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The Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
surrounding Albany, the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the U.S. state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. 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 The Albany Plan of Union was a rejected plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies at the Albany Congress on July 10, 1754 in Albany, New York. The plan was suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader (age 48) and a del ...
and the
Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...
.


Etymology

The earliest known reference to the name "Capital District" stems from a Capital Police District that was created in the Albany area in the late 1860s. In the 1910s, several economic and government organizations covering the area used "Capital District" in their name, such as the Capital District Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1913, the Capital District Life Underwriters Association also in 1913, and the Capital District Recreation League. The Capital District Recreation League, formed in 1916, proposed to create a Capital District Park in the area of the Shaker settlement.


Nicknames

Capitaland, Metroland, the Tri-City Area, and Tech Valley are nicknames sometimes used to refer to the Capital District. The region is often also called the
518 __NOTOC__ Year 518 ( DXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paulus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1271 ...
after the telephone area code that serves the Capital District. The Capital District is a part of the area marketed under the name "Tech Valley" in recognition of the technology companies that have moved to the region. The 19-county Tech Valley region, which extends from the Canada–US border south to
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
, is marketed by organizations such as the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth. In 2011, New York launched a Regional Council initiative under which the "Capital Region" became the state's official name for the eight-county region consisting of 1.1 million people in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties.


History


First settlements

Permanent European claims and settlement began in 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed north up the Hudson River in the name of the Dutch. During the same year,
Samuel Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fr ...
explored south down Lake Champlain and Lake George in the name of France. Conflict soon ensued between the French and Dutch for control of the fur trade and both made alliances with different Native American tribes. In 1630, Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded the
Manor of Rensselaerswyck The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...
, a Dutch
patroonship In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch ''patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms a ...
in the area, which encompassed much of the area that is now the Capital District. In 1664, the English successfully conquered the Dutch while rivalry with the French continued. The Dutch, and then the English, maintained focus on settlement and farming while the French incursion into this area was limited to hunting for furs, trading with the natives, and building a few forts. Conflict arose when the French-built Fort Carillon and the British-built Fort William Henry near each other, both in order to control the route between the Hudson River Valley and the Champlain Valley. Through the
Dongan Charter The ''Dongan Charter'' is the 1686 document incorporating Albany, New York, as a city. Albany's charter was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan of the Province of New York, a few months after Governor Dongan issued a similarly worded, but less det ...
, Governor Thomas Dongan granted Albany the right to purchase in "Schaahtecogue" (today Schaghticoke, in Rensselaer County) and at "Tionnondoroge" (today Fort Hunter, in
Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...
).
Arent van Curler Arent van Curler, later van Corlaer, (1619, Nijkerk, Gelderland - 1667) was the grandnephew of Kiliaen van Rensselaer. In 1637 Rensselaer commissioned him as his secretary and accountant at Rensselaer's patroonship Rensselaerswyck in the Dutch col ...
founded Schenectady in 1662; Fort Saratoga was built at present-day
Schuylerville Schuylerville () is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The village is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Saratoga, east of Saratoga Springs. The Village of Victory is adjacent to Schuylerville to the southwest ...
in 1691; and Greenbush (present-day city of Rensselaer) was settled in the 1620s. South of Albany, settlement occurred quickly at first, but slowed as growth on the frontier pushed people north and west of Albany and left the southern reaches of the Capital District behind.
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
, in Columbia County, was purchased from the natives in 1662 by Dutch farmers and speculators but did not see actual settlement and growth until 1783 when New Englanders, mainly from southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, arrived. It was chartered as a city in 1785, becoming only the third city in the state. The French and Indian War saw several major battles in the Capital District, including at the aforementioned forts. In the end, the French were defeated, freeing the land for further settlement to the west and north of Albany. During the American Revolution the area again saw fighting and Fort Ticonderoga experienced notable action. The
Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...
, which took place in the present-day town of Stillwater, is considered the turning point of the war. In 1776, General Philip Schuyler built a small fleet of ships at Whitehall. They were used by
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
in the Battle of Valcour Island. The event led to Whitehall's modern-day claim to be the birthplace of the United States Navy. After the Revolution, settlements continued to proliferate west and north of the Albany area. North of Albany, along the river, settlements grew quickly: Waterford (oldest continuously incorporated village in the US, incorporated in 1794), Troy (settled in 1787, chartered as a village 1801, city in 1816), Lansingburgh (a village in 1763, annexed to Troy in 1900), and Watervliet (settled in 1643 and incorporated as a village in 1836 as West Troy, city in 1897). West from Schenectady, land purchases in the 1750s led to settlements at Fonda and Fultonville in Montgomery County, but land purchases elsewhere, such as at
Gloversville Gloversville is a city in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York, and the most populous city in Fulton County. Gloversville was once the hub of the United States' glovemaking industry, with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville an ...
in Fulton County did not see settlement until the end of the 18th century when the Iroquois threat had been eliminated by the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, which came as retaliation for the Cherry Valley Massacre in nearby Otsego County.


