What Was There: 24 Quail Street

This forlorn structure on the southeast corner of Quail and Third Streets has an unremarkable yet diverse history. Built in 1880, 24 Quail Street was a…

Homestead Park: A Postwar Development

Upper Western Avenue, near the city limits, was pretty much undeveloped hinterland into the early part of the 20th century. In 1940, an entrepreneur named William…

Samuel Munson, The Munson Block, and Its Destruction for an Expanded Marketplace

Samuel Lyman Munson was born the 14th of June, 1844, of Puritan lineage; his forebear, Thomas Munson, was one of the founders of New Haven, Connecticut.…

Jed’s Historical Fragments #252: adulterers and The Whale of 1647

Extraordinary Session, July 24, 1682. Philipp Schuyler complains of misbehavior by Indians. Conference with the chiefs about it and payment by them of all damages. Cornet…

Jed’s Historical Albany Fragments #409

JED’S HISTORICAL ALBANY FRAGMENTS was a weekly feature in the Sunday edition of the Albany Argus in and around 1909. It’s worthwhile reading because of its…

DURANT’S AMAZING 1833 BALLOON “ASCENSION”

Charles Ferson Durant, (Born Sept. 19, 1805 – died, Mar. 2, 1873) has been called “America’s First Aeronaut,” and the “father of air leafleting.” (Balloon flight…

ALBANY’S WWII HONOR ROLLS

Beginning in 1942, Service Clubs and Honor Roll Clubs began to pop up around the city, organized to do whatever they could for those boys in…

What Was There: 846 Madison Avenue

  The area we call Ontario Street was mostly farmland throughout most of the 1800’s. Sometime around 1888, Mary Miles sold the southwest corner of Madison…

What Was There: 1470 Western Avenue

  The evolution of 1470 Western Avenue, all the same building, with modifications over the years: 1. Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen (1962) Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen, a creation…

What Was There: 182 Elm Street

This little ex-storefront at the corner of Elm and South Swan Streets (182 Elm) was a neighborhood stalwart for over 50 years. It was once home…