Schenectady City Hall

The U.S. Post Office in Schenectady, in the U.S. state of New York, is located at Jay and Liberty streets just north of City Hall. It serves the 12305, 12307 and 12308 ZIP codes, which covers the city. It is a brick Classical Revival building erected in 1912 and added onto extensively in 1933. At that point in time its main entrance was moved to Jay Street. Its detailing, particularly the arched windows, inspired a similar design for the neighboring city hall in 1931. The two buildings were later listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; in 1989 the post office was listed in its own right.

Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populous city and the twenty-fifth most-populous municipality. The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about 15 miles (24 km) southeast.Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines" and used for the area around Albany, New York. Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west by the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, Schenectady developed rapidly in the 19th century as part of the Mohawk Valley trade, manufacturing, and transportation corridor. By 1824, more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade; like many New York cities, it had a cotton mill that processed cotton from the Deep South. In the 19th century, nationally influential companies and industries developed in Schenectady, including General Electric and American Locomotive Company (ALCO), which were powers into the mid-20th century. Schenectady was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy.

The Foster Building, originally the Hotel Foster, is located on State Street (NY 5) in Schenectady, New York, United States. It is a commercial building in the Beaux-Arts architectural style. When built in 1907, it was the first building in the city to use terra cotta as its primary siding on the front facade, and the first built under the precepts of the City Beautiful movement. In 1991 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has since been remodeled into apartments, but has been vacant for a while and is suffering from the neglect. Past water damage will require that the lavishly appointed interior be completely gutted. The regional redevelopment agency is considering acquiring the building through eminent domain in order to ensure its restoration.

Proctor's Theatre (officially stylized as Proctors since 2007; however, the marquee retains the apostrophe) is a theatre and former vaudeville house located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Many famous artists have performed there, including Mariah Carey (whose 1993 top-rated Thanksgiving special was taped there), Britney Spears, Hal Holbrook, Ted Wiles, and George Burns, as well as many others. It has one of the largest movie screens in the Northeast. The theatre was opened on December 27, 1926. It was designed by architect Thomas Lamb. In 1979 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, shortly before being renovated after a long period of decline and neglect. A renovation completed in 2007 added two theatres to the complex, providing a variety of performance spaces.

The Edison Tech Center is an interactive learning center with a central emphasis on electricity and engineering. The organization was founded in 2001 under the name Edison Exploratorium, and changed to Edison Steinmetz Center and finally the Edison Tech Center in 2009. It is located at 136 Broadway, Schenectady, New York. The Center was created to have a focus on engineering education while keeping the connection to the historical and human story behind the field. Electrical Engineer and founder John D. Harnden Jr. saw a need to keep the focus on engineering after witnessing many museums diffusing their limited resources on science, entertainment, art and other wide subjects.

The Union Street Historic District extends along a section of that street in Schenectady, New York, United States. Covering roughly two miles (3.2 km) of both sides of the street, it includes 184 buildings in its 65 acres (26 ha).Over the course of the 19th century, the city's development followed Union, one of the major through roads to the east, as it industrialized and expanded out of its colonial core on the banks of the Mohawk River. In 1982 the historic district was recognized and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downtown Schenectady is the central business district for the city of Schenectady, New York. It originated in the 1820s with the moving of the commercial and industrial interests east from the original 17th and 18th century settlement, spurred on by the development of the Erie Canal. Home to the headquarters and major manufacturing plants of two large corporations, General Electric and American Locomotive Company, Downtown Schenectady catered to tens of thousands of workers in its heyday. Typical of the post-industrial Northeastern United States and Upstate New York in particular, Downtown Schenectady saw a decline in manufacturing and population starting in the 1970s. Recent construction and renovation has caused the downtown area to become an entertainment mecca for New York's Capital District anchored by Proctor's Theatre.

Schenectady station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Schenectady, New York. The station, constructed in 2018 is owned by the Capital District Transportation Authority which also owns Albany–Rensselaer station and Saratoga Springs station. Schenectady is served by five Amtrak routes. The Lake Shore Limited operates one train in each direction daily between Chicago and Boston/New York City (via two sections east of Albany), while the Empire Service operates two trains in each direction between Niagara Falls and New York City, the Maple Leaf serves the station with one train in each direction between Toronto and New York City as does the Ethan Allen Express between New York City and Rutland, Vermont and the Adirondack between New York City and Montreal.

