883
the New York Gothams, later the New York and San Francisco Giants
, took the Trojans place in the National League. Nearly half of the original Gotham players had been members of the Trojans.
NBA head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
Phil Jackson
won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons
to the 1984 CBA championship. Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50–6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, Denver Nuggets
head coach George Karl
was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars Mario Elie
and Vincent Askew
were part of that season's squad. A third NBA head coach has roots in the Capital District as well, Pat Riley
, most famous as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
, but also of the New York Knicks
and Miami Heat
. Riley played for Linton High School in Schenectady, where he was also a football star. He also played on the Schenectady Little League Baseball team when in 1954 it won the Little League Baseball World Series.
Mike Tyson
received his early training in the Capital District and his first professional fight was in Albany in 1985 and Tyson's first televised fight was in Troy in 1986. He fought professionally four times in Albany and twice each in Troy and Glens Falls between 1985 and 1986.
Since 1988, the Siena College
men's basketball team (the Siena Saints
) have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments
(1989
, 1999
, 2002
, 2008
, 2009
, and 2010
)
Roller derby leagues in the area include Albany's Albany All-Stars Roller Derby and Troy's Hellions of Troy Roller Derby
.
The economy of the Capital District was at the beginning of settlement by Europeans dominated by the fur trade, especially in beaver pelts, hence Albany's early name of Beverwyck. But as settlement grew and matured the economy became traditionally anchored by several large manufacturing industries, such as the glove and leather industry in Fulton and Montgomery counties, American Locomotive and General Electric in Schenectady, first steel and then the shirt industry in Troy, and lumber in Albany and Watervliet. Now the economy of the region is heavily anchored by the state as the largest employer in the eleven-county region, employing thirteen percent of the non-farm workforce in the Capital District. One-fourth of the area's workforce works for the state or local governments, with the state of New York, the Federal government, and Albany County as the first, third, and eighth largest employers in the area. There have traditionally been three legs holding up the region's economy- state government, heath care, and education. Health care provides a large and growing sector of the region's economy as well. Albany Medical Center
, St. Peter's Health Care Services, and Northeast Health are the fourth, fifth, and sixth largest employers in the eleven-county Capital District. Price Chopper, a privately owned grocery chain headquartered in Schenectady, is the 13th largest employer in the entire state of New York with 14,000 employees.
Manufacturing has been disappearing but is still important, and makes up six percent of the non-farm workforce. Major factories in the area are owned by General Electric, still the region's largest private-sector employer, and spin-offs such as Momentive Performance Materials' plant in Waterford, Saratoga County and the SABIC
plant in Selkirk, Albany County. Mechanical Technology Inc. (MTI) of Schenectady, another spin-off from General Electric, has helped put the region on the map for alternative energy production, as has its own spin-off, Plug Power
of Latham and the Center for Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The economy in recent decades has been pushing towards the high-tech with such promotions as the moniker of Tech Valley. Tech Valley is a marketing name first coined by Walter Altes in 1998 to promote the Hudson Valley/Capital District area as a high-tech industry area similar to Silicon Valley
and Boston
.
The Capital District has historically been linked to banking, finance, and insurance. Bank of Albany, founded in 1792, was the second bank established in the state, and American Express was founded in Albany. Finance and insurance employs six percent of the workforce in the area. Many important regional and national banks are headquartered in the area, such as Trustco Bank
, and many national banks have regional headquarters in Albany, such as Bank of America
and KeyBank. Albank, Norstar, Troy Savings Bank
, Hudson River Bankcorp, and KeyBank were all founded in the area and have either moved their headquarters out of the region, such as KeyBank in 1994, or been merged into larger companies such as Hudson River Bankcorp into First Niagara Bank
, out of Buffalo
. Though Bank of America is the nation's largest bank it ranks only sixth in the region in bank deposits. Citizens Bank
is the region's largest bank by market share of deposit holdings (32.5%), while Trustco Bank is largest by number of branches (52) in the area, as defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
.
In 2006 Forbes ranked the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA the 18th best place for business in the nation. It was the second highest ranking in the Northeastern United States
and the highest in the state. The Glens Falls MSA ranked 85th overall, and 35th for income growth, in the small metro category. According to the United States Census Bureau
the Capital District's gross domestic product
(GDP) was $32.345 billion in 2008 (in constant 2001 US dollars), up 3.4 percent from the year before. The region ranked 42nd in growth rate, and as the 56th largest metro area.
outside of the New York City metropolitan area. Median household income was roughly $43,000 in 1999 and its educational attainment profile, with 28 percent of adults having a college degree, is slightly above state average and well-above the national average. The Glens Falls metro area however lags the state and the nation in both income and educational attainment. Median household income was slightly under $40,000 in 1999, and only 19 percent of adults held college degrees.
The Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); which, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, includes Albany
, Rensselaer
, Saratoga
, Schenectady
, and Schoharie
counties; makes up a large portion of the Capital District. The Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA was ranked the 56th most populous in the United States of America in the 2000 census, with a total population of 848,879. Warren and Washington counties, in the northern reaches of the Capital District, make up the Glens Falls MSA; while Fulton County is the Gloversville Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), formed in 1990, Montgomery County the Amsterdam μSA (formed in 1990 from Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA), and Columbia County is the Hudson μSA (formed in 1990). The Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Glens Falls MSA's along with those Micropolitan Stat. Areas combine to form the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam Combined Statistical Area
(A-S-A CSA). The A-S-A CSA is the vast majority of the Capital District, leaving out only Greene County. It has a population of 1,118,095 according to the 2000 US census, and is ranked 38 out of the 123 CSAs in the US
, and third largest in the state. Adding the population of Greene County in the 2000 census, 48,195, to the population of the A-S-A MSA there is 1,166,290 persons in the 11 counties of the Capital District.
and the United States Congress
. Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand
(D) represent the state in the United States Senate
. The area contains three congressional districts. The 20th district
makes up most of the south, east, and north of the Capital District, while much of the rest is part of the 21st district
. A small part of Fulton County is part of 23rd district
. Currently the districts are represented by Chris Gibson (R
) (20th district), Paul Tonko
(D
) (21st district), and Bill Owens (D
) (23rd district).
The area is represented in the State Legislature by nine Assembly districts
and four Senate districts
. For the Assembly the area is represented by Jack McEneny (D) of Albany (104th district); George Amedore
(R) of Rotterdam (105th district); Ronald Canestrari
(D) of Cohoes (106th district); Timothy P. Gordon
(I
) of Delmar (108th district); Robert Reilly (D) of Colonie (109th district); James Tedisco
(R) of Schenectady (110th district); Tony Jordan (R), (112th district); Teresa Sayward
(R) of Willsboro
(113th district); and Peter Lopez (R) of Schoharie (127th district). In the State Senate the area is represented by Roy McDonald
(R) of Wilton (43rd district); Hugh Farley
(R) of Schenectady (44th district); Betty Little (R) of Queensbury (45th district); and Neil Breslin
(D) of Albany (46th district).
In Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties there are 54 public school districts, each of which is under the umbrella of one of four Boards of Cooperative Educational Services
(BOCES) in the area: Capital Region BOCES, Questar III (Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene BOCES), Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES, or Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES. Some of these districts cross county borders since school district boundaries are independent of town and county borders. The smallest district by student enrollment is North Greenbush Common School District, with 20 students in 2006 and the largest school district is Shenendehowa Central School District
, with 9,745 students in the end of the 2008 school year.
has had two US Presidents attend (Chester A. Arthur
and Jimmy Carter
). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy is the oldest continually existing technical university in the English-speaking world. Albany Law, Albany College of Pharmacy, Sage College of Albany, and Albany Medical Center (which consists of Albany Medical Center Hospital
and the Albany Medical College) are independent of each other but all share one campus as part of the University Heights Association, in Albany. Also in the Capital District are two Catholic schools, Siena College, a school in the Francisican tradition located in Loudenville, and St. Rose College, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in yjr Pine Hills section of Albany.
By far the largest and most important educational institution in the Capital District is The University at Albany, one of the four major university centers of the State University of New York, also located in Albany. It has an enrollment of over 17,500 students from more than 100 nations at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Students can choose from 111 undergraduate majors and minors and 120-plus graduate programs. Many of these programs are nationally ranked, among them criminal justice, information technology, public administration, social welfare and sociology. UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ranks number one in the world.
in the nation. Today, Interstates, Amtrak
, and the Albany International Airport
continue to make the Capital District a major crossroads of the Northeastern United States
.
The Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO) for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Every metropolitan area in the United States with a population of over 50,000 must have a MPO in order to get any federal transportation funding. The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) uses an MPO to make decisions on what projects are most important to a metro area for immediate versus long term funding. The USDOT will not approve federal funds for transportation projects unless they are on an MPO's list. The Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council (A/GFTC) is the MPO for the Glens Falls MSA (and the town of Moreau
, in Saratoga County
).
The Capital District is situated at a major crossroads of the Northeastern United States
, and was so even before Interstates
and the US highway system. Many of the US and state routes were originally plank roads or turnpikes connecting the region. It is here that east-west Interstate 90
(I-90) and north-south Interstate 87
(I-87) meet at Exit 24 of the Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway. Exit 24 is the busiest exit on the Thruway. I-87 parallels the much older US Route 9W south of Albany and US Route 9 north and I-90 parallels New York State Route 5
west from Albany; all three highways are still important for local and regional traffic despite the proximity of the Interstates. The Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway is a toll-road which carries I-90 west from Exit 24 at Albany and I-87 south. North of Albany I-87 is a non-toll highway called the Adirondack Northway. East of Albany I-90 is toll-free until meeting up with the Berkshire Spur of the Thruway in Columbia County, at which point it joins the Spur and is a toll road to the Massachusetts border. Both I-90 and I-87 have three-digit Interstate spurs, Interstate 787
(I-787) and Interstate 890
(I-890). I-787 connects with the Thruway/I-87 at Exit 23 and travels north connecting Albany with Watervliet, Cohoes, and Troy. I-787 parallels New York State Route 32
(Route 32), which remains an important road through those cities and beyond to and through Saratoga County. I-890 connects downtown Schenectady and the General Electric plant with I-90 at both ends east and west. Interstate 88
starts at the Thruway (I-90) in Schenectady County and travels through Schoharie County to the Southern Tier
of New York and the city of Binghamton
, I-88 was originally planned to extend through the Capital District and exit the area into Vermont
and end in Portsmouth
, New Hampshire
. I-88 parallels New York State Route 7
(Route 7) also another major highway in the Capital District, I-88's extension that was never built was to continue to parallel (and in many places replace) Route 7. One place in the Capital District in which I-88's route has been built but remained as part of a restructured Route 7 is the limited access highway section between the Northway and Troy, it was once called "Alternate 7". Route 7 continues through Troy and is an important route to Vermont. Albany has several short arterials that help connect it to the suburban and rural fringes, such as New York State Route 85
which begins as a limited access highway from I-90 in Albany, but then changes to a two lane highway south of the city limits, and the South Mall Arterial
which connects Albany to Rensselaer and carries US Route 20 and US Route 9. US Route 4 is an important route in the Capital District and starts in East Greenbush, Rensselaer County and though it is labelled as east-west in the other states in which it runs, it is labelled as north-south in New York.
