All Over Albany

Now on YouTube: Steinmetz, Felix the Cat, and other figures from GE's history in Schenectady

This is great: The Schenectady Museum has uploaded a bunch of vintage films to YouTube from its General Electric film collection. From the museum's announcement:

Films range from advertising and educational films to raw footage of equipment tests and company picnics. Many of the promotional films were originally shown in movie theatres in the days of newsreels and cartoons. While more films are being added daily, there are currently more than 50 films available, including: The "More Power to America" Train, 1960; Magic vs. Science, 1932; Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Man Who Made Lightning, 1960s; Felix the Cat in The Kit and the Cat, ca. 1925; and General Electric Women in Science, 1954.

The Museum is currently offering three playlists on the channel: Transportation - rail and aviation films promoting innovations, including electric and diesel locomotives, turbo superchargers, and jet engines; General Electric Research - films highlighting technologies and inventions created at GE Global Research; and Electric Cars - electric car films from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

The film embedded above is a bio film about Charles Steinmetz -- who worked for GE in the early 20th century. In addition to being a genius, Steinmetz was also one of the most colorful characters in the history of the Capital Region. We're guessing the film is from the 1960s (update: Josh says it may pre-date 1952). It includes some, well, rather dated language -- but it has some great photos of Steinmetz and other notables. (There's also a glimpse of Steinmetz's former home on Washington Ave in the Stockade, which is still there and bears a plaque noting he lived there.)

By the way:We're still holding out for a movie and graphic novel in which either Steinmetz is a superhero, or he builds gadgets and weapons for superheroes.

Earlier on AOA: A behind-the-scenes look at the Schenectady Museum's collection