All Over Albany

The most popular items on AOA in 2015

At the end of each year we like to go the through the stats on AOA to see which posts were most popular. It's one way to remember some of the stuff that happened.

So, here are the most popular items on AOA for each month during 2015...

A quick note: We filtered out regular features such as the Neighborhood and Stuff To Do, along with "utility" type posts such as map listings for apple picking and ice skating. Also, some things that are spread out over multiple posts don't end up ranking as high as they would if totaled all together. And: We pulled the most popular items from December as of December 29.

January: A look inside Peck's Arcade
A look at the Peck's Arcade space ahead of its opening, along with an interview with co-owner Vic Christopher.
Also popular: A check list for Upstate Place/Rust Belt City is the new Brooklyn articles

February: Top 5 snowiest days on record for Albany
A list of the snowiest day on record for Albany after a February storm dumped almost 12 inches in one day.
Also popular: Albany red light camera intersection map | The Best Dozen: Ultimate Dozen

March: St. Patrick's Day stuff to do 2015
Like it says on the label.
Also popular: AOA Startup Grant winner Puzzles Bakery & Cafe set to open this month

April: AOA Startup Grant 2015
The startup grant competition always draws a lot of interest.
Also popular: A few details about Troy Kitchen | Miss Pearl: Can you learn to fall in love with a place?

May: Troy Rockin' on the River 2015 schedule
Listings posts like this one tend to get a lot of interest to start, and then continue to draw people back through searches over time. (Also, the Druthers post below probably would have been most popular for the month but it was published near the end of the month so its traffic was spread over two months.)
Also popular: A look inside the new Druthers Albany location | Alive at Five 2015 lineup

June: Checking out Huck Finn's Playland
A lot of people were excited about the new version of the playland in Albany.
Also popular: Pick your own strawberry season 2015

July: Follow up: Fort Orange General Store
The follow-up posts about local businesses ended up being very popular.
Also popular: Follow up: Bread and Honey

August: Pearl Palooza 2015 lineup
Again, these sorts of posts are popular to start and continue getting traffic over time.
Also popular: Thinking about the direction of Central Ave

September: Living with kids in a Center Square row house
Nicole's Open House series usually draws a lot of interest, but this one also prompted a discussion about choosing to raise kids in the city of Albany.
Also popular: Superior Merchandise Co.

October: Distilling the next life for Albany's oldest building
A bit about the plan developed by Historic Albany Foundation and Albany Distilling to restore Albany's oldest building.
Also popular: How Albany can make its case better for why young families should stay | A tasting tour of the new-school burger chains

November: He beat Bobby Flay
New World chef Ric Orlando appeared on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay and did just that.
Also popular: Erica and Christian's Albany Sears Kit Home | Glimpses of downtown Troy almost a century ago

December: Favorite local foods of 2015
An end-of-year post in an end-of-year feature. Meta.
Also popular: That Bob & Ron's neon sign could be yours | A bid to SPARK + THRIVE in Arbor Hill

Here's the list from 2014.
____

That was 2015:
+ Favorite local foods of 2015
+ Interesting stories to cover 2015

Huck Finn's Playland photo: Patrick Correia | snow photo: photo: "27 N. Pearl, Blizzard of '88," from the Morris Gerber Collection via the Albany Institute of History and Art