The four core counties of the Capital District are served by buses of the Capital District Transportation Authority
, which has transit hubs in the three principal cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. There is also express bus service between Saratoga Springs and Albany. The CDTA serves a large part of Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties, and has recently started expanding its service in Saratoga County, but currently does not serve north of Saratoga Springs. The Greater Glens Falls Transit serves the city of Glens Falls, and its suburbs in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties. The Gloversville Transit System covers the twin cities of Gloversville and Johnstown along with their suburbs in Fulton County, along with one longer distance route to and through Amsterdam in Montgomery County and back. The Schoharie County Public Transit services a large swath of that county. The city of Mechanicville
, Saratoga County runs a public transit service on four routes which cover the city and the surrounding suburbs in the towns of Stillwater and Halfmoon in Saratoga County and the hamlet of Hemstreet Park in the town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County.
(FAA). In 1978 the FAA assigned the Capital District Regional Planning Commission to be responsible for this region's aviation system planning and to provide technical assistance. The Upper Hudson Region has 26 airports open to public use, with 13 designated as system airports. Those 13 airports are:
(north to Montreal, Quebec and south to the city of New York), Empire Service
(west to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, south to New York), Ethan Allen Express (northeast to Rutland, Vermont and south to New York), Maple Leaf (west to Toronto and south to New York), and the Lake Shore Limited (at Albany-Rensselaer separate routes from Boston and New York merge to one train west to Chicago, on way east one train splits to two, one east to Boston another south to New York). Amtrak stations in the region are:
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, the capital of the state: Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
, and Saratoga County. Often the other counties of the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
and Greene County
Greene County, New York
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Its name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Its county seat is Catskill...
are included, especially for economic and demographic compilations and regional planning.
The Capital District is notable for many historical and industrial events. The Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
and the Albany Plan of Union are two historical events from before American independence which are now considered of national and sometimes also of international importance. Many multinational corporations were founded in the Capital District including New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
, and International Paper
International Paper
International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 59,500 employees, and it is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
.
The Capital District was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century and came under British control in 1664. Albany has been the permanent capital of the state of New York since 1797.
Etymology
The term Capital District is commonly used to refer to the area due to its location surrounding the state capital. This is similar to other capital districts throughout the world, all of which are associated with a respective capital city. The earliest reference to the name "Capital District" seems to stem from an abbreviated name for a Capital Police District, which was attempted by the state in the late 1860s comprising land that is now the cities of AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, Rensselaer
Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392; in 1920, it was 10,832. The name is from Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original landowner of the region in New...
, Watervliet
Watervliet, New York
Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...
, and Cohoes
Cohoes, New York
Cohoes is an incorporated city located at the northeast corner of Albany County in the US state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile production to its growth. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 16,168...
; along with what are now the towns of Colonie
Colonie (town), New York
Colonie is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. It is the most populous suburb of Albany, New York, and is the third largest town in area in Albany County, occupying about 11% of the county. Several hamlets exist within the town. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population...
(including the villages of Colonie
Colonie (village), New York
Colonie is a village in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 7,793 at the 2010 census.The village of Colonie is within the town of Colonie...
and Menands
Menands, New York
Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand...
), Green Island
Green Island, New York
Green Island is a coterminous town and village in Albany County, New York, USA some 8 miles north of Albany, New York. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgams in New York. The population was 2,620 at the 2010 census...
, North Greenbush
North Greenbush, New York
North Greenbush is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. North Greenbush is located in the western part of the county. The population was 10,805 at the 2000 census....
, and East Greenbush. Later, Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
was added to this district as well.
In the 1910s several organizations covering the area of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and in between used the name Capital District in their name, such as the Capital District Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1913, the Capital District Life Underwriters Association also in 1913, and the Capital District Recreation League. The Capital District Recreation League, formed in 1916, proposed a Capital District Park (also referred to as the Six City Park) to be roughly 8 miles (12.9 km) from each of the six cities (Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Troy, and Watervliet). The location proposed was the area of the Shaker settlement
Watervliet Shaker Historic District
Watervliet Shaker Historic District, in Colonie, New York, is the site of the first Shaker community. It was established in 1776. The primary Shaker community, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, was started a bit later...
. The park was never created, though in 1928 the location was used for the Albany County Airport
Albany International Airport
Albany International Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority....
for the same reason of its central location to those same cities.
Alternative names
Capital Region, Capital-Saratoga, Tri-Cities, Capitaland, Tech ValleyTech Valley
Tech Valley is a marketing name for the eastern part of the US state of New York. It includes the Hudson Valley and Capital District, along with portions of the Mohawk Valley and North Country...
and Northeastern New York (NENY) are terms or nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s sometimes used to refer to the Capital District in combination with counties surrounding the area (usually those to the north, and to a lesser degree west of the four core counties of the District). Capital-Saratoga is used for tourism purposes to promote Albany, Fulton, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties. Different definitions or uses of the names Capital District, Capital Region, and NENY may sometimes be used on regions that include Hamilton County
Hamilton County, New York
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is named after Alexander Hamilton, the only member of the New York State delegation who signed the United States Constitution in 1787 and later the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Its county seat is Lake Pleasant...
; and the extreme northern portions of the Mid-Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, usually Ulster
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
and Dutchess
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
counties; or extreme southern sections of Essex County
Essex County, New York
Essex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,370. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Its county seat is Elizabethtown...
.
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, is marketed by organizations such as the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth.
First settlements
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
fur traders; in 1540 they built a fort on Castle Island in Albany, but it was soon destroyed by the annual freshet
Freshet
A freshet can refer to one of two things:* A flood resulting from heavy rain or a spring thaw. Whereas heavy rain often causes a flash flood, a spring thaw event is generally a more incremental process, depending upon local climate and topography...
. Permanent European claims and settlement began in 1609 when Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...
sailed
Halve Maen
The Halve Maen was a Dutch East India Company vlieboot which sailed into what is now New York harbor in September 1609. It was commissioned by the Dutch Republic to covertly find an eastern passage to China...
north up the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in the name of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. During the same year, Samuel Champlain explored south down Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
and Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
in the name of France. Conflict soon ensued between the French and Dutch for control of the fur trade and both made alliances with different Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
. In 1630, Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a Dutch patroonship in the area, which encompassed much of the area that is now the Capital District. In 1664 the English successfully conquered the Dutch while rivalry with the French continued. The Dutch, and then the English, maintained focus on settlement and farming while the French incursion into this area was limited to hunting for furs, trading with the natives, and building a few forts. Conflict arose when the French-built Fort Carillon
Fort Carillon
Fort Carillon was constructed by Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, to protect Lake Champlain from a British invasion. The fort was not far from Fort Saint Frédéric. It was built to prevent an attack on Canada and slow the advance of the enemy long enough to send reinforcements...
and the British-built Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George in the province of New York. It is best known as the site of notorious atrocities committed by Indians against the surrendered British and provincial troops following a successful French siege in 1757, an event which is the...
near each other, both in order to control the route between the Hudson River Valley and the Champlain Valley
Champlain Valley
The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending slightly into Quebec, Canada as part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St...
.
Through the Dongan Charter
Dongan Charter
The Dongan Charter is the 1686 document incorporating Albany, New York as a city. Albany's charter was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan of the Province of New York, a few months after Governor Dongan issued a similarly worded, but less detailed charter for the city of New York. The city of Albany...
, Governor Thomas Dongan
Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick
Thomas Donegan, 2nd Earl of Limerick was a member of Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and governor of the Province of New York...
granted Albany the right to purchase 500 acres (2 km²) in "Schaahtecogue" (today Schaghticoke, in Rensselaer County) and 1000 acres (4 km²) at "Tionnondoroge" (today Fort Hunter
Fort Hunter, New York
Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the town of Florida in Montgomery County, New York, on the Mohawk River at Schoharie Creek.In the 18th century, Fort Hunter was built as a fort near the location of one of the two primary Mohawk settlements. The Mohawk name for the village was rendered variously in...
, in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,708 people, 20,038 households, and 13,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
).
Arent van Curler
Arent van Curler
Arent van Curler, later van Corlaer, was the cousin of Kiliaen van Rensselaer and undertook the management of Rensselaer's patroonship Rensselaerswyck in the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1637....
founded Schenectady in 1662; Fort Saratoga was built at present-day Schuylerville
Schuylerville, New York
Schuylerville is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,197 at the 2000 census. The village is named after the Schuyler family....
in 1691; and Greenbush (present-day city of Rensselaer) was settled in the 1620s. South of Albany, settlement occurred quickly at first, but slowed as growth on the frontier pushed people north and west of Albany and left the southern reaches of the Capital District behind. Hudson
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, in Columbia County
Columbia County, New York
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
, was purchased from the natives in 1662 by Dutch farmers and speculators but did not see actual settlement and growth until 1783 when New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
ers, mainly from southeastern Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, arrived. It was chartered as a city in 1785, becoming only the third city in the state.
The French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
saw several major battles in the Capital District, including at the aforementioned forts. In the end, the French were defeated, freeing the land for further settlement to the west and north of Albany. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
the area again saw fighting and Fort Ticonderoga experienced notable action. The Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
, which took place in the present-day town of Stillwater
Stillwater (town), New York
Stillwater is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,522 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village called Stillwater...
, is considered the turning point of the war. In 1776, General Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
built a small fleet of ships at Whitehall
Whitehall (village), New York
Whitehall is a village located in the town of Whitehall in Washington County, New York, USA. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. They were used by Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
in the Battle of Valcour Island
Battle of Valcour Island
The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island...