The Museum of Innovation and Science (stylized as miSci, and formerly the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium) is a museum and planetarium located in Schenectady, New York. miSci was founded in 1934 and its exhibitions and educational programming focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM). As of September 2023, the museum's president is Gina C. Gould, PhD; Vice President of Collections and Exhibitions is Chris Hunter; and Director of Grants and Special Events is Peter Gabak.Inside of the museum is the Suits-Bueche Planetarium. It contains a GOTO Chronos Star Machine, one of only 16 in the United States, which is capable of displaying 8,500 stars and 24 constellation outlines. The projector can show the sky from any location on Earth 100,000 years in the past or in the future.Also located at miSci is a Challenger Learning Center (CLC), which opened in 2014.The archives contain over 1.5 million photographs, making them the seventh largest collection of photographs in the US (not including the federal government). The archives also include 110 radios, 60 televisions, 15,000 patents, 5000 books, and 1000 films. Many of the items relate to the history of Schenectady and General Electric. The archives are open to the public by appointment.The Dudley Observatory, now located on the grounds of Siena College, was also in residence at the museum from 2015 to 2019.Gina C. Gould, former director of the Ashokan Center, has served as President since 2017. Previously, William "Mac" Sudduth, PhD, was president and director from 2012 to 2017.

H. S. Barney Building is a historic department store complex located at Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York. The large commercial building consists of six sections constructed or acquired and linked between 1873 and 1923. It is predominantly brick in construction, but incorporates heavy timber framing, concrete, and limestone. A facade erected in 1923 in the Commercial style, helped to unify the complex. It ceased use as a department store in 1973.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1984.

First Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, New York is a historic Presbyterian Church in America congregation.The roots of the congregation go back to the 1730s. Episcopalians and Presbyterians had used the St. George's Episcopal Church building, with each group using different entrances to the building. In 1769, First Presbyterian was founded when its members decided to build their own wooden church structure. The first settled pastor was the Rev. Alexander Miller in 1771. The present church building was copied from the Ransom Court Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under Rev. Alexander Monteith's pastorate (1809-1815). First Presbyterian Church was distinguished by a wrap-around balcony of the oval interior. The original church had white walls and blue woodwork. Additions were made in 1834, and transepts were added in 1859. The congregation helped start several other churches in the neighborhood, including State Street Presbyterian Church in 1869. In 1900, Union Presbyterian church was established in Schenectady with 81 members. The renowned Rev. Jonathan Trumbull Backus, for many years a trustee of Union College, pastored First Presbyterian from 1832 to 1872. Under his leadership the congregation grew significantly and established East Avenue (now State Street) Presbyterian Church. Rev. Backus was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1870. As the 1900s dawned, First Presbyterian was involved in much outreach and growth. However, the winds of change were blowing, and new mentalities began to seep into the church. Spiritual zeal cooled during the pastorates of Reverends Anthony and Mutch. The Sunday evening service was discontinued and a certain spiritual apathy settled over the church. The liberal 'social gospel' rampant in the early 20th century had infected First Presbyterian's pulpit and had led to a serious departure from the essentials of the Gospel. All this began to change in 1937. In that year, the Rev. Herbert S. Mekeel (minister from 1937 to 1979) was called to the church, and like Dr. Backus a century earlier, started it on the road to spiritual vitality once again. This did not occur without the pain of change and transition. Rev. Herbert S. Mekeel pastored the church to 1937 to 1979, and brought with him strong evangelical teaching. Many members became dissatisfied and, in the first years of his pastorate, went over to the liberal First Reformed Church (RCA). But Rev. Mekeel held his ground, and the remaining congregation grew even larger and stronger than before. In the 1960s, however, theological change once again began to sweep through the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, the denomination of which First Presbyterian had been a member. The UPC adopted the Confession of 1967, which was effectively intended by its supporters to replace the Westminster Standards in the denomination and their high view of the authority of Holy Scripture. First Presbyterian opposed replacing the historic Westminster Confession with other confessions. In 1975, the congregation decided to petition the Presbytery of Albany to let First Presbyterian to change the denominational affiliation. In 1977, the congregation voted to dissolve all relations with Albany Presbytery. This led to much legal wrangling over the church property. A state law provision concerning churches incorporated before 1828 (First Presbyterian Church was incorporated in 1809) allowed such churches the right to change affiliation without impact on their property. Albany Presbytery forcefully sought to bring the congregation to heel, including through an unsuccessful effort to lock officers and members of First Presbyterian out of the church's buildings. A lawsuit made its way through the U.S. courts, going so far as to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was finally settled in December 1984, in favor of the members and officers of First Presbyterian. In September 1989, First Presbyterian affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America. In 2010, the church celebrated its 250th anniversary. The current senior pastor is Dr. Lawrence Roff.In 2011, First Presbyterian Church had about 400 members.The church building is located at 209 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12305.

Central Fire Station is a historic fire station located at Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York, USA. It was built between 1924 and 1929 and is a three-story, brick civic building in the Georgian Revival style. The front facade is dominated by a broad, five bay central pavilion. The first floor of the front facade is composed of five segmentally arched entrance bays faced with cast stone. The Schenectady Fire Department ceased using the building in 1981.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.