Capitol Park Plaque

This plaque - one of the Bicentennial Tablets - is easy to miss as it's set low to the ground. Located in the park on the east side of the State Capitol, it gives a short, but significant history of the previous Capitol building on the site.

Exchange Street

A small Bicentennial tablet on the wall of the Old Post Office on Broadway at the foot of State Street. There's not much of the original street left, only a short walkway between the Old Post Office and the Federal Courthouse. At one time, though, Mark Lane led to wharves on the Hudson River.

For more on the history of the Bicentennial Tablets, please see my new post at the Albany (NY) History blog.

Van Schaick Street

Bicentennial plaque on the south wall of the Old Dutch Church on Broadway. This part of the former Van Schaick Street is gone, now occupied by part of a memorial garden for cremated remains, but a short part of Monroe Street remains running north from Chapel Street behind the church.

The Old Capitol

An unassuming, but interesting marker in the East Capitol Park. One of the many Bicentennial plaques scattered around the downtown area, it tells of some of the notable historic figures who spent time at the Old Capitol building which originally stood here.

The Street Formerly Known As...

I love finding old plaques. Most of the ones in downtown Albany were placed in 1886 as part of the City's Bicentennial. Some of the smaller plaques like this one near South Pearl Street give the original names of familiar streets.

I already knew that my street was originally called Lydius Street. In fact, one of the older deeds for my house actually gives the location as Lydius Street. But it was still great to find the old Bicentennial plaque high on the wall of a former bank.

Bicentennial plaques

In 1886, as a part of Albany's bicentennial celebrations, almost fifty small plaques were installed at sites of historic significance around the city.

Unfortunately, over the years, many of those plaques have vanished. Some may have been stolen, others simply lost when moved to make way for new buildings or repairs.

This one, affixed to the Old Post Office at the corner of Broadway and State Street is one of the surviving plaques and one of my favorites because any reference to a burial ground or cemetery will get my attention.

One missing plaque that I would love to locate is the plaque that was placed at Arch and South Pearl Streets to mark the location of the underground Beaverkill. I've made two trips to the intersection, hoping to find it, but I assume it was moved and misplaced when the streets were repaved.