. The event led to Whitehall's modern-day claim to be the birthplace of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
After the Revolution, settlements continued to proliferate west and north of the Albany area. North of Albany, along the river, settlements grew quickly: Waterford (oldest continuously incorporated village in the US, incorporated in 1794), Troy (settled in 1787, chartered as a village 1801, city in 1816), Lansingburgh (a village in 1763, annexed to Troy in 1900), and Watervliet (settled in 1643 and incorporated as a village in 1836 as West Troy, city in 1897). West from Schenectady, land purchases in the 1750s led to settlements at Fonda
Fonda, New York
Fonda is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 810 at the 2000 census. Fonda is the county seat of Montgomery County...
and Fultonville
Fultonville, New York
Fultonville is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 710 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat....
in Montgomery County, but land purchases elsewhere, such as at Gloversville
Gloversville, New York
Gloversville is a city in Fulton County, New York, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665- History :The...
in Fulton County
Fulton County, New York
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,531. Its name is in honor of Robert Fulton, who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
did not see settlement until the end of the 18th century when the Iroqouis threat had been eliminated by the Sullivan Expedition
Sullivan Expedition
The Sullivan Expedition, also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, was an American campaign led by Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General James Clinton against Loyalists and the four nations of the Iroquois who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War.The...
in 1779, which came as retaliation for the Cherry Valley Massacre
Cherry Valley massacre
The Cherry Valley Massacre was an attack by British and Seneca forces on a fort and the village of Cherry Valley in eastern New York on the cold, snowy and rainy morning of November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific frontier...
in nearby Otsego County
Otsego County, New York
Otsego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. The 2010 population was 62,259. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name Otsego is from a Mohawk word meaning "place of the rock."-History:...
.
Creation of the counties
The entire area of the Capital District was within the original boundaries of Albany County as established by the Province of New YorkProvince of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
on November 1, 1683; it was one of the original 12 counties. In 1772, Charlotte County
Charlotte County, Province of New York
Charlotte County was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772. The county was named for Charlotte, Princess Royal, oldest daughter and fourth child of George III of the United Kingdom. Its boundaries extended...
and Tryon County
Tryon County, New York
Tryon County, New York was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772. It was named for William Tryon, the last provincial governor of New York. Its boundaries extended far further than any current county...
were both formed from parts of Albany County. Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in 1784, and from part of that, Warren County was created in 1813. Tryon County was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, and from part of that, Fulton County was created in 1838. Tryon County was large: it encompassed the lands from five miles (8 km) west of Schenectady to the western indeterminate boundary of the Province of New York.
What remained of Albany County in 1774 became the most populated county in the state with a population of 42,921 and it continued to be the most populous county until at least 1790, when the population was 75,921. Albany lost population as new counties were created from within: Columbia County was created in 1786; Rensselaer and Saratoga counties were formed in 1791; Schoharie County was created in 1795 from parts of both Albany and Otsego
Otsego County, New York
Otsego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. The 2010 population was 62,259. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name Otsego is from a Mohawk word meaning "place of the rock."-History:...
counties (Otsego having been created from part of Montgomery County in 1791); Greene County was formed in 1800 from parts of both Albany and Ulster
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
counties; Schenectady County was created in 1809; and Warren County was formed in 1813 from Washington County. Fulton County was the last county in the Capital District to be formed. A graphical representation of the county breakup timeline can be seen below.
Industrialization and transportation
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
allowed for easy access to and from resources and markets in those areas. In the late 1790s stage lines began to connect the various cities and villages in the area; this network would then connect the area to the rest of the country in the early 19th century. The early 19th century also saw the rise of turnpikes (the Great Western Turnpike
Great Western Turnpike
The Great Western Turnpike was a series of east–west toll roads that crossed part of New York in the United States. The toll roads that carried this name were:...
would be the first in 1799), plank road
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
s, and post roads. It was in Albany in 1809 that Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
first demonstrated that steam boats could be economically successful with a trip to the city of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1813, to support the army in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, the US government built the Watervliet Arsenal
Watervliet Arsenal
The Watervliet Arsenal is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today produces much of the artillery for the army, as well as gun tubes for cannons, mortars,...
in West Troy, one of the earliest large scale industrial complexes in the Capital District. In 1823 the Federal Dam
Federal Dam (Troy)
The Federal Dam is a manmade dam built across the Hudson River in the US state of New York from Troy on the east bank to Green Island on the west bank. The major function of the dam is to improve navigability. It is located at mile 153 of the Hudson River, measuring from the beginning of the Hudson...
was built on the Hudson, allowing for navigation north past Troy to Waterford and Cohoes. The Champlain
Champlain Canal
The Champlain Canal is a canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
and Erie
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
canals were opened in 1823 and 1825, respectively. Their completion connected the area to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, leading to a large influx in industrialization and immigration. Shortly after the completion of the canals, in 1831, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company (M&H) built the Albany and Schenectady Railroad
Albany and Schenectady Railroad
The Albany & Schenectady Railroad, originally the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, was the first railroad built in the State of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States....
between those two cities. This was the first railway in the state. Railroads, like the plank/post roads and canals before them, made Albany an even more important transportation hub. In 1853 Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning I , American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; six years later he moved to Albany, New York, where he joined the mercantile business under James Spencer...
consolidated 10 railroads stretching from Albany to Buffalo as the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, headquartered in Albany until Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
took over in 1867 and moved the company to New York City.
Manufacturing consequently became prominent in the area. Gloversville was labeled the "headquarters of the glove and mitten industry" and became the preeminent glove-manufacturing and leather-working region in New York. Cohoes became known as the Spindle City for its large cotton mills, due mainly to Harmony Mills
Harmony Mills
Harmony Mills, in Cohoes, New York, United States, is an industrial district that is bordered by the Mohawk River and the old Erie Canal. It was listed as Harmony Mills Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and it was further declared a National Historic Landmark...
, the largest cotton mill complex in the world when it opened in 1872. Troy became famous for its iron works due to Burden Iron Works, though later Troy would earn the nickname of Collar City due to Cluett, Peabody & Co., which made Arrow
The Arrow Collar Man
The Arrow Collar Man was the name given to the various male models who appeared in advertisements for shirts and detachable shirt collars manufactured by Cluett Peabody & Company of Troy, New York...
brand shirts at the largest collar, cuff, and shirt factory in the world at the time. In 1887 Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady, and in 1892 Schenectady became the headquarters of the General Electric Company (GE). Schenectady Locomotive Works
Schenectady Locomotive Works
The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company in 1901.After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York....
, along with seven other locomotive manufacturers, merged in 1901 and the American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
(ALCO) was formed and headquartered in Schenectady. Due to the dominance of GE and ALCO in their respective industries, Schenectady would gain the nicknames of Electric City and "The City that Lights and Hauls the World". The nature of this industry lent itself to the creation of many labor-saving inventions, such as the horseshoe machine of Henry Burden
Henry Burden
Henry Burden was an engineer and businessman who built an industrial complex in Troy, New York called the Burden Iron Works that featured the most powerful water wheel in the world.-Early life:...
, the pre-shrinking fabric machines of Sanford Cluett, the power knitting loom of Timothy Bailey, the railroad air-brake of George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
, and the hundreds of electricity-related improvements of General Electric Company scientists.
Urban decline and rise of the suburbs
Starting with the 1960 US Census, Albany, Schenectady, and Troy have posted declines in population in every census until the 2010 US Census. Meanwhile the suburbs, and in particular Saratoga County, saw an influx in population. Saratoga County grew at the expense of Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. There were many causes to this, including the building of interstates and other highways allowing for more commuting, lack of available suitable land within the urban centers, and the subsequent location of shopping centers following the people to the suburbs; chief among the factors not aired too often or loudly by politicians is the lower annual private property burden charged to home and business owners in Saratoga County ... which many financial experts believe accounts for Saratoga County's appeal over the topographically similar and lovely surrounding areas: Schenectady, for its part, in 2010 was ranked by ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and Kiplingers magazines as having the highest annual property burden rates nationwide!
The decline of manufacturing from the northeastern United States contributed to a general decline as well. Watervliet, Cohoes, and especially Troy lost the competitive edge that came with being at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers: the location no longer meant better access to markets, waterfalls no longer made the cheapest power, and cheap labor in the southern and western parts of the nation became important to companies. General Electric moved their headquarters to Connecticut from Schenectady in the mid-70s. Within the Capital District manufacturing shifted to the suburbs as well since the suburbs had large open spaces for larger warehouses, factories, and office parks, while the cities were constrained in available land. Albany International, with their headquarters and factory straddling the Menands
Menands, New York
Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand...
and Albany border, built a new factory in 1987 in rural East Greenbush, as did Garden Way, headquartered in Troy. The region's first technology park was built in the 1980s in rural North Greenbush by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
(RPI).
Not only was there a shift in population and manufacturing to the suburbs, there was also a shift in retail shopping as well; retail sales in the cities declined 1 percent between 1972 and 1987, having increased 63 percent in the suburbs. In 1957 Westgate Plaza became the first "suburban"-style shopping center in the area; it was and still is within the city limits of Albany however, but then two years later in 1959 Stuyvesant Plaza
Stuyvesant Plaza
Stuyvesant Plaza is a major shopping plaza and office complex in the US state of New York's Capital District. It is located in the city of Albany, on Western Avenue , near the south end of the Adirondack Northway, I-87...
was built outside Albany in the neighboring town of Guilderland
Guilderland, New York
Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2010 census, the town had a population of 35,303. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands....
. 1966 saw the opening of Colonie Center
Colonie Center
Colonie Center is a shopping mall located in Albany at the intersection of Central Avenue, Wolf Road, and Interstate 87. Opening in 1966, it was the first enclosed shopping mall in New York State's Capital Region. The mall has successfully updated its tenant mix, image, and look on an ongoing basis...
, the area's first enclosed shopping mall. When built it drew shoppers from hundreds of miles from Albany. Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
and Sears originally wanted to build in downtown Albany, but interference from Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
led to those stores choosing to move into Colonie Center instead. Problems with Mayor Corning would also force the Albany Times Union newspaper to move from Albany to Colonie in the 1970s.
Five more enclosed malls were built in the next ten years, all outside of city limits: Mohawk Mall
Mohawk Mall
Mohawk Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in the town of Niskayuna, New York, on a parcel located at the corner of State Street and Balltown Road. It was managed by Genesee Management. It had three courts with groups of fountains and seating areas. The mall was first opened in 1970 and mostly...
outside Schenectady, Northway Mall
Northway Mall (Colonie, NY)
Northway Mall is currently a big box retail center in Colonie, New York along Central Avenue . From 1970 to 1999, it was an enclosed shopping mall with several out buildings...
across from Colonie Center, Pyramid Mall outside Saratoga Springs, Aviation Mall
Aviation Mall
Aviation Mall is a major regional shopping mall in Queensbury, New York. It serves the extreme northern portion of the Capital District as well as the Glens Falls/Lake George area. The mall has a gross leasable area of...
outside Glens Falls, and Clifton Country Mall in Clifton Park. In 1977 the first mall built within a city was completed: the Amsterdam Mall in Amsterdam. This destroyed much of Amsterdam's downtown. The next year, Troy opened the Uncle Sam Atrium, and in 1986 Cohoes attempted an urban mall. All three failed and ended up as office space.
