Albany

/awl"beuh nee/, n.

1. a city in and the capital of New York, in the E part, on the Hudson. 101,727.

2. a city in SW Georgia. 73,934.

3. a city in W Oregon. 26,546.

4. a seaport in SW Australia: resort. 15,222.

5. a city in W California, on San Francisco Bay. 15,130.

6. a river in central Canada, flowing E from W Ontario to James Bay. 610 mi. (980 km) long.

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City (pop., 2000: 95,658), capital of New York state, U.S. It lies along the Hudson River 145 mi (230 km) north of New York City.

The first permanent settlement, named Beverwyck, was built in 1624 by the Dutch. When the British took the area in 1664, the village was renamed to honour the duke of York and Albany. In 1754 the Albany Congress adopted Benjamin Franklin's "Plan of Union." In the 19th century Albany became a major transportation centre. Its focal point today is Empire State Plaza, a governmental, cultural, and convention complex.

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▪ Georgia, United States

      city, seat (1853) of Dougherty county, southwestern Georgia, U.S. It lies along the Flint River at the head of navigation, about 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Columbus. Founded in 1836 by Colonel Nelson Tift, it was named for Albany, New York (Albany), and was early established as a leading cotton market. In 1857 a railroad connected it with Macon. Later, six other rail lines converged on the point to make it a transportation hub. The city served as a Confederate food and cotton supplier during the American Civil War. Cotton growing declined in the Albany area after a serious boll weevil infestation in 1915. Subsequently, a wider variety of crops were raised, with emphasis on papershell pecans and Spanish peanuts (groundnuts) and on livestock.

      The city's economy is now based largely on services and diversified manufacturing (paper products, tires, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals). Albany State University (1903) and Darton College (founded in 1963 as Albany Junior College), a two-year institution, are located in the city. Cultural institutions include the Albany Museum of Art and the Thronateeksa Heritage Plaza. The Parks at Chehaw, located just north of the city, include a wild animal park and are the site of the annual Chehaw National Indian Festival (May). A large U.S. Marine Corps supply depot is nearby and is a major employer. The Albany area has become renowned for its quail hunting. Singer Ray Charles (Charles, Ray), trumpeter and band leader Harry James (James, Harry), and track-and-field star Alice Coachman (Coachman, Alice) were natives of Albany. Inc. 1841. Pop. (1990) city, 78,122; Albany MSA, 112,561; (2000) city, 76,939; Albany MSA, 120,822.

▪ New York, United States

      city, capital (1797) of the state of New York, U.S., and seat (1683) of Albany county. It lies along the Hudson River, 143 miles (230 km) north of New York City. The heart of a metropolitan area that includes Troy and Schenectady, it is a port city, the northern terminus of the deepwater Hudson River Channel, and a natural transshipment point between oceangoing vessels and the New York State Canal System routes to the Great Lakes.

      In 1609 the English explorer Henry Hudson (Hudson, Henry) anchored the Half-Moon in the shallows near the site while searching for the Northwest Passage. Fort Nassau, built in 1614 on Castle Island (now part of the Port of Albany), became a trading post for the New Netherland Company. A group of Walloon families built Fort Orange near the site in 1624 and began the first permanent settlement, known as Beverwyck. In 1629 the Dutch West India Company granted tracts along both sides of the river (including Beverwyck) to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam merchant. Renamed Rensselaerswyck, the area attracted a sizable number of colonists, and in 1652 Peter Stuyvesant (Stuyvesant, Peter), colonial governor for the Dutch West India Company, obtained independent status for the village of Beverwyck from the van Rensselaer family. When Fort Orange surrendered to the British (September 24, 1664), the village was renamed to honour James, duke of York and Albany (later King James II). It was granted a city charter by the British governor Thomas Dongan (Dongan, Thomas, 2nd Earl Of Limerick) on July 22, 1686. Albany's strategic location and the construction of Fort Frederick made it a leading colonial city. Its population of 2,273 in 1703 increased to 3,498 in 1790 (the year of the first U.S. census) and to 50,763 by 1850. The Dutch heritage is reflected in many street names and in the annual Tulip Festival held in May in Washington Park.

      In 1689 one of the first intercolonial conventions was held at Albany to discuss a system of mutual defense. A more significant historical gathering was the Albany Congress, which took place in 1754. This meeting paved the way for the Congress of 1765 and the Continental Congress of 1774. Migrating pioneers began to appear in Albany as early as 1783, and the city, a thriving fur-trading centre, became a major outfitting point for wagon trains going west. The opening of the Erie Canal (1825) and the advent of the railroad (1831) increased the flow of traffic through the city, which became the hub of transportation to Michigan Territory (the upper Great Lakes).

      Politics remains a prevailing aspect of Albany. Its moderate industrial development includes the manufacture of paper, machine tools, clothing, industrial equipment, chemicals, electronics, and dental products. The city was one of the first in the country to establish a commercial airport (1919), and in 1932 the opening of the Port of Albany to oceangoing shipping made it a maritime centre.