Creation of the counties

The entire area of the Capital District was within the original boundaries of Albany County as established by the Province of New York on November 1, 1683; it was one of the original 12 counties. In 1772, Charlotte County and Tryon County were both formed from parts of Albany County. Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in 1784, and from part of that, Warren County was created in 1813. Tryon County was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, and from part of that, Fulton County was created in 1838. Tryon County was large: it encompassed the lands from five miles (8 km) west of Schenectady to the western indeterminate boundary of the Province of New York. What remained of Albany County in 1774 became the most populated county in the state with a population of 42,921 and it continued to be the most populous county until at least 1790, when the population was 75,921. Albany lost population as new counties were created from within: Columbia County was created in 1786; Rensselaer and Saratoga counties were formed in 1791; Schoharie County was created in 1795 from parts of both Albany and Otsego counties (Otsego having been created from part of Montgomery County in 1791); Greene County was formed in 1800 from parts of both Albany and Ulster counties; Schenectady County was created in 1809; and Warren County was formed in 1813 from Washington County. Fulton County was the last county in the Capital District to be formed. A graphical representation of the county breakup timeline can be seen below.


Urbanization and transportation

The
Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fr ...
and Erie canals were opened in 1823, and 1825, respectively. Their completion connected the area to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, leading to a large influx in industrialization and immigration. Shortly after the completion of the canals, in 1831, the
Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company The Mohawk & Hudson Railroad was the first railroad built in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. It was so-named because it linked the Mohawk River at Schenectady with the Hudson River at Albany. It was conc ...
(M&H) built the
Albany and Schenectady Railroad The Mohawk & Hudson Railroad was the first railroad built in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. It was so-named because it linked the Mohawk River at Schenectady with the Hudson River at Albany. It was con ...
between those two cities. This was the first railway in the state. Railroads, like the plank/post roads and canals before them, made Albany an even more important transportation hub. In 1853 Erastus Corning consolidated 10 railroads stretching from Albany to Buffalo as the New York Central Railroad, headquartered in Albany until Cornelius Vanderbilt took over in 1867 and moved the company to New York City. Industry consequently became prominent in the area. Gloversville was labeled the "headquarters of the glove and mitten industry" and became the preeminent glove-manufacturing and leather-working region in New York. Cohoes became known as the "Spindle City" for its large cotton mills, due mainly to
Harmony Mills Harmony Mills, in Cohoes, New York, United States, is an industrial district that is bordered by the Mohawk River and the tracks of the former Troy and Schenectady Railroad (now the Mohawk-Hudson bike trail). It was listed as Harmony Mills Histo ...
, the largest cotton mill complex in the world when it opened in 1872. Troy became famous for its iron works due to
Burden Iron Works The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George ...
, though later Troy would earn the nickname of "Collar City" due to Cluett, Peabody & Co., which made
Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
brand shirts at the largest collar, cuff, and shirt factory in the world at the time. In 1887 Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady, and in 1892 Schenectady became the headquarters of the
General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...
(GE). Schenectady Locomotive Works, along with seven other locomotive manufacturers, merged in 1901 and the
American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
(ALCO) was formed and headquartered in Schenectady. Due to the dominance of GE and ALCO in their respective industries, Schenectady would gain the nicknames of "Electric City" and "The City that Lights and Hauls the World". The nature of this industry lent itself to the creation of many labor-saving inventions, such as the horseshoe machine of
Henry Burden Henry Burden (April 22, 1791 – January 19, 1871) was an engineer and businessman who built an industrial complex in Troy, New York called the Burden Iron Works. Burden's horseshoe machine, invented in 1835, was capable of making 60 horseshoes ...
, the pre-shrinking fabric machines of Sanford Cluett, the power knitting loom of Timothy Bailey, the railroad air-brake of George Westinghouse, and the hundreds of electricity-related improvements of
General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...
scientists.


