Editing Albany, New York (section)

===1800 to 1942===
[[File:Albany New York 1895 Restored.jpg|thumb|This 1895 map of Albany shows the gridded [[City block|block system]] as it expanded around the former [[Toll road|turnpikes]].|alt=A yellowed map of the city showing streets, the Hudson River, and municipal boundaries; Albany is shaded to distinguish from neighboring towns.]]

Albany has been a center of transportation for much of its history. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Albany saw development of the [[Toll road|turnpike]] and by 1815, Albany was the turnpike center of the state. The development of [[Simeon De Witt]]'s gridded block system in 1794—which renamed streets that had originally named after the [[British royal family]] with names of [[Streets of Albany, New York|birds and mammals]] instead{{efn|A rough grid pattern was established in 1764, aligning the streets with Clinton Avenue, which marked the northern border of Albany at the time. [[Patroon]] of the [[Manor of Rensselaerswyck]] Stephen Van Rensselaer II followed the same directional system north of Clinton Avenue on his lands; however, the two systems were not related otherwise, which is why cross streets north and south of Clinton Avenue do not align. The stockade surrounding the city was taken down shortly before the Revolutionary War, allowing for expansion. De Witt, city surveyor at the time, continued the grid pattern to the west and renamed on his 1794 map any streets named after the [[British royal family]]. Hawk Street is the only road that retained its original name; the rest were renamed after birds and mammals.<ref name=waite185>Waite (1993), p. 185</ref><ref name=mceneny68>McEneny (2006), p. 68</ref>|group=Note}}—was intersected by these major arterials coming out of Albany, cutting through the city at unexpected angles.<ref name=mceneny75>McEneny (2006), p. 75</ref><ref name=waite201>Waite (1993), p. 201</ref> The construction of the turnpike, in conjunction with canal and railroad systems, made Albany the hub of transportation for pioneers going to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] and the [[Michigan Territory]] in the early and mid-19th century.<ref name=mceneny75 /><ref name=britannica>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12570/Albany Albany]. (2010). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved June 27, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref>

[[File:Albany Steamer.jpg|thumb|The [[Steamboat|steamer]] ''Albany'' departs for New York City; at the height of steam travel in 1884. 1.5 million passengers took the trip.<ref name=mceneny92>McEneny (2006), p. 92</ref>|alt=A white steam ship is seen near the shore of the Hudson River in front of the downtown area of Albany; the New York State Capitol can be seen in the background.]]

In 1807, [[Robert Fulton]] initiated a [[steamboat]] line from New York City to Albany, the first successful enterprise of its kind anywhere in the world.<ref name=mceneny92/> By [[1810 United States census|1810]], with 10,763 people, Albany was the tenth-largest urban place in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab04.txt |title = Population of the 46 Urban Places: 1810 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}</ref> The town and village north of Albany known as "the Colonie"{{efn|"The Colonie" made up the current area of Arbor Hill and was the more urban part of the [[Manor of Rensselaerswyck]], which surrounded Albany.<ref name=annex/> It is the source of the name of the current town and village of Colonie.<ref>{{cite web |title=Colonie History: Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Town of Colonie |date=June 19, 2008 |url=http://www.colonie.org/historian/index.html#faq |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923002413/http://colonie.org/historian/index.html#faq |archive-date=September 23, 2010  }}</ref> Though retaining the original Dutch spelling, the municipality retains a unique pronunciation—{{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɒ|l|ə|ˈ|n|iː}}—that even a preeminent Beverwijck historian can not explain.<ref>{{cite web |title=You say RENseler, I say renseLAR |last=Norder |first=Akum |publisher=Times Union |date=December 27, 2012 |access-date=February 18, 2023 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/You-say-RENseler-I-say-renseLAR-4149714.php}}</ref>|group=Note}} was annexed in 1815.<ref name=annex>{{cite web|title=Appendix: Annexations 1815–1967 |publisher=City of Albany Department of Urban Redevelopment |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url=http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/achor/inout/ichap5.html |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823005023/http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/achor/inout/ichap5.html |archive-date=August 23, 2008 }}</ref> In 1825 the [[Erie Canal]] was completed, forming a continuous water route from the [[Great Lakes]] to New York City. Unlike the current [[New York State Canal System|Barge Canal]], which ends at nearby [[Waterford, New York|Waterford]], the original Erie Canal ended at Albany; Lock 1 was north of Colonie Street.<ref>{{cite map |last=Andrews |first=Horace |title=City of Albany |year=1895 |publisher=Julius Bien & Company |scale=1 inch per 1000 feet |url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albany_New_York_1895_Restored.jpg}}</ref> The Canal emptied into a {{convert|32|acre|ha|adj=on}} man-made lagoon called the [[Albany Basin]], which was Albany's main port from 1825 until the [[Port of Albany-Rensselaer]] opened in 1932.<ref>{{cite book|title=The People's Welfare: Law and Regulation in Nineteenth-Century America |last=Novak |first=William J |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |location= Chapel Hill|isbn=0-8078-4611-2 |page=139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vQWaL-dT0EC&q=1825%20pier%20albany%20basin&pg=PA139}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=New York: A Guide to the Empire State |author=New York State Historical Association |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1940 |location=New York City |page=727 |isbn=9781603540315 |oclc=504264143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmbOZd4D-ccC&pg=PA727}}</ref> In 1829, while working as a professor at the [[Albany Academy]], [[Joseph Henry]], widely regarded as "the foremost American scientist of the 19th century",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nas.edu/history/members/henry.html |title=Joseph Henry |access-date=September 18, 2010 |work=Distinguished Members Gallery, National Academy of Sciences |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209134636/http://www.nas.edu/history/members/henry.html |archive-date=December 9, 2006 }}</ref> built the first [[electric motor]]. Three years later, he discovered [[Inductance|electromagnetic self-induction]] (the [[International System of Units|SI unit]] for which is now the [[Henry (unit)|henry]]). He went on to be the first [[Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution]].<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/261387/Joseph-Henry Joseph Henry]". (2010). ''Britannica''. Retrieved September 18, 2010.</ref> In the [[1830 United States census|1830]] and [[1840 United States census|1840]] censuses, Albany was ranked as the ninth-largest urban place in the nation;<ref>{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab06.txt |title = Population of the 90 Urban Places: 1830 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab07.txt |title = Population of the 100 Urban Places: 1840 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}</ref> it dropped back to tenth in [[1850 United States census|1850]].<ref>{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab08.txt |title = Population of the 100 Urban Places: 1850 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}</ref> This was the last time the city was one of the top ten largest urban places in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |author = Gibson, Campbell |url = https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/twps0027.html |title = Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 |publisher = U.S. Bureau of the Census |date = June 15, 1998 |access-date = July 14, 2010}}</ref>

