Car Hire Albany - Mini guide to Albany
Founded in the early 17th century, Albany has been an important town throughout American history due to its control of trade along the Erie Canal. Now the capital of New York State, the town is beautifully situated on the banks of the scenic Hudson River, features a rich architectural heritage and is in close proximity to wonderful expanses of nature.
Representative of Albany’s historic buildings, the Quackenbush House is the city's oldest building, built along the river in 1736 and now serving as part of the Albany Urban Culture Park. The modern visitor centre next door at Broadway and Clinton is worth a stop to gather information and free maps of the downtown area. Guided tours can also be arranged, and the centre contains interesting displays about Albany's history.
There are a number of Revolutionary-era homes in the city centre. Cherry Hill was built in 1768, while the Schuyler Mansion and Ten Broeck Mansion both date from this era and feature beautiful formal gardens.
Uphill from the waterfront stands the modern Empire State Plaza, a complex that includes a subterranean retail arcade lined with impressive modern art. The view from Corning Tower's 42nd floor observation deck looks out far across the state, beyond the twisting Hudson River to the Adirondack foothills, the Catskills and the Berkshires in Massachusetts. It also peers down on the neighbouring Performing Arts Center, known locally as ‘The Egg’.
The New York State Museum, one level down at the south end of the plaza, has the most complete set of exhibits on New York State and New York City history. Rounding out the range of cultural facilities is the adjacent Knickerbocker Arena.
A few blocks west of the plaza, you’ll find the pleasant open green spaces of Washington Park, laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture. Nearby is the renovated 19th century Albany Institute of History and Art, the oldest museum in the US.
The major suburbs in Albany are: Colonie, Glenmont, Green Island, Latham, Menands, Newtonville, Rensselaer, Rosemont Park, Troy and Watervliet.