Rise of the suburbs and urban decline and renewal

Starting with the
1980 U.S. Census The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was th ...
, Albany posted a decline in population until the
2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
. Meanwhile, the suburbs saw an influx in population and grew at the expense of the city of Albany. There were many causes to this, including the building of interstates and other highways allowing for more commuting, lack of available suitable land within the urban centers, and the subsequent location of shopping centers following the people to the suburbs. The decline of exporting from the United States contributed to a general decline as well. Watervliet, Cohoes, and especially Troy lost a competitive edge that came with being at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers: the location no longer meant better access to markets, waterfalls no longer made the cheapest power, and cheap labor in the southern and western parts of the nation became important to companies. General Electric moved part of their headquarters to Connecticut from Schenectady in the mid-1980s. Within the Capital District focus shifted to the suburbs. The suburbs had large open spaces for office parks and homes while the cities were constrained in available land. Albany International, with their headquarters and factory straddling the Menands and Albany border, built a new headquarters in 1987 in suburban East Greenbush, as did Garden Way, headquartered in Troy. The region's first technology park was built in the 1980s in North Greenbush by
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
(RPI). Not only was there a shift in population to the suburbs, a shift in retail shopping occurred as well. Retail sales in the cities declined a percent between 1972 and 1987, while having increased 63 percent in the suburbs. Although it was, and still is, within the city limits of Albany,
Westgate Plaza Westgate Plaza is a large strip mall in the city of Albany, New York, located on Central Avenue. Westgate is considered the first mall in the Albany area, and opened in 1957. Tenants Over the years, tenants have included: En lai restaurant C ...
opened in 1957 as the area's first "suburban"-style shopping center. Two years later, Stuyvesant Plaza was built outside Albany, in the neighboring town of
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest borde ...
. 1966 saw the opening of the area's first enclosed shopping mall, Colonie Center in Colonie, which drew shoppers from hundreds of miles away. Both Macy's, which up until this time only had locations in the New York City area, and Sears originally wanted to build stores in downtown Albany, but chose to move into suburban Colonie Center after having encountered interference from Albany's Mayor Corning. Several more enclosed malls were built in the area after Colonie Center's debut, all outside Albany limits:
Mohawk Mall Mohawk Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in the town of Niskayuna, New York, on a parcel located at the corner of State Street and Balltown Road. It was managed by Genesee Management. It had three courts with groups of fountains and seating ar ...
in Niskayuna in 1970,
Aviation Mall Aviation Mall is a major regional shopping mall in Glens Falls North, New York. It serves the extreme northern portion of the Capital District ( Albany Metropolitan Area) as well as the Glens Falls/ Lake George area. The mall has a gross leasabl ...
in Queensbury in 1975,
Clifton Park Center Clifton Park Center, formerly known as the Clifton Country Mall, is a large shopping center, located in Clifton Park, New York. As of 2022, the mall currently maintains the traditional chain anchors Boscov's, JCPenney, and a Marshalls and HomeGood ...
in Clifton Park in 1976 (originally known as Clifton Country Mall),
Rotterdam Square Via Port Rotterdam, formerly Rotterdam Square, is a shopping mall located in Rotterdam, New York, United States. When it opened, the mall was originally called Rotterdam Square and owned by Wilmorite Properties (who also owned Wilton Mall in Wilt ...
outside Schenectady in 1988, and the Wilton Mall at Saratoga in Wilton, in 1990. The first mall built within a downtown area was completed in 1977 as the Amsterdam Mall in Amsterdam. In 1979, the
Uncle Sam Atrium The Uncle Sam Atrium and Parking Garage is an enclosed urban shopping mall, office space, and parking garage in downtown Troy, New York. Originally envisioned as a much larger $96 million shopping mall in the early 1970s, the project stagnated du ...
opened in downtown Troy and, in 1986 Cohoes Commons opened in Cohoes, but by 2000 was nearly empty and is now office space.
Crossgates Mall Crossgates Mall is an enclosed, automobile-oriented, super-regional shopping mall located in the Albany, New York suburb of Guilderland. It is the largest indoor shopping center in the Capital District, and the third largest in the State of New ...
, a large upscale mall built in Guilderland in 1984, is now the fourth-largest mall in New York state. A modern expansion of Crossgates Mall in 1994 attracted luxury retailer Lord & Taylor as an anchor, as well as another Macy's to the area. Capitalizing on young professionals’ growing interest in living in walkable urban downtowns, the City of Albany has countered the shift to the suburbs with an apartment building boom. The effort to bring more residents to downtown Albany began gaining momentum in 1996 through the creation of the Albany Business Improvement District. Since 2002, the Capitalize Albany Corp. has been fueling the downtown residential strategy by allocating resources to building owners, developers and investors. In the early 2000s, the effort started with a series of small luxury apartment projects on Albany's North Pearl and State Streets and later expanded to several major developments both in downtown and just beyond it. Those major projects include: the conversion of a vacant industrial building into the 42-unit Monroe Apartments in 2012; the redevelopment of the former arcade building on Broadway into a 60-unit complex; and the $80 million redevelopment of the former Knickerbocker News building into The Knick, a 132-apartment complex in 2019. By 2020, more than $110 million in downtown investments had supported the completion of 650 residential units had been completed in Albany and 400 more were in development. Other Capital Region cities have also similarly pursued downtown revitalization efforts. In the 20 years since its creation in 1998, Schenectady's Metroplex Development Authority leveraged $249 million in sales tax revenues and grants to support 700 projects with a value of $1.3 billion and 8,000 jobs. Glens Falls was the winner of the Capital Region city to be awarded $10 million through Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) in 2017. Subsequent $10 million DRI winners have included Hudson and Albany. In the city of Saratoga Springs, there was a 1,352, or 11.7 percent, increase in housing units between 2000 and 2010.


