Clinton Avenue Historic District (Albany, New York)

The Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is the metropolitan area surrounding Albany, the capital of the U.S. state of New York. The Capital District was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century and came under English control in 1664. Albany has been the permanent capital of the state of New York since 1797. The Capital District is notable for many historical events that predate the independence of the United States, including the Albany Plan of Union and the Battles of Saratoga.

Sheridan Hollow is a neighborhood in Albany, New York located in a ravine north of Downtown Albany. Capitol Hill to the south and Arbor Hill to the north flank the ravine. Often the neighborhood is overlooked by city residents, and outsiders who work in the neighborhood often don't recognize the name of the neighborhood. This is due to the identity of the Hollow being subsumed into its larger neighbor Arbor Hill, for instance news stories of events are often accredited to the wrong neighborhood. Being on undesirable land for development in colonial times, growth was slow in the Hollow and the neighborhood was populated through the centuries by a series of ethnic groups new to Albany, such as the Irish, Polish, and African Americans.

The Washington Avenue Armory, officially known as the Washington Avenue Armory Sports and Convention Arena and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Washington Avenue (Tenth Battalion) Armory, is now a multi-purpose arena on the corner of Washington Avenue and Lark Street in downtown Albany, New York. The Armory has a capacity of 4,300 for concerts and conventions and 3,600 for sports events.

The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence is located on Livingston Avenue in Albany, New York, United States. It is a Greek Revival townhouse built in the mid-19th century. In 2004, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also listed on the New York State Underground Railroad Heritage Trail and is a site on the National Park Service's National Network to Freedom. Stephen Myers, himself freed from slavery in his youth, served for a time as chairman of the Vigilance Committee of Albany, which met in the house built and owned by an African American boat captain who was his brother-in-law. Stephen and his wife Harriet actively assisted others escaping from slavery for nearly 30 years; he also edited some abolitionist newspapers and spoke with Frederick Douglass at anti-slavery events. The house was later saved from demolition during urban renewal in the 1970s. It is being restored by the Underground Railroad Education Center, a community-based historical society, with public and private funds.

Albany Public Library (APL) is a public library system serving the city of Albany, New York. APL also operates as the Central Library for the Upper Hudson Library System, a resource sharing consortium which unites public library services across twenty-nine member libraries in Albany County and Rensselaer County. Governed by a publicly elected board of trustees, APL is a school district public library with a budget largely funded by a tax levy presented annually to registered voters in the City School District of Albany. The library has seven branches located in various neighborhoods of Albany, New York. The branches are circulating libraries that are open to the general public. The library was developed in the 19th century, founded from society libraries and the wealth of private citizens, and currently holds a collection of 250,000 items.

The Albany Institute of History & Art (AIHA) is a museum in Albany, New York, United States, "dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art, and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region". It is located on Washington Avenue (New York State Route 5) in downtown Albany. Founded in 1791, it is among the oldest museums in the United States.Several other institutions have merged over time to become today's Albany Institute. The earliest were learned societies devoted to the natural sciences, and for a time it was the state legislature's informal advisory body on agriculture. Robert R. Livingston was the first president. Joseph Henry delivered his first paper on electromagnetism to the Institute. Its collections of animal, vegetable and mineral specimens from state surveys eventually became the foundations of the New York State Museum. Later in the century it became more focused on the humanities, and eventually merged with the Albany Historical and Art Society. It has had its present name since 1926. Over the course of the 20th century it has become more firmly established as a regional art museum. The institute's three-building complex includes the late 19th-century Rice Building, the only freestanding Beaux-Arts mansion in the city, designed by Richard Morris Hunt and donated to the institute by one of its former benefactors. Its main building is a 1920s Classical Revival structure designed by local architect Marcus T. Reynolds. A more modern glass structure connects the two. The original two buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. At the beginning of the 21st century, the institute completed an extensive renovation in which the entrance building was constructed and new climate-controlled storage space for the collections was built.

The University Club of Albany, New York, was founded at the start of the 20th century. It is currently housed in a Colonial Revival brick building at the corner of Washington Avenue (New York State Route 5) and Dove Street. In 2011 that building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Young men who had recently graduated from college founded the club in the early 20th century as a place to gather until they had achieved the social status necessary to follow their fathers into the older Fort Orange Club. It met in one founder's house for several years until it could purchase a house that stood at the current location, on which it built a wing. When that house burned down in the 1920s, Albany architects the Fuller & Robinson company designed the current main building to replace it. It was his last major work in the city. The club has played a role in the city's social and cultural life since its founding. Speakers at its events in its early years included President William Howard Taft, Andrew Carnegie, Earl Grey and various governors of New York. Its amenities include a library, dining facilities, meeting rooms, and one of the oldest bowling alleys in the country, which may also be the oldest private bowling alley in continual use in the state.

The Dr. Hun Houses were located on Washington Avenue (New York State Route 5) on the western edge of central Albany, New York, United States. They were a pair of brick buildings constructed a century apart, the older one around 1830, in the Federal style. In 1972, three months after they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, they were demolished and subsequently delisted.The older house was considered one of the finest Federal homes in the city. Its architect is unknown, although it has been speculated to be Philip Hooker. It was likely built for John F. Bacon, a lawyer and clerk of the State Senate, who may only have lived there for a year and eventually sold it to another lawyer. Near the end of the 19th century it was acquired by Dr. Henry Hun, who adapted the house for his practice and built a smaller, architecturally sympathetic house toward the rear of the property as a residence.

The Walter Merchant House, on Washington Avenue (New York State Route 5) in Albany, New York, United States, is a brick-and-stone townhouse in the Italianate architectural style, with some Renaissance Revival elements. Built in the mid-19th century, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.At the time of its construction it was surrounded by many similar houses, but it is now one of the rare remaining examples in the city of a townhouse with a surviving rear carriage house. It is one of the only remaining originally residential buildings on that section of Washington, currently used as the main offices of the New York chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Townsend Park is a small urban park in Albany, New York. It encompasses a triangle of land formed by the Y-intersection of Central and Washington avenues (north and south borders respectively), with the third (western) border formed by Henry Johnson Boulevard.

One Commerce Plaza, also known as the Twin Towers, is an office building located at 99 Washington Avenue in downtown Albany, New York. At 20 floors and 252 feet (77 meters), it is the thirteenth tallest structure in Albany. Although it is a privately owned office tower, much of the building is occupied by New York State government offices. Its lobby features several restaurants. One Commerce Plaza was completed in 1971 and was designed by Julius Tauss in the Modernist style. It originally had a black glass and white marble exterior. For a few years in the 2000s, the building was draped in white plastic sheathing. This preceded an exterior renovation, when the marble panels of the original facade were replaced with metal composite ones because the marble was too thick for exterior use. On April 30, 2007, a chunk of marble fell off One Commerce Plaza, injuring three people. It was reported that high wind gusts were responsible for the chunk letting loose from the building, which was under renovation at the time.

The former Harmanus Bleecker Library is located at the intersection of Washington Avenue (New York State Route 5) and Dove Street in Albany, New York, United States. It is a brick and stone Classical Revival building constructed in the 1920s. In 1996 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Designed by notable local architects, the Fuller & Robinson Company, it was the first building in the city intended to be used exclusively as a library, and is considered one of city's best buildings in its architectural style. Along with the nearby University Club, built shortly afterwards, it was Fuller's last major work in the city where he had practiced most. It took its name from Harmanus Bleecker, a prominent Albany politician and benefactor whose estate provided the funds for its construction. It has since been adapted to serve as office space.