* THE NEW ALBANY. Its In many respects old and historic | The story of this ancient comAlbany has almost disappeared. A munity's rise and growth is told in new town has risen on the banks of the history of the Republic. It is the Hudson. The change was grad- the oldest surviving European setual, but is almost complete. The tlement in the 13 original States. Albany of to-day typifies the time - From colonial times until the presthis age of progres, enterprise, busi- ent day it has been the scene of ness activity and ability. In de- marked political activity. Here scribing the town in 1695 the Rev. have dwelt men whose names have John Miller said: "It is in circum- made American records bright and ference about six furlongs and hath glowing. The most illustrious of our therein about 200 houses, a fourth statesmen have trod its streets. part of what there is reckoned in business men have been famous for New York. * The whole city their shrewdness since the days is well stockaded about and in the when they bartered for furs with several fortifications named are the Indians and too often took adabout 30 guns." A hundred years vantage of the red man's fondness later it was the sixth largest city in for the cup that cheers and inethe United States. In 1786 it con- briates. tained 550 houses and it was estimated that it had about 4,000 inhabitants. The houses were seldom more than one story and a half high, and says a writer of the day, "have but little convenience and less elegance; but they are kept very neat, being rubbed with a mop almost every day and scoured every week." Now in the year 1896 it is a new and modern city that stands upon our hills. The traveler approaching it from the south and east sees looming on the storied terraces before him a town whose picturesque beauties are emphasized on closer examination. With the disappearance of the Albany built of houses with their gable ends to the streets, there have gone those customs and observances, those traits of the population's character that made the city interesting and marked for years, even if they did not add to its attractiveness. But it is not Albany the political capital; the city whose strategical position made it the gateway to the great northwest; the scene of the strifes, the intrigues, the contentions and victories that have gone to make its history of the American people with which we have to deal in this place. It is the new Albany -the city that was quick to adopt modern invention; the city of the close of the nineteenth century that now engages interest and study. There is an opinion abroad that Albany is slow and unresponsive to the demands of the time. Yet Albany was the third city in the world to adopt a telephone plant; it was brilliantly illuminated by the ele tric light years before other cities which boast of their progress and enterprise had discarded gas. It was among the first, if not the first, that collected mail matter by horse and wagon instead of by the old, slow system of the postman walking manding and now gloomy passages. about to empty the mail boxes. The metamorphosis that has been wrought was so gradual in its development that few, even of those who love to study the features of the old, historic place, appreciate the full significance of what has been accomplished. The change was effected during the last quarter of the century. The Albany of the later sixties retained many features of the colonial times. Old customs still lingered. It was the transition period, and the effects of the conservatism of an age to which the The Schuyler mansion was still a residence; the Staats and Pemberton buildings yet reared their fronts, but most of the structures which had given grace and distinction to the city in older days had gone with the Vanderheyden palace and the Lydius house. Commerce was asserting its sway more energetically than ever. A new era had dawned. Modern Albany was awakening. The city which has been evolved in the intervening years is one which may excite native pride and arouse the appreciation of the edu will compare with any city of its size in the world. Its credit is deservedly high. Its securities are as good as the bonds of the United States. Its financial institutions stand among the highest in the land. Its business men are noted for their prudence, their enterprise and their skill. The beauty of its daughters has been sung all over the world. possibilities of electricity were un-cated traveler. Architecturally it known, showed its effects in all the walks and relations of life. The city then was growing, but it grew in the old way. Then, as it has always been, it was rich and robust. But, in the main it was plain and unpretending. North Pearl street from State to Clinton avenue; Broadway from Clinton avenue to Lumber street, now Livingston avenue; State street from Pearl, Its attractions are manifold. westward beyond the old Capitol Travelers come from every quarter were lined with the stately homes of of the globe to visit that wonderful the opulent of the time. But there granite pile standing 200 feet above was a dreary uniformity in their out- tidewater, whose beauty and symward forms, though those who were metry have caused it to be compared fortunate enough to cross their por- with the eastern potentate's monutals were the recipients of that ment-emblematic of his devotion elegant hospitality for which the to his dead wife - the Tag Majal. town justly has been