Downtown revival
In recent years the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy have seen somewhat of a comeback thanks to an influx of state office workers and private investments. During the Pataki administrationGeorge Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
a plan (referred to as the "Albany Plan") was devised to move state workers out of the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
The W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus is an office park in western Albany, New York, United States that houses sixteen New York State Government office buildings. The land totals roughly and over 3 million square feet of office space, and about 7,000 state employees work there...
and move them to the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Wolf Road in Colonie. Just prior to and as part of the Albany Plan regional headquarters of NYSDOT were built on the corner of State and Broadway in Schenectady, state workers were moved to the Troy Atrium in Troy, and the DEC and Comptrollers buildings were built in Albany. Along with new state workers and buildings Albany also saw the refurbishment and renovation of the State Education Building, State Capitol, Smith Building, and the NY Court of Appeals. New construction also occurred at other levels of government with the building of the Albany County Family Court and with the city refurbishing the Palace Theatre.
Private investment in downtown Albany saw an influx of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs; especially on Pearl Street and the first new privately owned office tower in 20 years was built on Broadway. In Schenectady the Metroplex Authority allowed for massive private investment on State Street in the vicinity of Proctor's Theatre. Along with Proctor's being expanded, two new hotels, a large movie theater, and the headquarters of Price Chopper moving Downtown
Downtown Schenectady
Downtown Schenectady is the central business district for the city of Schenectady, New York. It originated in the 1820s with the moving of the commercial and industrial interests east from the original 17th and 18th century settlement, spurred on by the development of the Erie Canal...
from the suburbs of neighboring Rotterdam, that downtown area has seen a huge revival.
Geography
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
which is a north-south running valley through the core of the Capital District while its tributary the Mohawk River forms the Mohawk Valley
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
which runs west from Schenectady, the Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek in New York, USA flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie Reservoir and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project.Two notable...
, a tributary of the Mohawk, forms the Schoharie Valley
Schoharie Valley
The Schoharie Valley is a corridor that runs through Schoharie County from Schoharie, New York until Gilboa, New York.-Geography:The Schoharie Valley is made up of plains surrounding the Schoharie Creek. Within the Schoharie Valley are the locations of Middleburgh, Schoharie, Fultonham, Breakabeen...
which runs through Schoharie County. Major mountain ranges are the Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
in the northwestern area and the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
along the southern and eastern sections. The Appalachians include the Rensselaer Plateau
Rensselaer Plateau
The Rensselaer Plateau is a small plateau located in the central portion of Rensselaer County, New York; it generally encompasses significant parts of the towns of Berlin, Stephentown, Sand Lake, Poestenkill, and Grafton, along with small sections of several other nearby towns. Elevations on the...
in Rensselaer and southeastern Washington counties; the Taconic Mountains
Taconic Mountains
The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western...
along the Washington, Rensselaer, and Columbia counties' borders with Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
; the Allegheny Plateau
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
in Schoharie, Greene, and western Albany counties, which includes the Helderberg Escarpment
Helderberg Escarpment
The Helderberg Escarpment is an escarpment in eastern New York, roughly west of the city of Albany....
in Albany County; and the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
in Greene County. Major lakes include the Great Sacandaga Lake
Great Sacandaga Lake
The Great Sacandaga Lake is a large lake situated in the Adirondack Park in northern New York in the United States. The word Sacandaga means "Land of the Waving Grass" in the local native language. The lake is located in the northern parts of Fulton County and Saratoga County near the south...
in Saratoga and Fulton counties, Saratoga Lake in Saratoga County, and Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
in Warren and Essex counties.
Location
Climate
The Capital District has a humid continental climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. Albany receives around 36.2 inches of rain per year, with 135 days of at least .01 inches of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. Snowfall is significant, totaling about 63 inches annually, but with less accumulation than the lake-effect areas to the north and west, being far enough from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. The core of the region is however, close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from Nor'easter
Nor'easter
A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...
s, and the region gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. The region also occasionally receives Alberta clipper
Alberta clipper
An Alberta clipper is a fast moving low pressure area which generally affects the central provinces of Canada and parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States. Most clippers occur between December and February, but can also occur occasionally in the month of November...
s. Winters are often very cold with fluctuating conditions, temperatures can drop to below 0 °F (−18 °C) at night. Summers in the region can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures above 90 °F (32.2 °C) and dew points near 70. Severe thunderstorms are common but tornadoes are rare.
Albany receives on average per year 69 sunny days, 111 partly cloudy days, and 185 cloudy days; and an average, over the course of a year, of less than four hours of sunshine per day, with just over an average of 2.5 hours per day over the course of the winter. The chance during daylight hours of sunshine is 53%, with the highest percentage of sunny daylight hours being in July with 64%, and the lowest month is November with 37%.
Architecture
Mabee House
Dating from the 17th century, the Mabee House at the Mabee Farm Historic Site is the oldest house still standing in the Mohawk Valley. It is located in the town of Rotterdam, N. Y., in the hamlet of Rotterdam Junction, New York, along New York State Highway 5S, about six miles west of the city of...
. The Van Ostrande-Radliff House
48 Hudson Avenue
48 Hudson Avenue, also known as the Van Ostrande – Radliff House, is the oldest building in the city of Albany, New York. It was believed by Paul Huey in the Albany architectural guide of 1993 to have been built in 1759 by Johannes Radliff when he married Elizabeth Singleton because he believed it...
(1728) in Albany and the Rosa House in Schenectady (before 1700) are the oldest houses in each city. In 1885 American Architect and Building News, a magazine with national circulation, polled its readers asking what the nation's Top Ten most beautiful buildings were. Two buildings in the city of Albany made the list: Albany City Hall
Albany City Hall
Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The current building was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in his particular Romanesque style and...
and the New York State Capitol
New York State Capitol
The New York State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York State Legislature, it is located in the state capital city Albany, on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million , was the most expensive government...
; both finished in 1883 and designed by Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
.
Troy has many distinctive features in architecture that sets it apart, such as its ornamental ironwork, cast-iron storefronts such as the Arts Center of the Capital Region, and the abundance of windows by Tiffany such as St. John's Episcopal Church, Troy Public Library
Troy Public Library
The Troy Public library is the main public library building in the city of Troy, New York, and is located across the street from Russell Sage College in downtown Troy. It has two other branches, the Lansingburgh branch and the Sycaway branch. Both branches were temporarily closed in January 2009....
, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church
St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Troy, New York)
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy, New York, United States, is located at Third and State streets. It is home to one of the oldest congregations in the city. In 1979, the church and two outbuildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places...
. The Capital District also has a large selection of brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
buildings especially in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany and the Washington Park neighborhood
Washington Park Historic District (Troy, New York)
Washington Park Historic District in Troy, New York is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973....
in Troy. Washington Park in Troy is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the state.
Schenectady's Stockade
Stockade Historic District
The Stockade Historic District is located in the northwest corner of Schenectady, New York, United States, on the banks of the Mohawk River. It is the oldest neighborhood in the city, continuously inhabited for over 300 years...
neighborhood has representations of residential architecture from all periods in its 300 year history including Dutch, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian. Also in Schenectady is the GE Realty Plot
General Electric Realty Plot
The General Electric Realty Plot, often referred to locally as the GE Realty Plot or just The Plot, is a residential neighborhood in Schenectady, New York, United States...
built by General Electric as homes for their employees, the houses are in revival styles such as Tudor, Georgian, Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial, and Spanish Colonial. The first all electric house was built by GE in the Realty Plot to showcase its products. In Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood is a style of residential architecture that is rare in the rest of the Capital District, bungalows in the Spanish revival style, with red tile roofs and stucco walls, only 27 still exist and are the remnants of the Winchester Gables development.
Parks
The following state parks are in the Capital District: Cherry Plain
Cherry Plain State Park
Cherry Plain State Park is located in Rensselaer County, New York in the USA. The park is located in Cherry Plain, New York at the southwest part of the Town of Berlin, near the Massachusetts border....
, Max V. Shaul
Max V. Shaul State Park
Max V. Shaul State Park is a small state park in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The park is located on Route 30 in the Town of Fulton.Originally named Toepath Mountain Picnic Area and Campsite, it opened on May 28, 1959....
, Saratoga Spa
Saratoga Spa State Park
Saratoga Spa State Park is a state park located in Saratoga County, New York in the USA. The park is in the City of Saratoga Springs, near US 9 and NY 50.-History:...
, Grafton Lakes
Grafton Lakes State Park
Grafton Lakes State Park is a state park in Rensselaer County, New York in the USA. The park is in the central part of the Town of Grafton and north of the community of Grafton on NY Route 2....
, Mine Kill
Mine Kill State Park
Mine Kill State Park is a state park located in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The park is in the southeast part of the Town of Blenheim.Mine Kill offers year-round recreation, including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, picnicking, fishing, boating, and swimming...
, Schodack Island
Schodack Island State Park
Schodack Island State Park is a state park located in Rensselaer County, New York in the USA. The park is at the Hudson River in the southwest part of the Town of Schodack....
, Hudson River Islands
Hudson River Islands State Park
Hudson River Islands State Park or Hudson Islands Park is located on the Hudson River in New York. This park is in the Town of Coxsackie in Greene County, New York. It is open from Memorial Day to Columbus Day....
, Moreau Lake
Moreau Lake State Park
Moreau Lake State Park is a state park located in Saratoga County, New York in the USA. Located in the southwest part of Moreau, New York on US 9 off Interstate 87, the 4,100 acre park offers snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter, swimming in Moreau Lake, paddling on the Hudson River,...
, Thompson's Lake
Thompson's Lake State Park
Thompson's Lake State Park is a state park located near East Berne, New York, in Albany County.The park offers a beach, a playground and playing fields, picnic tables, recreation programs, a nature trail, fishing and ice fishing, a boat launch, a dump station, campground for tents and trailers,...
, John Boyd Thacher
John Boyd Thacher State Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles southwest of Albany, New York near Voorheesville, in Albany County on State Route 157...
, and Peebles Island. While they are frequently referred to as state parks, the Adirondack Park and Catskill Park have much more in common with a national forest: they mix private with public land and have year-round residents within their boundaries in long-established settlements. The boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks are often referred to as the Blue Line
Blue Line (New York State)
The Blue Line is the term used in New York state for the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks, within which can be found the state's Forest Preserve...