      The city has notable examples of Dutch Colonial, Georgian, and French-Gothic Revival architecture, including the Schuyler Mansion (1761), Historic Cherry Hill (home of the van Rensselaer family; 1787), the State Bank of Albany (1803), the First Church in Albany (Old Dutch Church; 1797–99), City Hall (1881–83), the state capitol (1867–99) in “French Chateau” style, St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1859), and the Joseph Henry Memorial (originally Albany Academy; completed 1817). The focal point of the city is the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza (completed 1978), facing Capitol Park and embracing a building complex of government, cultural, and convention facilities, including the New York State Museum.

      Institutions of higher learning include the State University of New York (New York, State University of (SUNY)) at Albany (1844); the professional schools of Union University, which include Albany Medical College (1839), Albany Law School (1851), and Albany College of Pharmacy (1881), as well as Dudley Observatory; and the Roman Catholic colleges of St. Rose (1920) and Maria (1958). Pop. (1990) city, 101,082; Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, 861,424; (2000) city, 95,658; Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, 875,583.

▪ Oregon, United States

      city, seat (1851) of Linn county, western Oregon, U.S., in the Willamette Valley, at the juncture of the Willamette and Calapooia rivers, 26 miles (42 km) south of Salem. Established in 1848 by Walter and Thomas Monteith and named for the New York state capital, it became a shipping point for wool, grain, and cascara bark (which is used medicinally). The Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad (Southern Pacific Railroad) arrived in 1870. Lumber, wood pulp, paper, rare metals, and food-processing industries are the city's economic mainstays. The U.S. Bureau of Mines maintains the Albany Metallurgy Research Center there. Albany is the site of Linn-Benton Community College (1966).

      Eight picturesque covered bridges, built in the 1930s, are located in and around Albany. The city has three historic districts that are listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places: Monteith, Hackleman, and Downtown Commercial. The first two, named for families that followed the Oregon Trail to Albany, contain most of Albany's 350 stylistically varied Victorian houses. The Downtown Commercial district contains many original buildings and businesses. The Monteith House Museum is a restoration of Albany's first frame house (1849), and the Albany Regional Museum contains artifacts, photographs, and other memorabilia pertaining to Albany and the surrounding region. The city is host to the annual World Championship Timber Carnival (July 4), which includes logrolling, speed-climbing, and handsawing events; the carnival logo celebrates logger Tim Burr. Inc. 1864. Pop. (1990) 29,462; (2000) 40,852.

▪ Western Australia, Australia

      southernmost town and seaport of Western Australia. It lies on the northern shore of Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound. The naturally broad, deep, sheltered harbour was visited and charted by George Vancouver in 1791. In 1826 the first European settlement in the state, a penal colony called Frederickstown (after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany), was established there by the British. Known as Albany by 1832, it became an important whaling base during the 1840s and, until its closure in 1978, was the last surviving shore-based whaling enterprise in the Southern Hemisphere.

      Beginning in 1852, it served as a coaling depot for ships sailing the Indian Ocean. Albany declined temporarily when the newly improved harbour at Fremantle opened in 1900; but with the more recent development of its hinterland, it has revived to become the leading port of the south coastal area.

      Albany lies along the Great Southern Railway and the South Western and Albany highways to Perth-Fremantle, 240 miles (386 km) northwest. The town serves an area of dairy, beef, lamb, fruit, and potato farming. Its industries include woolen mills, fish and meat canneries, and brick, tile, and superphosphate plants. Albany has a mild summer climate and serves as a resort for Perth and a retirement destination for the Wheat Belt. Pop. (2001) urban centre, 22,415.

▪ county, New York, United States

      county, east-central New York state, U.S., bordered by the Mohawk River to the northeast and the Hudson River to the east. The terrain rises from the Hudson valley lowlands in the east to the Helderberg Mountains in the centre of the county; Alcove Reservoir is in the south. Parklands include Thompson's Lake and John Boyd Thacher state parks. Timber in the western half of the county mainly comprises maple, birch, and beech, while oak and hickory dominate the eastern half.

      Algonquian-speaking Mahican (Mohican) (Mohican) Indians inhabited the region when European explorers first arrived. The city of Albany is the county seat and the state capital of New York; the first European to visit the site was the English navigator Henry Hudson (Hudson, Henry) in 1609, and by 1624 the area was permanently settled by the Dutch. The Albany Institute of History and Art features 19th-century artwork by the Hudson River school, the first native school of painting in the United States. The New York State Museum is the nation's oldest and largest state museum. The State University of New York (New York, State University of (SUNY)) at Albany was founded in 1844. Siena College was established in Loudonville in 1937. Other communities include Guilderland, Delmar, Cohoes, and Watervliet.

      One of New York's original counties, Albany was created in 1683 and named for James, duke of York and Albany (later King James II (James II)). The county became a major transportation centre with the advent of canal shipping (1825), rail travel (1831), commercial air travel (1919), and oceangoing shipping (1932). In addition to governmental activities, the economy is based on services (health and business), finance, transportation, and trade (retail and wholesale). Area 524 square miles (1,357 square km). Pop. (2000) 294,565; (2007 est.) 299,307.

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