Geography

According to the Albany '' Times Union'', the Capital District includes 11 counties: Albany,
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie,
Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...
, and Washington. The lower part of the Capital District is sometimes considered to be part of the Hudson Valley. The map in the infobox at the top of this page highlights those 11 counties. However, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) asserts that the Capital District consists of only eight counties (the counties of Fulton, Montgomery, and Schoharie are not included). The ESDC's definition of the Capital District is reflected in the map below the infobox, which is marked "Regions of New York". This page will utilize the ''Times Union's'' definition unless otherwise indicated. The 11 counties of the Capital District are divided into 13 cities and 143 towns, with 62 villages that are inside one or more towns. One village, Green Island, is coterminous with its town. The Capital District encompasses parts of the southern and southeastern Adirondacks to the northern parts of its limits.


Location


Climate

The Capital District has a humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. The region stands at a temperate sweet spot in New York State, annually receiving on average much less snow than other upstate metro areas and much less precipitation than downstate cities. For example, between 1980 and 2010, the 25-mile area around Albany on average received 60.3 inches of snow. That was 105 percent less snow than the same sized area around Syracuse received, 65 percent less than the Rochester area, 57 percent less than the Buffalo area and 38 percent less than the Binghamton area. During the same period, the Albany area averaged received 39.35 inches of rain. That was 18 percent less rain than the Poughkeepsie area, 25 percent less rain than the Westchester area and 18 percent less rain than the Islip area. Albany receives around 36.2 inches of rain per year, with 135 days of at least .01 inches of precipitation. Snowfall is significant, totaling about 63 inches annually, but with less accumulation than the lake-effect areas to the north and west, being far enough from Lake Ontario. The core of the region is however, close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from Nor'easters, and the region gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. The region also occasionally receives
Alberta clipper An Alberta clipper, also known as an Alberta low, Alberta cyclone, Alberta lee cyclone, Canadian clipper, or simply clipper, is a fast-moving low-pressure system that originates in or near the Canadian province of Alberta just east of the Rocky ...
s. Mohawk–Hudson convergence occasionally prolongs snowfall events in the Capital District, where precipitation has ended elsewhere across the region. Albany receives on average per year 69 sunny days, 111 partly cloudy days, and 185 cloudy days; and an average, over the course of a year, of less than four hours of sunshine per day, with just over an average of 2.5 hours per day over the course of the winter. The chance during daylight hours of sunshine is 53%, with the highest percentage of sunny daylight hours being in July with 64%, and the lowest month is November with 37%.


