The lumber district then and now
The mysterious Albany Bagel has followed up the excellent 1877 map overlay of downtown Albany with an overlay of North Albany -- this time, with an 1857 map of what was then called the lumber district.
One of the things that jumps out right away on the old map: the gardens around the Van Rensselaer Mansion. From ABC:
It's interesting to see the Van Rensselaer Mansion and its large gardens immediately surrounded by the canal, railroads, and the growing industrial center. According to the Albany Institute site, the family moved out of the house around 1875 and the building was dismantled in 1893 by none other than Marcus T. Reynolds.
Bonus: there are also a few photos.
Earlier: Old Albany on top of new
image: Albany Bagel Co / Google Maps
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Comments
Awesome!
... said Peter B on Jan 24, 2013 at 6:07 PM | link
I was drinking at the Olde English one night this past Summer, and having recently seen one of these old maps of Albany had the occasion to step outside, close my eyes for a few moments, and imagine that this was the neighborhood that built the Midwest with Adirondack lumber and Pennsylvania coal. And then I realized, this wasn't imagination, these things happened here! And they were probably sauced with Albany beer when Chicago and Detroit were up and coming.
... said Tim on Jan 24, 2013 at 11:35 PM | link
Thanks for the post, AOA! We're happy to keep sharing bits of history about Albany as we uncover them. Since you mention the Van Rensselaer house we just thought we'd share that we found a couple more photos of the mansion and just did a new post with some more details: http://www.albanybagel.com/history/van-rensselaer-manor-house.html
... said Albany Bagel Co. on Jan 25, 2013 at 3:55 PM | link