Editing Albany, Georgia (section)

====1940 tornado gallery====
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On April 11, 1906, the [[Carnegie Library]], created by matching funds from the philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]], was opened downtown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carnegie Library Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=186949 |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> Originally a [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] facility under [[Jim Crow]] laws, it was not open to African Americans until after the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. It functioned as a library through 1985. In 1992, after renovation, the building was reopened as the headquarters of the Albany Area Arts Council.

In 1912, the downtown U.S. Post Office and courthouse building opened. Other federal projects have been important to the city and region. In 1937, Chehaw Park was constructed as a part of a [[New Deal]] program under the administration of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] during the [[Great Depression]].

Major changes came with the expansion of military facilities in the city, secured by the powerful [[Southern Block]] in Congress. A [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] training base was built near Albany on land owned by the city and leased to the Air Corps for $1 a year.  Construction of the base and airfield by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] began on March 25, 1941. After being used during World War II, the airfield was temporarily deactivated between August 15, 1946, and September 1, 1947.

After the beginning of the [[Cold War]] and the founding of the [[U.S. Air Force]] in late 1947, the airfield was reactivated and upgraded with runways for a U.S. Air Force base.  It was named [[Turner Air Force Base]]. The Air Force used this base for heavy bomber jets, such as the [[B-52 Stratofortress]]. A number of other Air Force units were also housed at this base.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Turner_AFB.htm
| title=Turner AFB
| access-date=May 11, 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060513110048/http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Turner_AFB.htm| archive-date= May 13, 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> Among them were the 1370th Photomapping Group,<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.1370th.com/index.htm
 |title       = 1370th Photomapping and Charting Group
 |access-date  = May 11, 2006
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060517174305/http://www.1370th.com/index.htm
 |archive-date = May 17, 2006
 |url-status     = dead
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> and refueling and maintenance functions.

In 1951, the [[U.S. Marine Corps]] established a logistics base on the eastern outskirts of Albany. During the 1950s and 1960s, so many white servicemen and associated workers arrived that the city briefly became majority white for the first time since 1870.

In 1960, the population of Albany reached 50,000 people. During 1961–1962, African Americans in Albany played a prominent role in the [[Civil Rights Movement]] (see the [[Albany Movement]]). They led protests and non-violent demonstrations to end segregation of public facilities, gain the right to vote, and advance social justice. Assisted by activists from [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference|SCLC]], [[Congress of Racial Equality|CORE]], [[SNCC]], and the [[NAACP]], African Americans and supporters took a stand to fight segregation through nonviolence. The city repealed its [[Jim Crow]] laws in 1963,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://casetext.com/case/anderson-v-city-of-albany|title=Anderson v. City of Albany|author=United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit|publisher=Casetext|date=September 12, 1963|accessdate=May 24, 2021}}</ref> but African Americans did not recover the ability to exercise their voting rights until Congress passed enforcement authority with the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].

In 1967, the Air Force closed all its operations at the base, which was transferred to the [[U.S. Navy]] and renamed Naval Air Station Albany.  NAS Albany was used as the shore base of nearly all the Navy's [[RA-5C Vigilante]] twin-jet, carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. In 1974, the base was closed and the property was returned to the city.

In 1979, the Miller Brewing Company purchased part of the old naval base's property to build a new brewery.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.turnerfield-miller.com
| title=History of Turner Field Albany Georgia
| access-date=May 11, 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060524015648/http://www.turnerfield-miller.com/| archive-date= May 24, 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref>

The decline in military bases and railroad restructuring nationwide both led to job losses in the Albany area. Much of the remaining white population moved to suburbs and newer housing out of the city, which became majority African American in the 1970s. Struggling with a poor economy, in 1988 Albany made national headlines as the "Murder Capital of America", with the highest murder rate per capita in the United States. Other cities have since taken that title.

Some late twentieth-century floods have been extreme. In 1994, a severe flood was caused by rainfall from [[Tropical Storm Alberto (1994)#Impact|Tropical Storm Alberto]]; it killed 14 people and displaced 22,000. The state supported a $150 million renovation of the [[Albany State University]] campus to repair storm damage and complete upgrades. New housing was built on the south side of town to replace what had been destroyed. In 1998, the Flint River crested at {{convert|35|ft|m}} above its bed and flooded parts of the city.

Because of such flooding, the city has decided against redeveloping areas along the riverfront floodplain for commercial or residential purposes. This area is being improved for other uses, with a riverfront walkway and a new aquarium built over a tributary creek.

On January 2 and 22, 2017, violent tornadoes passed through the area, claiming several lives and destroying mobile home parks in the process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/170122_rpts.html|title=Storm Prediction Center Storm Reports Page|publisher=NOAA |website=Spc.noaa.gov}}</ref> On October 10, 2018 [[Hurricane Michael]], the first major hurricane (Category 3+) to directly impact Georgia since the 1890s, plowed through South Georgia leaving widespread devastation in its path.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.weather.gov/ffc/2018_hurricane_michael | title=Hurricane Michael Hits Georgia | publisher=National Weather Service | date=October 10, 2018}}</ref>