Albany also has significant history with [[History of rail transport in the United States|rail transport]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania RR Chronology |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |year=2005 |url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1826%20Apr%2005.pdf |page=5 |access-date=June 2, 2010}}</ref> as the location of two major regional railroad headquarters. The [[Delaware and Hudson Railway]] was headquartered in Albany at what is now the [[SUNY System Administration Building]].<ref name=waite245>Waite (1993), p. 245</ref> In 1853, [[Erastus Corning]], a noted industrialist and Albany's mayor from 1834 to 1837, consolidated ten railroads stretching from Albany to Buffalo into the [[New York Central Railroad]] (NYCRR), headquartered in Albany until [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] moved it to New York City in 1867.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Railroad Builders, A Chronicle of the Welding of the States |first=John |last=Moody |year=1921 |publisher=Yale University Press |page=27 |isbn=9780722227442 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeApAAAAYAAJ&q=The%20Railroad%20Builders&pg=PA26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=For a glimpse of the future, backtrack |author=Anderson, Eric |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 17, 2010 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11008144 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707204603/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11008144 }}</ref> One of the ten companies that formed the NYCRR was the [[Mohawk and Hudson Railroad]], which was the first railroad in the state and the first successful steam railroad running regularly scheduled service in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Railroads in New York State |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/passenger-rail/passenger-rail-service/history-railroads |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214022752/https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/passenger-rail/passenger-rail-service/history-railroads |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Shaughnessy-DH|page=89}}</ref>

[[File:Albany Lumber Yard 1870s.png|thumb|left|The [[Albany Lumber District]] was home to the largest lumber market in the nation in 1865.<ref name=lumber/>|alt=A flat boat with large, wooden boards piled on it floats in a narrow channel surrounded by more piles of wooden boards. A few men pose on the boat.]]While the key to Albany's economic prosperity in the 19th century was transportation, industry and business also played a role. Largely thanks to the city's Dutch and German roots, beer was one of its biggest commodities. [[Beverwyck Brewery]], originally known as Quinn and Nolan ([[Michael N. Nolan|Nolan]] being mayor of Albany 1878–1883),<ref>{{cite web |title=Nolan, Michael Nicholas |publisher=United States Congress |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=June 30, 2010 |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000126}}</ref> was the last remaining brewer from that time when it closed in 1972. The city's location at the east end of the Erie Canal gave it unparalleled access to both raw products and a captive customer base in the west.<ref name=mceneny8788>McEneny (2006), pp. 87–88</ref> Albany was known for its publishing houses, and to some extent, still is. Albany was second only to [[Boston]] in the number of books produced for most of the 19th century.<ref name=mceneny88>McEneny (2006), p. 88</ref> Iron foundries in both the north and south ends of the city attracted thousands of immigrants to the city for industrial jobs. Intricate [[wrought-iron]] details constructed in those years remain visible on what are now historic buildings. The iron industry waned by the 1890s due to increased costs associated with a newly [[Trade union|unionized]] workforce and the opening of mines in the [[Mesabi Range]] in [[Minnesota]].<ref name=mceneny8892>McEneny (2006), pp. 88 & 92</ref>

