West Albany, New York
Encyclopedia
West Albany is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, Albany County
, New York
. Parts of the neighboring city of Albany
around Watervliet Avenue Extension and Industrial Park Road are also considered part of West Albany and includes the majority of the West Albany Rail Yard. The hamlet lies along Albany's northern border and was once home to many industries including one of the largest cattle stockyards in the United States
, a large railroad switching yard, and a Tobin First Prize packing plant
. Those industries are gone now and the community is mostly a residential suburb of Albany in the shadow of abandoned industrial complexes. West Albany has historically been ethnically diverse with Polish, Italian, Irish, German, and English immigrants drawn by the 5,000+ jobs at the West Albany Rail Yard
. Though the neighborhood is predominately Italian-American, it remains diverse with the Polish American Citizens Club, the West Albany Italian Benevolent Society, the Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy, and a Korean worship center in the former St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
Though Hunter is credited with settling West Albany it is to industry that credit must be given for making West Albany a name in the world. The cattle stockyards were moved here from Albany in 1860 and quickly rose to national importance, ranking just behind Chicago
and Buffalo
at the end of the 1880s, and occasionally even surpassing them in business transacted. Growth in the hamlet accelerated due to the presence of the railroads, stockyards, meat packing and related industries. A post office
was established in 1862 and in 1865 the horse railway
(an early form of mass transit) was extended up Central Ave from downtown Albany
to West Albany.
The location of the cattle yards and the subsequent development of West Albany would not have been possible without the railroads. In 1844 the railroad between Albany and Schenectady
east of Fuller Road was moved north from the central part of the city to the Tivoli Hollow Line which ran across the northern border of the city along Patroon Creek
and through West Albany. The Albany and Schenectady Railroad
which owned this line was merged with nine other railroads as the New York Central Railroad
(NYCRR) in 1853; and work soon began on the establishment of a large rail yard, on 250 acres (1 km²) purchased in 1854 in West Albany. It would later be expanded to include another 100 acre (0.404686 km²). The NYCRR shops at the West Albany Yard employed over 6,000 people at its height at the turn of the 20th century. In 1893 those shops built Engine 999 as a special publicity project in order to win an international competition to build the world's fastest steam locomotive. Engine 999 won at 102.8 miles per hour, the first time the 100 mile/hour mark was reached by a locomotive. Today the engine is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry
in Chicago. About the same time as Engine 999 was being built locomotive construction was starting to be outsourced to the American Locomotive Company
(ALCO) in nearby Schenectady, and the last steam engine to be repaired at the West Albany Shops would be in 1952, with the train car repair shops closing in 1954. The site was sold in 1955, equipment auctioned in 1956, and the majority of the buildings were demolished in 1964. The West Albany Industrial Park in the city of Albany occupies most of the site today and there remains a small freight car operation. The main track continues to be used by freight and Amtrak
passenger trains.
West Albany sat at the center of a railroad crossroads where the road west from New England
met the road coming north from New York City
for traffic to travel west. This became a sore bottleneck for the NYCRR due to the West Albany Hill being the steepest grade between the East Coast
and Chicago. By 1922 the large grade and other inadequacies of the West Albany Yard, along with issues concerning the low drawbridges across the Hudson River
leading to it, led to the building of the Castleton Cutoff, including the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge
and the Selkirk
Yard. Trains could now bypass the entire city of Albany.
The slaughterhouse roots of West Albany continued into the later half of the 20th century, decades after the railroad abandoned hamlet, thanks to the Tobin Packing Company. In 1924 the Albany Packing Company was incorporated, and it would later merge with the Rochester Packing Company to form the Tobin Packing Company. Tobin's First Prize continues to be one of the most top-selling brands in the Northeastern US, and especially Albany, according to the current owner of the brand, John Morrell and Company. The plant, also referred to as Tobin's First Prize Center, was according to former employees so busy it pumped out 50,000 hot dogs, 700 hams, and 20,000 pounds of kielbasa
a day; and every hour roughly 360 hogs were slaughtered to keep up with this production. When the Tobin meat-packing plant closed in 1981 it employed 600 people. The First Prize Center has seen interest from several different retail development plans, including at one point or another either a Walmart, Kmart
(which backed away when it filed for bankruptcy), Home Depot (which decided to build on the other side of Interstate 90
on Central Ave in Albany), or Lowe's
. The site was even considered for a new county nursing home. The Albany County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has owned the 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) property since the late 1980s after purchasing it from the US Federal Government foreclosure sale.
With the loss of the rail yard and Tobin's the community began somewhat of a decline, at least as measured by enrollment in the West Albany Elementary School. In 1984 the school was closed after years of declining enrollment. This school has its origins as the West Albany Union Free School 19 which was established in 1857, and in 1947 the district was consolidated with others in the town of Colonie to form the South Colonie Central School District. The building continues to be used for educational purposes as the home of a Hebrew Academy.
, though Everett Road (Albany County Route 155) and Sand Creek Road are more important thoroughfares. Recent suburbanization of the former farms and woodlands surrounding West Albany has further blurred the identity of West Albany and eliminated any buffer from neighboring hamlets such as Loudonville and Roessleville.