. Parts of Fulton, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties are in the Adirondack Park. Much of Greene County is in the Catskill Park
The various municipalities of the Capital District have established many parks, small and large, for the recreational enjoyment of the residents and visitors of the area. Central Park in the city of Schenectady has over 4,000 individual rose bushes of between 300 and 400 different varieties in its rose garden at the Wright Avenue entrance. Washington Park in Albany is home to many festivals, including the TulipFest and the LatinFest.
Festivals
Tulip Festival (Albany, New York)
The Tulip Festival, also known as TulipFest, is held in Albany, New York every spring at Washington Park. The tradition stems from when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd got a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. In addition, he sent a request to Queen...
held in Albany every spring at Washington Park
Washington Park Historic District (Albany, New York)
Washington Park in Albany, New York is the city's premier park and the site of many festivals and gatherings. As public property it dates back to the city charter in 1686, and has seen many uses including that of gunpowder storage, square/parade grounds, and cemetery...
. The tradition stems from when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
got a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. In addition, he sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
to name a variety as Albany's tulip. On July 11, 1948 her reply was "Her Majesty gladly accepts the invitation to designate a tulip as the official flower of Albany." She picked the variety "Orange Wonder", a bronzy orange shaded scarlet. The first Tulip Fest was celebrated the next year on May 14, 1949 with opening ceremonies still carried on today as tradition, such as the sweeping of State Street and the crowning of a Tulip Queen. The African-American tradition of Pinkster
Pinkster
Pinkster is a spring festival, taking place in late May or early June. The name is a variation of the Dutch word Pinksteren, meaning "Pentecost". Pinkster in English almost always refers to the festivals held by African Americans in the Northeastern United States, particularly in the early 19th...
fest, whose origins are traced back even further to Dutch festivities, was later incorporated into the Tulip Fest. Attendance to the festival in 2010 was approximately 80,000.
The largest Flag Day
Flag Day
A flag day is a flag-related holiday—either a day designated for flying a certain flag , or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag....
parade in the United States is held every year in Troy. The 42nd annual parade in 2009 is along a two mile (3 km) long route. First Night
First Night
First Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters...
celebrations are held in Saratoga Springs, while in 2006 Albany decided to eliminate its First Night celebrations in favor of a new "Albany WinterFestival" (WinterFest).
Other major festivals in the Capital District include ethnic festivals. The Albany LatinFest, which has been held since 1996, drew 10,000 people to Washington Park in 2008. In Schenectady the growing Guyanese
Demographics of Guyana
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Guyana, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
community has celebrated the Guyanese Family Fun Day for several years in that city's Central Park. PolishFest is a three day celebration of Polish culture in the Capital District, held in the town of Colonie for the past eight years.
Amusement
Crossgates Mall
Crossgates Mall is a shopping mall located in Albany, New York, United States, not far from Schenectady. The mall opened on March 4, 1984, and in October 1994 underwent a large expansion that nearly doubled its size. It now has a gross leasable area of with two floors including 250 shops and...
in Guilderland
Guilderland, New York
Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2010 census, the town had a population of 35,303. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands....
and Colonie Center
Colonie Center
Colonie Center is a shopping mall located in Albany at the intersection of Central Avenue, Wolf Road, and Interstate 87. Opening in 1966, it was the first enclosed shopping mall in New York State's Capital Region. The mall has successfully updated its tenant mix, image, and look on an ongoing basis...
in Colonie are the two super-regional malls with over 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²) of rentable space in each. Regional malls are located in Schenectady, Saratoga, and Warren counties.
In the Capital District are several regional amusement parks and water parks. The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom is an amusement and waterpark located in Queensbury, New York. It is advertised as being located in Lake George, New York...
is a Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
park in Queensbury
Queensbury, New York
Queensbury is a town in and the county seat of Warren County, New York, United States. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county. The population was 25,441 at the 2000 census. The town is named in honor of Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III of Great Britain and Ireland. It...
with an indoor waterpark and hotel across the street. Zoom Flume Water Park is in East Durham. Hoffman's Playland in the town of Colonie is a children's amusement park.
During the winter months the Capital District has many places to go for such cold-weather activities as skiing, snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, tubing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice climbing
Ice climbing
Ice climbing, as the term indicates, is the activity of ascending inclined ice formations. Usually, ice climbing refers to roped and protected climbing of features such as icefalls, frozen waterfalls, and cliffs and rock slabs covered with ice refrozen from flows of water. For the purposes of...
. Some downhill ski centers include Maple Ridge in Schenectady County, Willard Mountain in Washington County, Windham Mountain and Hunter Mountain in Greene County, West Mountain and Hickory Ski Center in Warren County which has the sixth highest vertical drop in the state. In addition to downhill skiing most also have cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
trails as well. There are also cross-country trails at the state parks in the area, the Schenectady County Forest in Duanesburg
Duanesburg, New York
Duanesburg is a town in Schenectady County, New York, USA. The population was 5,808 at the 2000 census. Duanesburg is named for James Duane, who held most of it as an original land grant. The town is in the western part of the county.-History:...
and Pine Ridge XC Ski Area in Rensselaer County. There are over 18 miles (29 km) of official trails for snowshoeing at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
Municipalities
- Albany CountyAlbany County, New YorkAlbany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
(pop. 294,565) is the largest county by population in the area, the largest city in the Capital District- Albany, and the largest town- Colonie, are within this county. State government dominates the economy. - Columbia CountyColumbia County, New YorkColumbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
(pop. 63,094) is coterminous with the Hudson Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). HudsonHudson, New YorkHudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
is the largest city and the county seat. - Fulton CountyFulton County, New YorkFulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,531. Its name is in honor of Robert Fulton, who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
(pop. 55,073) is coterminous with the Gloversville μSA. Gloversville and Johnstown are popularly referred to as the Twin Cities or Glove Cities. Johnstown is the county seat and Gloversville is the largest city. - Greene CountyGreene County, New YorkGreene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Its name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Its county seat is Catskill...
(pop. 48,195) is the only county in the Capital District outside the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam CSA. The village of CatskillCatskill (village), New YorkCatskill is a village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 4,081 at the 2010 census.The Village of Catskill is in the northeast part of the Town of Catskill. Catskill is the county seat of Greene County.-History:...
is the county seat. - Montgomery CountyMontgomery County, New YorkAs of the census of 2000, there were 49,708 people, 20,038 households, and 13,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
(pop. 49,708) is coterminous with the Amsterdam μSA, county seat is the village of Fonda, largest city is Amsterdam. Largest employer is St. Mary's Hospital. - Rensselaer CountyRensselaer County, New YorkRensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
(pop. 152,538) is the third largest county by population, Troy is the largest city and the county seat. Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
is a world-renowned college. - Saratoga CountySaratoga County, New YorkSaratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
(pop. 200,635) is the second largest county by population. Saratoga SpringsSaratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
is the largest city and Ballston SpaBallston Spa, New YorkBallston Spa is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,556 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Saratoga County. The village is named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler. The village lies on the border of two...
is the county seat. The Saratoga Race CourseSaratoga Race CourseSaratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
brings thousands of tourists each August. - Schenectady CountySchenectady County, New YorkSchenectady County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 154,727. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk Indian word meaning "on the other side of the...
(pop. 146,555) is the birthplace of General Electric and still retains the core of its alternative energy production. The city of Schenectady is the largest city and county seat. - Schoharie CountySchoharie County, New YorkAs of the census of 2000, there were 31,582 people, 11,991 households and 8,177 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 15,915 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
(pop. 32,749) is a rural county in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA. Schoharie is the county seat. - Warren CountyWarren County, New YorkWarren County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 65,707. It is named in honor of General Joseph Warren, an American Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill...
(pop. 63,303) contains the highest concentrated area of medical manufacturers in the state, with many medical inventions originating in the county. Lake GeorgeLake George (village), New YorkThe Village of Lake George is a village within the town of Lake George in Warren County, New York, United States. The population was 985 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...
is the county seat with Glens FallsGlens Falls, New YorkGlens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
the only city and the largest municipality. - Washington CountyWashington County, New YorkWashington County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,216. It was named for the Revolutionary War general George Washington...
(pop. 61,042) is a rural county in the Glens Falls MSA, Fort Edward is the county seat.
Culture
Albany is often derided as "Smallbany" (also spelled Smalbany) for its perceived lack of culture and as a backwater in tourism circles, even though it consistently ranks high on lists of top cities/metro areas for culture, such as being 23rd in the book Cities Ranked & Rated. Albany-Schenectady-Troy ranked 12th among large metro areas and Glens Falls ranked 12th among the small metro areas in Sperling's Best Places; and Expansion Management (a monthly business magazine) gave the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area five Stars, its highest ranking, for quality of life features. The Capital District has many museums, historical sites, art galleries, and festivals that stretch back to the 17th century. The Capital District has been pivotal in the history of Santa ClausSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
in the United States including the first written reference to Santa (Sinterclaas) in 1675 and the first publishing of 'Twas the Night before Christmas
A Visit from St. Nicholas
"A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, although the claim has also been made that it was written by Henry...
in 1823.
Media market
The Albany-Schenectady-Troy media marketMedia market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, the 56th largest in the United States, includes all of the 11 counties of the Capital District, along with Hamilton County, New York
Hamilton County, New York
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is named after Alexander Hamilton, the only member of the New York State delegation who signed the United States Constitution in 1787 and later the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Its county seat is Lake Pleasant...
, as well as Berkshire County
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and Bennington County, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. In total, there are 16 AM/MW
Mediumwave
Medium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
stations, 30 full-power FM stations, 14 low-power FM translators, 8 full power analog TV stations, 5 low-power TV translators, and 8 full power digital TV (DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
) stations licensed to communities within 30 miles (48 km) of downtown Albany.
In terms of broadcast media, Albany is part of Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
market #63 (radio), and Nielsen
Nielsen
Nielsen , is a Danish patronymic surname, literally meaning son of Niels, Niels being the Danish version of the Greek male given name Νικόλαος, Nikolaos . It is the second most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 5% of the population. It is also used in Norway, although the form Nelsen and...
DMA #57 (television), and is a broadcast market with historical relevance. The pioneering influence of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television (WRGB
WRGB
WRGB, channel 6, is a television station located in Schenectady, New York, USA. WRGB is owned by Freedom Communications, and is the CBS affiliate for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy television market...
), WRGB also has the distinction of being the very first affiliated station of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Television Network. In 1947, this region was also home to the first independently owned and operated stand-alone FM radio station in the United States, W47A and one of the earliest FM broadcast stations (today's WRVE
WRVE
WRVE is a Hot Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Schenectady, New York and serving the Capital District and Upper Hudson Valley of New York. It broadcasts at 99.5 FM at 14.5 kilowatts ERP from a transmitter in Guilderland, New York...
