Hudson River Way
Encyclopedia
The Hudson River Way is a pedestrian bridge that links Broadway in downtown
Albany, New York
with the Corning Preserve on the bank of the Hudson River
. The bridge crosses Interstate 787
.
cost was covered by the municipal government, the New York State Department of Transportation
($3.3 million including an Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
grant), and over 11,000 individuals, businesses, and other organizations who purchased personalized brick
s to support the bridge's construction, which started in April 2001. These bricks now pave the structure. The grand opening was on August 10, 2002.
nine-foot obelisk
-lampposts that feature trompe l'oeil
still-life paintings by AlbanyMural Ltd http://www.AlbanyMural.com. The Hudson River Way paintings were awarded the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Award in 2004 for exceptional quality.
Sponsored by individuals and organizations, each mural depicts a historical period or event in Albany's history, from prehistoric
time
s to the present. Many of the paintings are based on archaeological artifacts in area museums. Research for the composition of the paintings took 18 months and involved dozens of experts and historians from across the Capital District
. The paintings themselves took two years to complete and were executed by principal artist Jan-Marie Spanard http://www.JanMarieSpanard.com and assistant artist Koren Lazarou.
The paintings are made of a permanent pigment called potassium silicate. This same material has been used on exterior architecture in Western Europe since the mid-19th century and around the world in the past half-century. Very few American artists create paintings with potassium silicate mineral coatings, but these are the only pigments that can be applied to a stone or concrete substrate that will last indefinitely without fading or lifting from the surface. The Potassium silicate paints used on the Hudson River Way were produced by a German company called Keimfarben
.
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Albany, New York
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...
with the Corning Preserve on the bank of 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...
. The bridge crosses 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...
.
History
The Hudson River Way was intended to spark downtown and riverfront growth in Albany. The bridge's 8.5 million dollarUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
cost was covered by the municipal government, the New York State Department of Transportation
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...
($3.3 million including an Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in the post-Interstate Highway System era...
grant), and over 11,000 individuals, businesses, and other organizations who purchased personalized brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s to support the bridge's construction, which started in April 2001. These bricks now pave the structure. The grand opening was on August 10, 2002.
Murals
The bridge has thirty concreteConcrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
nine-foot obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
-lampposts that feature trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
still-life paintings by AlbanyMural Ltd http://www.AlbanyMural.com. The Hudson River Way paintings were awarded the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Award in 2004 for exceptional quality.
Sponsored by individuals and organizations, each mural depicts a historical period or event in Albany's history, from prehistoric
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
s to the present. Many of the paintings are based on archaeological artifacts in area museums. Research for the composition of the paintings took 18 months and involved dozens of experts and historians from across the Capital District
Capital District
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...
. The paintings themselves took two years to complete and were executed by principal artist Jan-Marie Spanard http://www.JanMarieSpanard.com and assistant artist Koren Lazarou.
The paintings are made of a permanent pigment called potassium silicate. This same material has been used on exterior architecture in Western Europe since the mid-19th century and around the world in the past half-century. Very few American artists create paintings with potassium silicate mineral coatings, but these are the only pigments that can be applied to a stone or concrete substrate that will last indefinitely without fading or lifting from the surface. The Potassium silicate paints used on the Hudson River Way were produced by a German company called Keimfarben
Keimfarben
Keimfarben in a German paint manufacturing company. Its colours have daubed walls at buildings such as the White House and Windsor Castle.-History:...
.