Cityscape


Architecture

The Capital District, having a history of settlement stretching back 400 years, has had many different architectural styles built over the years. Early Dutch farmhouses are still standing in the rural towns, especially west of Albany, such as the Mabee House. The
Van Ostrande-Radliff House 48 Hudson Avenue (also known as the Van Ostrande–Radliff House) is the oldest building in the city of Albany, New York. It was believed by Paul Huey, in the Albany architectural guide of 1993, to have been built in 1759 by Johannes Radliff whe ...
(1728) in Albany and the Rosa House in Schenectady (before 1700) are the oldest houses in each city. In 1885 ''American Architect and Building News'', a magazine with national circulation, polled its readers asking what the nation's Top Ten most beautiful buildings were. Two buildings in the city of Albany made the list:
Albany City Hall Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York, United States. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The present building was desi ...
and the New York State Capitol; both finished in 1883 and designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Troy has many distinctive features in architecture that sets it apart, such as its ornamental ironwork, cast-iron storefronts such as the Arts Center of the Capital Region, and the abundance of windows by Tiffany such as St. John's Episcopal Church, Troy Public Library, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The Capital District also has a large selection of
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...
buildings especially in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany and the Washington Park neighborhood in Troy. Washington Park in Troy is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the state. Schenectady's
Stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived ...
neighborhood has representations of residential architecture from all periods in its 300-year history including Dutch, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian. Also in Schenectady is the
GE Realty Plot The General Electric Realty Plot, often referred to locally as the GE Realty Plot, GE Plots or just The Plot, is a residential neighborhood in Schenectady, New York, United States. It is an area of approximately just east of Union College. Origi ...
built by General Electric as homes for their employees, the houses are in revival styles such as Tudor, Georgian, Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial, and Spanish Colonial. The first all electric house was built by GE in the Realty Plot to showcase its products. In Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood is a style of residential architecture that is rare in the rest of the Capital District, bungalows in the Spanish revival style, with red tile roofs and stucco walls, only 27 still exist and are the remnants of the Winchester Gables development.


Festivals

One of the largest events in the Capital District is the Tulip Fest held in Albany every spring at Washington Park. The tradition stems from when Mayor
Erastus Corning 2nd Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classic urban political ...
got a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. In addition, he sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to name a variety as Albany's tulip. On July 11, 1948, her reply was "Her Majesty gladly accepts the invitation to designate a tulip as the official flower of Albany." She picked the variety "Orange Wonder", a bronzy orange shaded scarlet. The first Tulip Fest was celebrated the next year on May 14, 1949, with opening ceremonies still carried on today as tradition, such as the sweeping of State Street and the crowning of a Tulip Queen. The African-American tradition of Pinksterfest, whose origins are traced back even further to Dutch festivities, was later incorporated into the Tulip Fest. Attendance to the festival in 2010 was approximately 80,000. The largest Flag Day parade in the United States had been held every year in Troy until 2017. The 42nd annual parade in 2009 is along a two-mile (3 km) long route.
First Night First Night is a North American artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors ...
celebrations are held in Saratoga Springs, while in 2006 Albany decided to eliminate its First Night celebrations in favor of a new "Albany WinterFestival" (WinterFest). Other major festivals in the Capital District include ethnic festivals. The Albany LatinFest, which has been held since 1996, drew 10,000 people to Washington Park in 2008. In Schenectady the growing Guyanese community has celebrated the Guyanese Family Fun Day for several years in that city's Central Park. PolishFest is a three-day celebration of Polish culture in the Capital District, held in the town of Colonie for the past eight years.