), in addition to the first federally licensed radio station in upstate New York, WGY. In the early 2000s, the greater Albany market had the distinction of having the highest concentration of FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
broadcast stations east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. There are no radio stations in the Albany area that provide programming in languages other than English on a full-time basis. A few individual programs; in languages including Spanish, Italian, and Arabic; are scheduled primarily on college owned and operated stations.
The Albany Times Union is the area's primary daily newspaper; its headquarters moved to suburban Colonie from Albany in the 1970s after a dispute with then-Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
over land needed for expansion. More localized are the Daily Gazette
Daily Gazette
The Daily Gazette, formerly The Schenectady Gazette, is an independently-owned daily newspaper based in Schenectady, New York. It debuted in 1812 and mainly covers the counties of Schenectady, Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Fulton, Schoharie, and Montgomery.In the last 10 years, The Gazette has...
, which focuses primarily on Schenectady; the Troy Record
The Record (Troy, NY)
The Record is a tabloid-style daily newspaper published in Troy, New York. The paper has been published regularly since 1896. It covers all of New York's Capital Region and specifically the city of Troy, which is the third largest city in the Capital area...
, which focuses on Troy; The Post-Star
The Post-Star
The Post-Star is a daily newspaper in Glens Falls, New York. Its circulation is approximately 35,000. It serves the counties of Warren, Washington and Saratoga in New York State including the cities of Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. It is the only daily newspaper published in Warren County...
, which focuses on Washington, Warren, and northern Saratoga counties; The Saratogian
The Saratogian
The Saratogian is a broadsheet-style daily newspaper published in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. The paper has been published regularly since 1855. It covers all of Saratoga County, New York and specifically the city of Saratoga Springs....
, which focuses on Saratoga County; the Amsterdam Recorder for Montgomery and Fulton County; the Gloversville Leader-Herald for Fulton County; the Daily Mail for Greene County; and the Register-Star for Columbia County. Metroland
Metroland (newspaper)
Metroland is an alternative newspaper that is published weekly in Albany, New York and mainly serves the Capital District area. Distributed free of charge, the paper offers local arts and music scene coverage, news and feature articles, and political columns with a mostly liberal bent...
is the alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday, while The Business Review is a business weekly published each Friday. Capital Region Living is a monthly magazine available in Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington counties in New York; Bennington and Rutland counties in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
; and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...
.
Cuisine
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
chef George Crum
George Crum
George "Speck" Crum , son of "a mulatto jockey and an Indian maid", according to a menu used at Moon's Lake House, was the cook at Moon's Lake House, a resort at the south end of the lake in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA...
, at the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant in Saratoga Springs. The club sandwich
Club sandwich
A club sandwich, also called a clubhouse sandwich or double-decker, is a sandwich with two layers of fillings between 3 slices of toasted bread. It is often cut into quarters and held together by hors d'œuvre sticks....
was also invented in Saratoga Springs, at the Saratoga Club-house, today the Canfield Casino
Canfield Casino and Congress Park
Canfield Casino and Congress Park is a site in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It was the site of the former Congress Spring Bottling Plant and the former Congress Hall, a large resort hotel, which together brought Saratoga Springs international fame as a health spa and gambling site...
, in 1894. Pie à la Mode
Pie a la Mode
-History:Pie à la Mode was first made at the Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge, Washington County, New York in the 1890s. While visiting the hotel, Professor Charles Watson Townsend ordered a slice of apple pie with ice cream. When asked by another guest what he called the dish he replied it had no...
was first made at the Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge
Cambridge (town), New York
Cambridge is a town in Washington County, New York, USA. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,158 at the 2005 census.The town of Cambridge contains part of a village, also called Cambridge.- History :...
, Washington County in the 1890s.
Sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
in the Hudson River was once so plentiful that the fish was referred to as "Albany beef".
Sports
Though the Capital District is not well known for its sports teams it does have a rich history of professional teams and college athletics. The Troy Trojans were a Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
for four seasons from 1879
1879 in baseball
-Champions:*National League: Providence GraysNational Association: Albany Blue StockingsNorthwest League: Dubuque RabbitsInter-league playoff: Providence Grays def. Albany Blues , 2 games to 0.-National League final standings:-Statistical leaders:...
to 1882
1882 in baseball
-Champions:*National League: Chicago def. Providence 5 games to 4*American Association: Cincinnati Red Stockings*League Alliance: New York MetropolitansInterleague*Chicago vs. Cincinnati tie 1 game each*Chicago def...
. In 1883
1883 in baseball
-Champions:*National League: Boston Beaneaters*American Association: Philadelphia Athletics*Inter-State League: Brooklyn Atlantics*Northwestern League: Toledo Blue StockingsInter-league playoff: Philadelphia declined to play Boston...
the New York Gothams, later the New York and San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, took the Trojans place in the National League. Nearly half of the original Gotham players had been members of the Trojans.
NBA head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons
Albany Patroons
The Albany Patroons were a professional basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association ....
to the 1984 CBA championship. Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50–6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
head coach George Karl
George Karl
George Matthew Karl is a former National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player. He is the current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. On December 10, 2010 he became the seventh coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins.-Biography:Karl was born in Penn Hills,...
was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars Mario Elie
Mario Elie
Mario Antoine Elie is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Currently, he works as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.-Early life and career:...
and Vincent Askew
Vincent Askew
Vincent Jerome Askew is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 1987 NBA Draft...
were part of that season's squad. A third NBA head coach has roots in the Capital District as well, Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a retired coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams...
, most famous as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, but also of the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
. Riley played for Linton High School in Schenectady, where he was also a football star. He also played on the Schenectady Little League Baseball team when in 1954 it won the Little League Baseball World Series.
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
received his early training in the Capital District and his first professional fight was in Albany in 1985 and Tyson's first televised fight was in Troy in 1986. He fought professionally four times in Albany and twice each in Troy and Glens Falls between 1985 and 1986.
Since 1988, the Siena College
Siena College
Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and...
men's basketball team (the Siena Saints
Siena Saints men's basketball
The Siena Saints men's basketball team represents Siena College in Loudonville, New York, United States. The Division I program competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints are coached by Mitch Buonaguro who just completed his first season as head coach at Siena after serving as...
) have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
(1989
1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...
, 1999
1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....
, 2002
2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta, Georgia...
, 2008
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...
, 2009
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
, and 2010
2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
)
Roller derby leagues in the area include Albany's Albany All-Stars Roller Derby and Troy's Hellions of Troy Roller Derby
Hellions of Troy
Hellions of Troy Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in the New York's Capital Region. They are aspiring to become members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and play under the association's rules...
.
Professional teams
- Albany DevilsAlbany DevilsThe Albany Devils are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League , founded in 2010. The top AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League 's New Jersey Devils, the team has as its home the Times Union Center in Albany, New York...
(AHL affiliate of the New Jersey DevilsNew Jersey DevilsThe New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
) - Albany LegendsAlbany LegendsThe Albany Legends are a professional basketball team in the International Basketball League .-2010 season:The team was established in 2010 by an independent and locally owned organization, a year after the Albany Patroons went defunct...
(International Basketball LeagueInternational Basketball LeagueThe International Basketball League was a short lived professional basketball league in the United States. The IBL was headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The league started in 1999 and ended in 2001.-History:...
) - Tri-City Valley CatsTri-City Valley CatsThe Tri-City ValleyCats are a minor league baseball team based in Troy, New York and the 2010 champions of the New York – Penn League . The ValleyCats are the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. The name Tri-City is based on the three nearby...
(New York-Penn League "short A" baseball, affiliate of the Houston AstrosHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
; 2010 New York-Penn League Champions) - New York BuzzNew York BuzzThe New York Buzz was a professional tennis team competing in World Team Tennis. The team was based in Albany, New York, and played home matches at SUNY Albany's SEFCU Arena, previously playing at the Washington Avenue Armory. Earlier, the team played at Schenectady's Central Park. They competed in...
(World Team TennisWorld Team TennisWorld TeamTennis is a coed professional tennis league played with a unique team format in the United States. Each match consists of five sets. Each set features a different configuration . Coaches, before the match, decide the order in which the sets will be played...
)
Economy
Albany Medical Center
Albany Medical Center is the name of the umbrella organization over the Albany Medical Center Hospital and Albany Medical College in Albany, New York...
, St. Peter's Health Care Services, and Northeast Health are the fourth, fifth, and sixth largest employers in the eleven-county Capital District. Price Chopper, a privately owned grocery chain headquartered in Schenectady, is the 13th largest employer in the entire state of New York with 14,000 employees.
Manufacturing has been disappearing but is still important, and makes up six percent of the non-farm workforce. Major factories in the area are owned by General Electric, still the region's largest private-sector employer, and spin-offs such as Momentive Performance Materials' plant in Waterford, Saratoga County and the SABIC
SABIC
SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia as listed in Tadawul, but the Saudi government still owns 70% of its shares...
plant in Selkirk, Albany County. Mechanical Technology Inc. (MTI) of Schenectady, another spin-off from General Electric, has helped put the region on the map for alternative energy production, as has its own spin-off, Plug Power
Plug Power
-History:Plug Power was founded as a joint venture between DTE Energy and Mechanical Technology Inc. in 1997....
of Latham and the Center for Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The economy in recent decades has been pushing towards the high-tech with such promotions as the moniker of Tech Valley. Tech Valley is a marketing name first coined by Walter Altes in 1998 to promote the Hudson Valley/Capital District area as a high-tech industry area similar to Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
The Capital District has historically been linked to banking, finance, and insurance. Bank of Albany, founded in 1792, was the second bank established in the state, and American Express was founded in Albany. Finance and insurance employs six percent of the workforce in the area. Many important regional and national banks are headquartered in the area, such as Trustco Bank
TrustCo Bank
Trustco Bank is a commercial bank within the United States. Trustco was founded in Schenectady, New York in 1902 and is now headquartered in Glenville, NY. Trustco has 134 branches spread among New York, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont...
, and many national banks have regional headquarters in Albany, such as Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
and KeyBank. Albank, Norstar, Troy Savings Bank
Troy Savings Bank
Troy Savings Bank, now owned by First Niagara Financial Group is a bank in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, U.S.A.. It is notable for having a music hall constructed on the second floor above the bank itself, the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, which is renowned for its acoustics and includes a...
, Hudson River Bankcorp, and KeyBank were all founded in the area and have either moved their headquarters out of the region, such as KeyBank in 1994, or been merged into larger companies such as Hudson River Bankcorp into First Niagara Bank
First Niagara Bank
First Niagara Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured regional banking corporation headquartered in the historic Larkin Terminal Warehouse in Buffalo, New York.-History:...