famed. Where will a finer thoroughfareState street leading to the Capitol — be found. Its educational institucions rank with the best of their order in the world. The public school system embodies the most approved features of this wisest and most beneficent of modern public institutions. Its high school has no superior among similar establishments. For over 70 years the Boys' Academy has been turning out graduates who have adorned all stations of life. The fame of the Fe Its public buildings at this epoch were not distinctive or ornate. The old Capitol whose corner stone had been laid in 1806 had outgrown its usefulness, and work on the new edifice, now one of the world's architectural wonders, was projected. The "Patroon's Mansion," soon to be deserted, had lived down all its glory and only the ghosts of bewigged and ruffled courtiers and gallants, resplendent dames and beauteous maidens filled its com male Academy is world-wide and Its public buildings, the Capitol, its alumnae have come and gone the City Hall, the Federal wherever the English language is Building, the old State House, heard. The Medical College and Geological Hall, its hospitals, the the Law School have made their im- Armory, Harmanus Bleecker Hall, press on the times. The reputation its theaters - all in their way of the Normal School is deservedly testify to the advancement, good high. The Business College has taste and liberality of its people. filled the ranks of successful busi- Other places have more pretentious ness men, and some of its graduates points of public interest, but there have taken high rank in the finan-are few cities of Albany's class that cial world. Albany, which has made such bountiful provision for the educational needs of its sons and daughters, has also looked carefully after their spiritual wants. The city's churches are not only wisely administered, but the high character, eloquence and unremitting labor of those in charge of them sustain the enviable reputation which the spiritual counselors of the town have enjoyed since the days of Dominie Johannes Megapolensis. In the effective series of distinctive points of view around the city which accompany this article, there will be found pictures of some of the representative church edifices which adorn the streets of Albany. The Cathedrals of the Immaculate Conception and of All Saints are noble and impressive specimens of church architecture. St. Peter's Church, with its rich relics, is embellished with a tower which is an admirable specimen of the French Gothic school and makes the edifice one of State street's commanding features. Another tower that attracts attention is the fine specimen of a reproduction of Norman work on the City Hall. The Greek, the Gothic, the French Renaissance, and some specimens of "Early English" find expression in different parts of the city, and will provide abundant study for those interested in architecture. possess advantages which make them so attractive as a place of residence or so interesting to the intelligent traveler. Situated as it is, at the head of tidewater, it possesses geographical advantages which, in time, must make it greater than ever. What engineering genius will do for its future is a subject upon which fancy may riot. There is no danger that Albany will dwindle in importance. Pessimism may cry that the decadence of certain of its industries indicates dry rot. Albany, at one time, was the greatest stove manufacturing town in the world, but the, development of railroad systems has transferred that interest to other parts of the land. Its shoe manufactories were once of importance and the source of great wealth. Keen competition has deprived it to a degree of the importance in this respect that it once possessed. Its lumber trade is not what it used to be, but the changes in these lines of business that have been brought about, are the natural effects of forces constantly at work in this bustling, competitive age. Similar changes are going on everywhere. It is the story repeated of the survival of the fittest, and he who would give way to despair in consequence must have a circumscribed, narrow visage. As well might the farmers in Albany county complain that they have no future, because they can no longer raise wheat at a profit. Once upon a time the farmers of Albany county found in wheat a profitable crop. And the loss of its fur trade we are told "had its compensation in the more remunerative grain business, which for many years made Albany a noble market for the sale and purchase of wheat and other cereals. In winter the farmers of the surrounding country brought their grain in sleds to the city and sold it to the competitive merchants, to be stored in their ample granaries until navigation opened in the spring, when its was transferred to the holds of sloops, to be transported to New York and other seaports." and The trade of the city of Albany has undergone all the ups downs that are found in the business world. Industries were established; they flourished and passed away. When they were threatened with extinction no doubt the gloomy minded portion of the inhabitants of that day uttered dismal croakings of the passing of the city's greatness. No place they said could survive such loss. Albany was doomed - its glory had departed. But Albany did not decay. The dark forebodings of those of little faith proved to be as empty as the hollow summer wind. The city continued to grow and