[[File:BroadwayAlbanyLincoln.jpg|thumb|Broadway in Albany during the [[Funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln|funeral ceremonies]] for Abraham Lincoln (1865)]]

Albany's other major exports during the 18th and 19th centuries were furs, wheat, meat, and lumber.<ref name=mceneny85>McEneny (2006), p. 65</ref> By 1865, there were almost 4,000 saw mills in the Albany area<ref name=mceneny85/> and the [[Albany Lumber District]] was the largest lumber market in the nation.<ref name=lumber>{{cite book |title=The Albany Lumber Trade: Its History and Extent |last= |first= |year=1872 |publisher=The Argus Company |location=Albany |page=7 |oclc=8260640 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XkDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> The city was also home to a number of banks. The Bank of Albany (1792–1861) was the second chartered bank in New York.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bank of Albany |publisher=New York State Museum |date=January 6, 2008 |access-date=July 19, 2010 |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bankofalbany.html |archive-date=July 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720202819/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bankofalbany.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The city was the original home of the Albank (founded in 1820 as the Albany Savings Bank),<ref>{{cite news |title=Trust(Co) Worth Advice? |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=June 10, 2007 |page=C1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6462762 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030005/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6462762 }}</ref> [[KeyBank]] (founded in 1825 as the Commercial Bank of Albany),<ref>{{cite news |title=KeyCorp |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |date=November 10, 2008 |page=C8 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7164396 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025942/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=7164396 }}</ref> and Norstar Bank (founded as the State Bank of Albany in 1803).<ref>{{cite news |title=Bank Merger Clears Last Hurdle |author=Gordon, Marcy |date=March 9, 2004 |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |work=Times Union (Albany) |page=E1 |url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6280718 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030218/http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6280718 }}</ref> [[American Express]] was founded in Albany in 1850 as an [[express mail]] business.<ref name=reynolds603>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNU0AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA603|title=Albany Chronicles|year=1906}}</ref> In 1871, the northwestern portion of Albany—west from Magazine Street—was annexed to the neighboring town of Guilderland<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGkJAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA77|title=Bi-centennial History of Albany|last1=Howell|first1=George Rogers|year=1886}}</ref> after the town of [[Watervliet (town), New York|Watervliet]] refused annexation of the territory.<ref>{{cite book |title=Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Ninety-Third Session of the Legislature, Begun January Fourth, and Ended April Twenty-Sixth, 1870, in the City of Albany. Volume I |access-date=September 11, 2010 |year=1870 |publisher=State of New York/Weed, Parsons and Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hixAAAAIAAJ&q=watervliet+albany+1870+law+annexation&pg=PA412 |page=412}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Ninety-Fourth Session of the Legislature, Begun January Third, and Ended April Twenty-first 1871, in the City of Albany. Volume II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ-xAAAAIAAJ&q=guilderland+albany+1871+law+annexation&pg=PA1688 |page=1688 |access-date = September 11, 2010 |year=1871 |publisher=State of New York/The Argus Company}}</ref> In return for this loss, portions of Bethlehem and Watervliet were added to Albany. Part of the land annexed to Guilderland was ceded back to Albany in 1910, setting up the current western border.<ref name=annex/>

The train carrying the body of slain President Abraham Lincoln came through Albany on the way to Illinois and some claim the ghostly image of that train remains.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Times Union article|work=Times Union |date=October 8, 2021|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/eagle-podcast-ghost-story-lincoln-funeral-train-16518643.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008145010/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/eagle-podcast-ghost-story-lincoln-funeral-train-16518643.php |archive-date=October 8, 2021 |last1=Marshall |first1=Jessica }}</ref>

Albany opened one of the first commercial airports in the world, and the first municipal airport in the United States, in 1908.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} Originally on a polo field on Loudon Road, it moved to [[Westerlo Island]] in 1909 and remained there until 1928.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} The Albany Municipal Airport—jointly owned by the city and county—was moved to its current location in [[Colonie, New York|Colonie]] in 1928.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} By 1916 Albany's northern and southern borders reached their modern courses;<ref name=annex/> [[Westerlo Island]], to the south, became the second-to-last annexation, which occurred in 1926.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cutting Ice: Big Business in Bethlehem |publisher=Town of Bethlehem |url=http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/history/historyArticlesIceCutting.asp |access-date=September 11, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006020426/http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/history/historyArticlesIceCutting.asp |archive-date=October 6, 2010 }}</ref>