Holiday Prep

There are still a few food trucks out by the Capitol and Thanksgiving turkeys are yet to be cooked, but the holiday tree is being installed on the Plaza.

Under Clark's Corner

Not too long after writing about the demolition of the Paul Clark Tavern at the corner of Madison Avenue and Lark Street, the site was excavated further and I noticed this brick structure.  This week, I finally got a chance to poke my camera through the fence surrounding the construction area.

Don Rittner has some suggestions as to what it might have been in his excellent post, What Happened To Paul Clark's Corner?

The brick building in the background is the former Metroland office, now being converted to condos.

Also:  Paul Clark's gravestone

From Jail To Synagogue

This modest little brick building at the far end of Federal Street off Delaware Avenue was erected in the 1930s as a synagogue for the Sons of Israel (a congregation which would later merge with others to form Temple Israel).  I remember this building being vacant when I first noticed it in the mid-1980s, but it now seems to be occupied by a business.

A fascinating detail about this building is that it was constructed from bricks recycled from the demolition of the Albany Penitentiary.

1854 Cornerstone

White marble cornerstone at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church on Hamilton Street. 

Faceless Angel

The face of this angel has crumbled away on the facade of St. Francis of Assisi (formerly St. James) Church on Delaware Avenue.

Warrents Commitments

On Sunday, there was a small fair at the Times Union Center to mark Albany County's 350th birthday.  In addition to tables from local businesses, the County Hall of Records had a little display.  In addition to free printed copies of the Dongan Charter, they also had some of these old metal boxes - which once held county records - for free. 

Pumpkin & Fish

The golden weather vane atop Albany Academy is one of the most famous landmarks of the Hackett Boulevard area.  Mounted on a cupola which architect Marcus T. Reynolds patterned after the school's old home in Academy Park (which was, in turned designed by Philip Hooker), it was installed here in 1931.  The distinctive weather vane originally adorned the Second Presbyterian Church which once stood at the corner of Lodge and Chapel Streets (now the site of a hotel parking garage).