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...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Parts of the neighboring city of 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...
around Watervliet Avenue Extension and Industrial Park Road are also considered part of West Albany and includes the majority of the West Albany Rail Yard. The hamlet lies along Albany's northern border and was once home to many industries including one of the largest cattle stockyards in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a large railroad switching yard, and a Tobin First Prize packing plant
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
. Those industries are gone now and the community is mostly a residential suburb of Albany in the shadow of abandoned industrial complexes. West Albany has historically been ethnically diverse with Polish, Italian, Irish, German, and English immigrants drawn by the 5,000+ jobs at the West Albany Rail Yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
. Though the neighborhood is predominately Italian-American, it remains diverse with the Polish American Citizens Club, the West Albany Italian Benevolent Society, the Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy, and a Korean worship center in the former St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
History
Andrew R. Hunter purchased in the 1850s extensive holdings in what would become West Albany, improving and surveying lots that he would then subsequently sell to homesteaders. He is credited with making West Albany.Though Hunter is credited with settling West Albany it is to industry that credit must be given for making West Albany a name in the world. The cattle stockyards were moved here from Albany in 1860 and quickly rose to national importance, ranking just behind Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and 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...
at the end of the 1880s, and occasionally even surpassing them in business transacted. Growth in the hamlet accelerated due to the presence of the railroads, stockyards, meat packing and related industries. A post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established in 1862 and in 1865 the horse railway
Horsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
(an early form of mass transit) was extended up Central Ave from downtown Albany
Downtown Albany Historic District
The Downtown Albany Historic District is a 19-block, area of Albany, New York, United States, centered around the junction of State and North and South Pearl streets . It is the oldest settled area of the city, originally planned and settled in the 17th century, and the nucleus of its later...
to West Albany.
The location of the cattle yards and the subsequent development of West Albany would not have been possible without the railroads. In 1844 the railroad between Albany and 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...
east of Fuller Road was moved north from the central part of the city to the Tivoli Hollow Line which ran across the northern border of the city along Patroon Creek
Patroon Creek
Patroon Creek is a stream in Albany County, New York, United States and is a tributary of the Hudson River which flows south to New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The creek's source is Rensselaer Lake in the western section of the city of Albany and flows along the northern border of said city...
and through West Albany. 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....
which owned this line was merged with nine other railroads 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...
(NYCRR) in 1853; and work soon began on the establishment of a large rail yard, on 250 acres (1 km²) purchased in 1854 in West Albany. It would later be expanded to include another 100 acre (0.404686 km²). The NYCRR shops at the West Albany Yard employed over 6,000 people at its height at the turn of the 20th century. In 1893 those shops built Engine 999 as a special publicity project in order to win an international competition to build the world's fastest steam locomotive. Engine 999 won at 102.8 miles per hour, the first time the 100 mile/hour mark was reached by a locomotive. Today the engine is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
in Chicago. About the same time as Engine 999 was being built locomotive construction was starting to be outsourced to 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) in nearby Schenectady, and the last steam engine to be repaired at the West Albany Shops would be in 1952, with the train car repair shops closing in 1954. The site was sold in 1955, equipment auctioned in 1956, and the majority of the buildings were demolished in 1964. The West Albany Industrial Park in the city of Albany occupies most of the site today and there remains a small freight car operation. The main track continues to be used by freight and 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...
passenger trains.
West Albany sat at the center of a railroad crossroads where the road west from 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...
met the road coming north from New York City
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...
for traffic to travel west. This became a sore bottleneck for the NYCRR due to the West Albany Hill being the steepest grade between the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and Chicago. By 1922 the large grade and other inadequacies of the West Albany Yard, along with issues concerning the low drawbridges across 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...
leading to it, led to the building of the Castleton Cutoff, including the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge
Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge
The Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge is a railroad bridge spanning the Hudson River at Castleton-on-Hudson and Selkirk, New York in the United States....
and the Selkirk
Selkirk, New York
Selkirk is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located south of the city of Albany, it is an suburb of that city....
Yard. Trains could now bypass the entire city of Albany.
The slaughterhouse roots of West Albany continued into the later half of the 20th century, decades after the railroad abandoned hamlet, thanks to the Tobin Packing Company. In 1924 the Albany Packing Company was incorporated, and it would later merge with the Rochester Packing Company to form the Tobin Packing Company. Tobin's First Prize continues to be one of the most top-selling brands in the Northeastern US, and especially Albany, according to the current owner of the brand, John Morrell and Company. The plant, also referred to as Tobin's First Prize Center, was according to former employees so busy it pumped out 50,000 hot dogs, 700 hams, and 20,000 pounds of kielbasa
Kielbasa
Kielbasa, kołbasa, kobasa, kovbasa, kobasa, kobasi, and kubasa are common North American anglicizations for a type of Eastern European sausage. Synonyms include Polish sausage, Ukrainian sausage, etc...
a day; and every hour roughly 360 hogs were slaughtered to keep up with this production. When the Tobin meat-packing plant closed in 1981 it employed 600 people. The First Prize Center has seen interest from several different retail development plans, including at one point or another either a Walmart, Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
(which backed away when it filed for bankruptcy), Home Depot (which decided to build on the other side of Interstate 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
on Central Ave in Albany), or Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
. The site was even considered for a new county nursing home. The Albany County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has owned the 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) property since the late 1980s after purchasing it from the US Federal Government foreclosure sale.
With the loss of the rail yard and Tobin's the community began somewhat of a decline, at least as measured by enrollment in the West Albany Elementary School. In 1984 the school was closed after years of declining enrollment. This school has its origins as the West Albany Union Free School 19 which was established in 1857, and in 1947 the district was consolidated with others in the town of Colonie to form the South Colonie Central School District. The building continues to be used for educational purposes as the home of a Hebrew Academy.
Geography
West Albany is in the southern part of the town of Colonie, along the border with Albany. Like all hamlets in New York, West Albany is very loosely defined geographically. Portions of the hamlet have been annexed to the neighboring city of Albany, but still identify as West Albany. Exchange Street is considered to be main streetMain Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
, though Everett Road (Albany County Route 155) and Sand Creek Road are more important thoroughfares. Recent suburbanization of the former farms and woodlands surrounding West Albany has further blurred the identity of West Albany and eliminated any buffer from neighboring hamlets such as Loudonville and Roessleville.