Van Rensselaer Park

A pair of old iron gates flanking an entrance to Van Rensselaer Park between Ten Broeck Street and Hall Place. 

Since this pretty little green space was once the old Colonie burial grounds, I'll probably post much more about this park at albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com fairly soon (I've slowly expanded that blog to not only cover the Church Grounds at the Rural Cemetery, but other historic and long-gone Albany burial grounds).

Arbor Hill Door

The rear door of the 1798 Ten Broeck Mansion which hosted a very enjoyable Living History fair yesterday afternoon.  Set on a steep slope above Ten Broeck Street at Livingston Avenue, it was once called Arbor Hill (the name now applies to the much larger neighborhood itself).

They're Coming

The first of this year's tulips are beginning to bloom after a long, snowy winter and what seems like a very slow spring.

A Shimmering Bird

A bird shows off luminous plumage along the lake in Washington Park.

Wheels Plus

Recently, I had to pick up a replacement shower hose at the Central Avenue Home Depot and decided to take the shortcut to the Westgate Plaza.  I stopped to adjust a chronically loose shoelace and looked up to see this sign.

This unassuming building which, in recent years, has been home to miscellaneous businesses such as a martial arts studio and a small theatre, was once Wheels Plus. 

It was a typically 80s roller skating rink - a place of colored lights, loud music,a DJ booth in a sort of stocky tower dead in the middle of the main, skating area, a tiny wooden skating area for little kids, and a snack bar with memorably good French fries.  I didn't go there too often, once or twice for classmates' birthday parties and at least once on a class trip.  And I was never a good skater, whether on wheels or ice.  But seeing the old sign was certainly a terrific flashback to the 80s!

Lincoln's Last Journey

Civil War reenactors gather for a group photo on the steps of the New York State Capitol following yesterday's ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's funeral journey.

One

Detail of a gate at One Henry Johnson Boulevard (formerly Northern Boulevard).