Sheridan Avenue Memorial

Tucked into the corner of Sheridan Avenue and Dove Street, this fenced plot of grass is home to a memorial which (according to a short 2002 piece in the Times Union) honors residents of Albany's 12th Ward who fought and died in World War II.

I remember driving past this corner often as a little girl. At the time, I didn't really distinguish between memorials and mausoleums. Which led to a rather macabre image of fallen soldiers actually entombed inside, just behind that flag. The flag, back then, was smaller and set against a blue background. I'm not sure when it was repainted, but I recall it was quite shabby when I was young.

A Distinctive Door

This little building on Sheridan Avenue below Lark Street wouldn't have caught my eye if note for the damaged, but pretty tiles decorating its steps. But it's the use of a 19th-centruy fireplace insert on the door that stands out. I have an old fireplace with a similar insert and I've fond of these. Using it as window bars is a rather interesting idea.

The building used to house L'Esperance Tile Works (do check out their work...it's beautiful) and has most recently been used as workspace by the Upstate Artists Guild (hence the lettering on the door).

Revelations

My great-uncle used to live down in Sheridan Hollow when I was very little. His house there is long, long gone; a fire destroyed the building and a parking lot now occupies the corner.

On a short cut through the old neighborhood this past autumn, I passed that corner for the first time in years. The asphalt paving had crumbled away to reveal a surprisingly elegant pattern of bricks beneath.

Gone The Way of The Buggy Whip

This shabby brick building on Spruce Street just of Sheridan Avenue is certainly a relic of a different era. The painted sign on the east facade announces the availability of horses for sale or exchange. It recalls a time when horses and the vehicles they drew were still the primary way to travel or move goods around the city and when parts of this area above Sheridan Hollow were used for stables for the elegant houses on Elk Street and Washington Avenue above.

A couple of wealthy 19th-century families even pastured cows for fresh milk here.

The horse business in Albany has gone the way of the proverbial buggy whip, of course, but there are visible remnants of it here and there. In some downtown neighborhoods, carriage houses have been renovated into modern dwellings, but still retains original features such as the beams used to hoist hay bales into lofts.

Down In The Hollow

This is the view west along Sheridan Avenue just above North Pearl Street. This street was once the bed of a stream, the Fox Creek or Vozenkill. After the stream was moved underground (not unlike the Beaverkill across town), the area known as Sheridan Hollow was built over with small, shabby flats and the area became one of 19th-century Albany's slums.

The area became home to immigrant families, mostly new arrivals from Ireland. Unemployment in the Hollow was estimated at 20%. Despite a then-modern sewer created when the Vozenkill was buried, sanitation was poor and many of the houses relied on privies. Water- and sewage-borne diseases such as cholera were all too common afflictions. Overcrowding was so extreme that an 1850 census showed 84 people (from less than twenty families) living in only three two-story homes.

The area remains very shabby to this day. A hotel and upscale restaurant (Yono's at the right of this photo), a nice cafe (the Victory) do well enough at its eastern most end. But venture up the street - past the gloomy bulk of the old ANSWERS incinerating plant and a small assortment of industrial buildings and parking facilities for the State offices on the hill to the south - and there's very little to see. Just rows of abandoned wood-frame row houses with boarded windows and NO TRESPASSING signs. The area was rough enough around the edges when I was a child and my favorite great-uncle lived on Sheridan Ave. at South Swan. But it's gone down since then.

Endless Ascent

These steep stairs are one of three flights of stairs leading up - or down - to Sheridan Avenue. One flight runs down from Columbia Place near the house of Erastus Palmer. That one is now gated and overgrown with weeds at the top. The one above is the middle set and runs down from Swan Street. My great-uncle used to live at the foot of this set when I was small. The next flight is part of the parking lots below Elk Street.

When I was very young, these stairs were quiet derelict and scary. The steps were cracked, choked with weeds, and had a reputation for being dangerous. They've since been repaired and, while they're still slightly seedy at times, they're greatly improved.

Theatre Row

There's not a great deal to write about this particular photo. Aside from history, theatre (specifically Broadway musicals) is one of my biggest interests. So, when I saw this street sign on Sheridan Avenue, I just had to take a photo of it.

Also, since it is Thanksgiving, I want to just say a very sincere thank you to everyone who has been reading, following, and commenting on this blog.