, out of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Though Bank of America is the nation's largest bank it ranks only sixth in the region in bank deposits. Citizens Bank
Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, which operates in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Citizens is a wholly owned...
is the region's largest bank by market share of deposit holdings (32.5%), while Trustco Bank is largest by number of branches (52) in the area, as defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
.
In 2006 Forbes ranked the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA the 18th best place for business in the nation. It was the second highest ranking in the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
and the highest in the state. The Glens Falls MSA ranked 85th overall, and 35th for income growth, in the small metro category. According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
the Capital District's gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP) was $32.345 billion in 2008 (in constant 2001 US dollars), up 3.4 percent from the year before. The region ranked 42nd in growth rate, and as the 56th largest metro area.
2009 recession
The Capital District has traditionally been seen as being insulated from recessions. Though the Capital District is doing better than the national average, it is not completely immune from this downturn. Manufacturing jobs are down 6.2 percent, half that of the 12.2 percent nationwide; the unemployment rate in the region in August was 7 percent compared to 9.7 nationwide.Demographics
The Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA is New York's most affluent metro areaMetro Area
Metro Area is a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani.- History :Geist grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, while Jesrani is from upstate New York...
outside of the New York City metropolitan area. Median household income was roughly $43,000 in 1999 and its educational attainment profile, with 28 percent of adults having a college degree, is slightly above state average and well-above the national average. The Glens Falls metro area however lags the state and the nation in both income and educational attainment. Median household income was slightly under $40,000 in 1999, and only 19 percent of adults held college degrees.
Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
, Rensselaer
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
, Saratoga
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
, Schenectady
Schenectady County, New York
Schenectady County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 154,727. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk Indian word meaning "on the other side of the...
, and Schoharie
Schoharie County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,582 people, 11,991 households and 8,177 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 15,915 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
counties; makes up a large portion of the Capital District. The Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA was ranked the 56th most populous in the United States of America in the 2000 census, with a total population of 848,879. Warren and Washington counties, in the northern reaches of the Capital District, make up the Glens Falls MSA; while Fulton County is the Gloversville Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), formed in 1990, Montgomery County the Amsterdam μSA (formed in 1990 from Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA), and Columbia County is the Hudson μSA (formed in 1990). The Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Glens Falls MSA's along with those Micropolitan Stat. Areas combine to form the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
(A-S-A CSA). The A-S-A CSA is the vast majority of the Capital District, leaving out only Greene County. It has a population of 1,118,095 according to the 2000 US census, and is ranked 38 out of the 123 CSAs in the US
Table of United States Combined Statistical Areas
thumb|An enlargeable map of the 125 [[Combined Statistical Area]]s of the [[United States]]The United States Office of Management and Budget has defined 125 Combined Statistical Areas for the United States of America...
, and third largest in the state. Adding the population of Greene County in the 2000 census, 48,195, to the population of the A-S-A MSA there is 1,166,290 persons in the 11 counties of the Capital District.
Neighboring metro areas
State and congressional representation
The Capital District is split between several different districts for representation in the New York LegislatureNew York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
and the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
(D) represent the state in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. The area contains three congressional districts. The 20th district
New York's 20th congressional district
The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern New York. It includes all or parts of Columbia, Dutchess, Delaware, Essex, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties. It includes the...
makes up most of the south, east, and north of the Capital District, while much of the rest is part of the 21st district
New York's 21st congressional district
The 21st Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that contains most of the Capital District of New York. It includes all or parts of Albany, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Schoharie counties...
. A small part of Fulton County is part of 23rd district
New York's 23rd congressional district
The 23rd Congressional District of New York is New York's northernmost congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. The district includes all or parts of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties. It...
. Currently the districts are represented by Chris Gibson (R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) (20th district), Paul Tonko
Paul Tonko
Paul David Tonko is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in the heart of the Capital District...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
) (21st district), and Bill Owens (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
) (23rd district).
The area is represented in the State Legislature by nine Assembly districts
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
and four Senate districts
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
. For the Assembly the area is represented by Jack McEneny (D) of Albany (104th district); George Amedore
George Amedore
George A. Amedore, Jr. is a Republican member of the New York State Assembly representing the 105th Assembly District, which includes all of Montgomery County and part of Schenectady County.Amedore was born and raised in Schenectady County...
(R) of Rotterdam (105th district); Ronald Canestrari
Ronald Canestrari
Ronald J. "Ron" Canestrari is an American politician and a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly representing Assembly District 106, which includes parts of Albany, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, sections of the cities of Albany and Troy, and all of the cities of Cohoes and...
(D) of Cohoes (106th district); Timothy P. Gordon
Timothy P. Gordon
Timothy P. Gordon was a member of the New York State Assembly. A member of the Independence Party, Gordon caucused with the Democratic in the Assembly. He was first elected in 2006 to represent the 108th Assembly district, a traditionally Republican district...
(I
Independence Party of New York
The Independence Party is an affiliate in the U.S. state of New York of the Independence Party of America. The party was founded in 1991 by Dr. Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver from Rochester, New York, and acquired ballot status in 1994...
) of Delmar (108th district); Robert Reilly (D) of Colonie (109th district); James Tedisco
James Tedisco
James Nicholas "Jim" Tedisco is an American politician. He is the Republican New York State assemblyman from the 110th District, and was the Assembly's Minority Leader from November 2005 until April 2009. He has served in the Assembly since 1983...
(R) of Schenectady (110th district); Tony Jordan (R), (112th district); Teresa Sayward
Teresa Sayward
Teresa R. Sayward is a member of the New York State Assembly for Willsboro , first elected in 2002. She is a Republican.-Career:...
(R) of Willsboro
Willsboro, New York
Willsboro is a town in Essex County, New York, in the United States, and lies thirty miles south of the city of Plattsburgh. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,903...
(113th district); and Peter Lopez (R) of Schoharie (127th district). In the State Senate the area is represented by Roy McDonald
Roy McDonald (politician)
Roy J. McDonald is a Republican politician and member of the New York State Senate, representing the 43rd district . Before being elected to the Senate on November 4, 2008, he had served in the New York State Assembly since 2002, representing the 112th District...
(R) of Wilton (43rd district); Hugh Farley
Hugh Farley
-Early life:Prior to his service in the New York State Legislature, Hugh Farley served in the United States Army and was a high school teacher in Syracuse, New York and Maryland....
(R) of Schenectady (44th district); Betty Little (R) of Queensbury (45th district); and Neil Breslin
Neil Breslin
Neil Breslin is a member of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, he represents Albany, New York. His district follows the Albany County, New York boundaries exactly....
(D) of Albany (46th district).
School districts
Board of Cooperative Educational Services
In 1948, the New York State Legislature created the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to provide school districts with a program of shared educational services.-History:...
(BOCES) in the area: Capital Region BOCES, Questar III (Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene BOCES), Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES, or Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES. Some of these districts cross county borders since school district boundaries are independent of town and county borders. The smallest district by student enrollment is North Greenbush Common School District, with 20 students in 2006 and the largest school district is Shenendehowa Central School District
Shenendehowa Central School District
The Shenendehowa Central School District is a public school district located in New York's Capital Region. The district's main campus is located off NY 146 in Clifton Park, and is home to eight of the districts 12 schools, in five buildings. The remaining four schools are so called "neighborhood...
, with 9,745 students in the end of the 2008 school year.
Colleges and universities
The colleges and universities of the Capital District have a long and distinguished heritage. Founded in 1795, Union CollegeUnion College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
has had two US Presidents attend (Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy is the oldest continually existing technical university in the English-speaking world. Albany Law, Albany College of Pharmacy, Sage College of Albany, and Albany Medical Center (which consists of Albany Medical Center Hospital
Albany Medical Center Hospital
300px|thumb|Albany Medical CenterAlbany Medical Center Hospital is a hospital located in Albany, New York. The 650-Bed, Level-I Trauma Center was founded in 1849, ten years after the College. It serves over 2 million residents.-External links:...
and the Albany Medical College) are independent of each other but all share one campus as part of the University Heights Association, in Albany. Also in the Capital District are two Catholic schools, Siena College, a school in the Francisican tradition located in Loudenville, and St. Rose College, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in yjr Pine Hills section of Albany.
By far the largest and most important educational institution in the Capital District is The University at Albany, one of the four major university centers of the State University of New York, also located in Albany. It has an enrollment of over 17,500 students from more than 100 nations at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Students can choose from 111 undergraduate majors and minors and 120-plus graduate programs. Many of these programs are nationally ranked, among them criminal justice, information technology, public administration, social welfare and sociology. UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ranks number one in the world.
Transportation
Albany has long been at the forefront of transportation technology from the days of turnpikes and plank roads to the Erie Canal, from the first passenger railroad in the state to the oldest municipal airportAirport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in the nation. Today, Interstates, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, and the Albany International Airport
Albany International Airport
Albany International Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority....
continue to make the Capital District a major crossroads of the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
.
The Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization
Metropolitan planning organization
A metropolitan planning organization is a federally-mandated and federally-funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities...
(MPO) for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Every metropolitan area in the United States with a population of over 50,000 must have a MPO in order to get any federal transportation funding. The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) uses an MPO to make decisions on what projects are most important to a metro area for immediate versus long term funding. The USDOT will not approve federal funds for transportation projects unless they are on an MPO's list. The Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council (A/GFTC) is the MPO for the Glens Falls MSA (and the town of Moreau
Moreau, New York
Moreau is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 13,826 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the northeast part of the county, north of Saratoga Springs. Moreau is named after Jean Victor Moreau, a French general, who visited the area just before the town was...
, in Saratoga County
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
).
Interstate and other major highways
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, and was so even before Interstates
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
and the US highway system. Many of the US and state routes were originally plank roads or turnpikes connecting the region. It is here that east-west Interstate 90
Interstate 90 in New York
Interstate 90 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, I-90 extends from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line at Canaan...
(I-90) and north-south Interstate 87
Interstate 87
Interstate 87 is a Interstate Highway located entirely within New York State in the United States of America. I-87 is the longest intrastate Interstate highway in the Interstate Highway System. Its southern end is at the Bronx approaches of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City...
(I-87) meet at Exit 24 of the Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway. Exit 24 is the busiest exit on the Thruway. I-87 parallels the much older US Route 9W south of Albany and US Route 9 north and I-90 parallels New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
west from Albany; all three highways are still important for local and regional traffic despite the proximity of the Interstates. The Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway is a toll-road which carries I-90 west from Exit 24 at Albany and I-87 south. North of Albany I-87 is a non-toll highway called the Adirondack Northway. East of Albany I-90 is toll-free until meeting up with the Berkshire Spur of the Thruway in Columbia County, at which point it joins the Spur and is a toll road to the Massachusetts border. Both I-90 and I-87 have three-digit Interstate spurs, Interstate 787
Interstate 787
Interstate 787 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is at the Interstate 87/New York State Thruway exit 23 toll plaza southwest of downtown Albany...