prosper, for if it was not founded on a rock it was the scene of a restless, industrious, energetic people's activity, who knew not the meaning of the words failure and defeat. things human, and the products of human energy, it has had its ordeals, its trials and its pains. It has seen that which seemed to combine the elements of greatness spring up, live for a season and then pass away. But, through all, the city has grown and is growing. It is richer and more imposing to-day than ever before. The volume of its business is larger; its attractions are more numerous; it is a more advantageous place of residence now than it was at any time since that April day when the wondering red men, gazing down the river, beheld upon its bosom that strange moving form which they at first took to be an unknown aquatic monster - but which was the Half Moon, bearing the adventurous Hudson and his hardy crew. But it is the Albany of to-day that most concerns us. The future will take care of itself. We are building a heritage for our children which will endure and make them great and prosperous long after we have passed away. This city with its fine avenues, its imposing and symmetrical buildings, its devices for the comfort, health, amusement and instruction of its people; the great State Library; the admirably equipped Dudley Observatory; the valuable and instructive Bureau of Military Records; the constant improvement in its pavements; the laborious and persistent efforts of its public servants to provide better and economical government; to give a wholesome water supply which will silence the loudest complaint that is now made regarding municipal affairs this well-lighted, well-paved, well-sewered city, is the subject that most deeply concerns we who are now living. "The future of the city of Albany," says a discriminating writer, "will likely be no less remarkable than its past. Conjecture can not portray the realities of the succeeding centuries." This is true. Its vicis- There is no sign of retrogression. situdes have been many. Like all Everything points to development and improvement. The people are, day managers are in the habit of well housed; the cost of living is comparatively cheap; work, in the main, is found for those who want it. There is the authority of an official organ of workingmen, which declares that through the instrumentality of trades-unionism the scales of wages are well maintained; charities are liberal; no deserving person need suffer for food or shelter; public officers are honest and execute their duties conscientiously. Scandals in the administration of public affairs in Albany have been singularly infrequent. Albany is a good place in which to live. Life and property are secure. Its courts are honestly and | wisely administered. No one in vain seeks justice. Albany possesses all the attributes that make up a well-ordered, well-governed town. For the recreation of its people it has provided a park which excites the admiration of all visitors a place whose natural and artificial beauties, graced as they are by works of art that have received the favorable mention of those qualified to speak with understanding, furnishes additional proof of the city's liberality and progress. Every Albarian may indeed point with pride" to Washington park. Noth- | ing more beautiful in its way will be found on this side of the Atlantic. Its theaters have ever been temples of instruction and resorts for the amusement of the populace sin British officers stationed here in colonial times appeared upon the stage for the diversion of their fair friends. Many artists, whose fame subsequently became worldwide, won the first laurels before an Albany audience. The reputation of this wi. for intelligent and appreciative criticism is as old as the drama in America, and to this producing plays here before they are presented in other places. The reputation of its hotels is well known. A chapter might be written upon them. The history of the old Delavan House, and of Congress Hall, which was torn down in 1878, if told as it might be told, would be of absorbing interest, and of the highest historical value. Year after year they were the resorts of the statesmen and politicians of the land. Not even Willards in Washington, in the days of its greatness and glory, could tell the tale of history making which took place behind their walls. What events there transpired! formed; what schemes evolved, that affected the fortunes of political parties, and swayed the destiny of the American people. What plans were The record of the stage of Albany is an interesting study and has been carefully elaborated by skillful and discriminating writers. The works of McDonough and Phelps are well known to all students of this line of literature, and are worthy of the perusal of all well-informed persons, for a history of the drama of Albany may be regarded as a history of the stage of America. For nearly 200 years theatrical performances have been given off and on on the same spot on Green street, which is now the home of the variety performance here. There the elder Booth, Kean, Macready and Charlotte Cushnan delighted, entranced and thrilled the theatergoers of other days. There, when the old Green street theater had seen its best days, the beautiful and gifted Adah Isaacs Menken appeared as Mazeppa, and in other roles, which made her one of the most famous actresses of her time. Dim tradition floating about tells |