(I-787) and Interstate 890
Interstate 890
Interstate 890 is a long auxiliary Interstate Highway in the vicinity of Schenectady, New York, United States. The highway runs southeast–northwest from an interchange with the New York State Thruway northwest of Schenectady to another junction with the Thruway south of the city and passes...
(I-890). I-787 connects with the Thruway/I-87 at Exit 23 and travels north connecting Albany with Watervliet, Cohoes, and Troy. I-787 parallels New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...
(Route 32), which remains an important road through those cities and beyond to and through Saratoga County. I-890 connects downtown Schenectady and the General Electric plant with I-90 at both ends east and west. Interstate 88
Interstate 88 (east)
Interstate 88 is an intrastate Interstate Highway entirely within the U.S. state of New York. Its western end is at Interstate 81 in Binghamton and its eastern end is at Interstate 90 in Schenectady. It serves as an important connector route from Albany to Binghamton, Elmira , and...
starts at the Thruway (I-90) in Schenectady County and travels through Schoharie County to the Southern Tier
Southern Tier
The Southern Tier is a geographical term that refers to the counties of New York State west of the Catskill Mountains along the northern border of Pennsylvania. It is a loosely defined term that generally includes the counties that border Pennsylvania west of Delaware County inclusive...
of New York and the city of Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, I-88 was originally planned to extend through the Capital District and exit the area into Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and end in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. I-88 parallels New York State Route 7
New York State Route 7
New York State Route 7 is a 180-mile long New York State Highway that runs from the New York/Pennsylvania border south of Binghamton, New York to the New York/Vermont border east of Hoosick. Most of the road runs along the Susquehanna Valley, closely paralleling Interstate 88 throughout...
(Route 7) also another major highway in the Capital District, I-88's extension that was never built was to continue to parallel (and in many places replace) Route 7. One place in the Capital District in which I-88's route has been built but remained as part of a restructured Route 7 is the limited access highway section between the Northway and Troy, it was once called "Alternate 7". Route 7 continues through Troy and is an important route to Vermont. Albany has several short arterials that help connect it to the suburban and rural fringes, such as New York State Route 85
New York State Route 85
New York State Route 85 is a state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It is long and runs from County Route 351 and CR 353 in Rensselaerville to Interstate 90 exit 4 in Albany. It also has a loop route, NY 85A, which connects NY 85 to...
which begins as a limited access highway from I-90 in Albany, but then changes to a two lane highway south of the city limits, and the South Mall Arterial
South Mall Arterial
The South Mall Arterial is a short expressway built in the early 1960's in Albany, New York, United States. It runs west from the interchange between Interstate 787, U.S. Route 9, and U.S. Route 20, at the west end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge, and runs under the Empire State Plaza...
which connects Albany to Rensselaer and carries US Route 20 and US Route 9. US Route 4 is an important route in the Capital District and starts in East Greenbush, Rensselaer County and though it is labelled as east-west in the other states in which it runs, it is labelled as north-south in New York.
Mass transit
Capital District Transportation Authority
The Capital District Transportation Authority is a public benefit organization that provides transportation in the Capital District of New York State...
, which has transit hubs in the three principal cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. There is also express bus service between Saratoga Springs and Albany. The CDTA serves a large part of Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties, and has recently started expanding its service in Saratoga County, but currently does not serve north of Saratoga Springs. The Greater Glens Falls Transit serves the city of Glens Falls, and its suburbs in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties. The Gloversville Transit System covers the twin cities of Gloversville and Johnstown along with their suburbs in Fulton County, along with one longer distance route to and through Amsterdam in Montgomery County and back. The Schoharie County Public Transit services a large swath of that county. The city of Mechanicville
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population is 5,196 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
, Saratoga County runs a public transit service on four routes which cover the city and the surrounding suburbs in the towns of Stillwater and Halfmoon in Saratoga County and the hamlet of Hemstreet Park in the town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County.
Cities with intercity bus service to outside of region
- Albany- Greyhound LinesGreyhound LinesGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
, Trailways, and Peter PanPeter Pan Bus LinesPeter Pan Bus Lines is a long-distance bus carrier headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates in the northeastern United States. Over four million passengers per year travel on Peter Pan's bus routes....
/Bonanza buses all serve a downtown terminal. There is also a Chinatown bus service that leaves from Central Avenue and goes to Chinatown in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. - Schenectady- Greyhound and Trailways serve a downtown terminal on State Street.
- Glens Falls- Greyhound and Trailways serve a downtown terminal.
- Saratoga Springs- Greyhound
- Rensselaer- MegabusMegabus (United States)Megabus, branded on buses as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada and DATTCO providing discount travel services since 2006, operating throughout the Northeast, parts of the Southeast, and Midwestern United States, and in southern Canada...
operates regular service from the Albany-Rensselaer Train Station to New York City and Ridgewood, New JerseyRidgewood, New JerseyRidgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
Airports
Nine of the 11 counties in the Capital District make up the Upper Hudson Region as defined by the Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA). In 1978 the FAA assigned the Capital District Regional Planning Commission to be responsible for this region's aviation system planning and to provide technical assistance. The Upper Hudson Region has 26 airports open to public use, with 13 designated as system airports. Those 13 airports are:
- Albany International AirportAlbany International AirportAlbany International Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority....
in Colonie, Albany County; - Schenectady County AirportSchenectady County AirportSchenectady County Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles north of the city of Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York, USA....
in Glenville, Schenectady County; - Saratoga County AirportSaratoga County AirportSaratoga County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three miles southwest of the central business district of Saratoga Springs, a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States...
in MiltonMilton (town), New YorkMilton is a town in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 17,103 at the 2000 census. Some believe that the town was named after the poet, John Milton, while other sources state that it is a shortening of "Mill-town" for the early mill activity....
, Saratoga County; - Columbia County Airport in Columbia County;
- Fulton County Airport in JohnstownJohnstown (town), New YorkJohnstown is a town located in Fulton County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 7,166. The name of the town is from landowner William Johnson....
, Fulton County; - Freehold Airport in Greenville, Greene County;
- South Albany Airport in Bethlehem, Albany County;
- Rensselaer County Airpark in PoestenkillPoestenkill (town), New YorkPoestenkill is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,054 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the Poesten Kill, an important stream in the area. The words "poesten kil" are traditionally supposed to signify "foaming water" or "foaming creek" in Dutch...
, Rensselaer County; - Duanesburg Airport in DuanesburgDuanesburg, New YorkDuanesburg is a town in Schenectady County, New York, USA. The population was 5,808 at the 2000 census. Duanesburg is named for James Duane, who held most of it as an original land grant. The town is in the western part of the county.-History:...
, Schenectady County; - Burello-Mechanicville Airport in SchaghticokeSchaghticoke (town), New YorkSchaghticoke is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 7,456 at the 2000 census. The Schaghticoke is a native tribe original to the area. The town is on the northern border of the county, north of Troy...
, Rensselaer County; - Plateau Sky Ranch in EdinburgEdinburg, New YorkEdinburg is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,384 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the Edinburgh in Scotland....
, Saratoga County; - Sharon Airport in SharonSharon, New YorkSharon is a town in Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2000 census. The town is named after a location in Connecticut, from where some early settlers came....
, Schoharie County; - Maben Airport in PrattsvillePrattsville, New YorkPrattsville is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The Town of Prattsville is in the northwest part of the county. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 700.- History :...
, Greene County.
Rail
Amtrak has several routes servicing the stations of the Capital District. The AdirondackAdirondack (Amtrak)
The Adirondack is a passenger train operated daily by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The trip takes approximately 11 hours to cover a published distance of , traveling through the scenic Hudson Valley and the Adirondack Mountains...
(north to Montreal, Quebec and south to the city of New York), Empire Service
Empire Service (Amtrak)
The Empire Service is a train service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service along the 460-mile Empire Corridor between New York City and Niagara Falls, New York...
(west to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, south to New York), Ethan Allen Express (northeast to Rutland, Vermont and south to New York), Maple Leaf (west to Toronto and south to New York), and the Lake Shore Limited (at Albany-Rensselaer separate routes from Boston and New York merge to one train west to Chicago, on way east one train splits to two, one east to Boston another south to New York). Amtrak stations in the region are:
- Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak StationAlbany-Rensselaer (Amtrak station)The Albany – Rensselaer Rail Station is a long-distance rail terminal in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles from downtown Albany across the Hudson River. , the station was Amtrak's tenth-busiest station and by 2010 it had become the ninth-busiest...
in Rensselaer County - Schenectady Amtrak StationSchenectady (Amtrak station)The Schenectady Amtrak station is a train station in Schenectady, New York served by Amtrak. The station is built under the railroad tracks with an elevator and staircase leading to a railway platform between the two tracks. The station is a popular railfan site.The station was built in 1979 on...
in Schenectady County - Saratoga Springs Amtrak StationSaratoga Springs (Amtrak station)The Saratoga Springs Amtrak station is a train station owned by the Capital District Transportation Authority and operated by Amtrak in Saratoga Springs, New York...
in Saratoga County - Fort Edward-Glens Falls Amtrak StationFort Edward-Glens Falls (Amtrak station)The Fort Edward-Glens Falls Station is a train station in Fort Edward, New York. It was originally built as a Delaware and Hudson Railroad depot in 1900, as a replacement for two earlier stations. The first was built in 1840 but was later converted into a store in 1880, the same year it was...
in Washington County - Hudson Amtrak StationHudson (Amtrak station)The Hudson Amtrak Station is a train station in Hudson, New York. Originally built in 1874 by the New York Central Railroad, it is the oldest continuously operated station in the state. Hudson station serves a total of four different Amtrak trains, all of which have a southern terminus at...
in Columbia County - Amsterdam Amtrak StationAmsterdam (Amtrak station)The Amsterdam Amtrak station is an Amtrak train station in Amsterdam, New York. It is located at 466 West Main Streeton the West end of the city and is also a popular railfanning location on the busy CSX Chicago Line, which sees 70–80 freight trains per day.While the station is located along the...
in Montgomery County - Whitehall Amtrak StationWhitehall (Amtrak station)The Whitehall Amtrak Station is a train station in Whitehall, New York. It is served by the Adirondack, and is a platform shelter located next to an abandoned Delaware and Hudson Railway depot.- External links :**...
in Washington County