Entertainment

The Capital District has many enclosed malls that are
regional mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to ref ...
s (malls over ), and two that are classified as super-regional malls (malls with over ).International Council of Shopping Centers
Shopping Center Definitions for the U.S. Information accurate as of 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
Crossgates Mall Crossgates Mall is an enclosed, automobile-oriented, super-regional shopping mall located in the Albany, New York suburb of Guilderland. It is the largest indoor shopping center in the Capital District, and the third largest in the State of New ...
in
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest borde ...
and Colonie Center in Colonie are the two super-regional malls. During the winter months the Capital District has many places to go for such cold-weather activities as skiing,
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
, tubing, ice fishing,
snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...
,
snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
, and ice climbing. Some downhill ski centers include West Mountain and Gore Mountain in Warren County, Maple Ski Ridge in Schenectady County, Willard Mountain in Washington County,
Windham Mountain Windham Mountain is a ski resort located in the town of Windham, New York (US), in the northern section of the Catskill Mountains, approximately 2.5 hours north of New York City. Windham Mountain is the closest big mountain skiing to the city. ...
and Hunter Mountain in Greene County. In addition to downhill skiing most also have
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
trails as well. There are also cross-country trails at the state parks in the area, the Schenectady County Forest in Duanesburg and Pine Ridge XC Ski Area in Rensselaer County. There are over of official trails for snowshoeing at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Lake George also has an annual winter carnival every weekend in February.


Culture and contemporary life


Culture

Albany consistently ranks high on lists of top cities/metro areas for culture, such as being 23rd in the book ''Cities Ranked & Rated''. Albany ranked 12th among large metro areas and Glens Falls ranked 12th among the small metro areas in Sperling's Best Places; and Expansion Management (a monthly business magazine) gave the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area five Stars, its highest ranking, for quality of life features. The Capital District has many museums, historical sites, art galleries, and festivals that stretch back to the 17th century. The Capital District has been pivotal in the history of
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
in the United States, including the first written reference to Santa (Sinterclaas) in 1675 and the first publishing of ''
'Twas the Night before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'' in 1823.


Cuisine

The Capital District has been the birthplace of several important foods in American food culture. Potato chips were invented by African-American/ Native American chef
George Crum George Speck (also known as George Crum;Hugh Bradley, ''Such Was Saratoga'', New York: 1940 July 15, 1824 – July 22, 1914) was an American chef. He was known for his role in popularizing potato chips in Upstate New York and was later mythologiz ...
, at the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant in Saratoga Springs. The club sandwich was also invented in Saratoga Springs, at the Saratoga Club-house, today the
Canfield Casino Canfield Casino and Congress Park is a site in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It was formerly the site of the Congress Hotel (also called Congress Hall), a large resort hotel, and the Congress Spring Bottling Plant, as well as Canfie ...
, in 1894. Pie à la Mode was first made at the Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge, Washington County in the 1890s.
Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
in the Hudson River was once so plentiful that the fish was referred to as "
Albany beef Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early ...
".*


Sports

Since 1988, the
Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...
men's basketball team (the
Siena Saints The Siena Saints (formerly the Siena Indians) are composed of 21 teams representing Siena College in collegiate sports. The Saints compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athl ...
) have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments (
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
,
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
,
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, and
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
), while their crosstown rivals, the Great Danes of the
University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
(SUNY) have appeared five times
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
,
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
,
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. Union College won the NCAA National Championship in 2014 for college hockey, while its rival, RPI, brought home the national title in 1985 and 1954.


Professional teams

* Albany Empire ( Arena Football League) *
Albany Legends Formed in 2010, the Schenectady Legends were a semi-professional basketball team in the Independent Basketball Association (IBA). The franchise was originally known as the Albany Legends, changing their name in 2014 with a move to Schenectady. Th ...
(
International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...
) * Tri-City ValleyCats ( Frontier League, independent baseball league; 2010, 2013, 2018 New York–Penn League Champions) *
New York Buzz The New York Buzz was a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in Schenectady, New York from 1995 to 2007, before moving to Albany, New York in 2008, and Guilderland, New York in 2009. The team ...
( World Team Tennis)


Economy

The economy of the Capital District is heavily anchored by the state government. There have traditionally been three legs holding up the region's economy: State government, health care, and education. Albany has the fourth-highest amount of lawyers in its employment pool (7.5 lawyers per 1,000 jobs) in the nation, behind Washington, D.C.; Trenton, New Jersey; and New York City, respectively. Many important regional and national banks are headquartered in the area.


Tech Valley

Since the 2000s, the economy of the Capital District has been redirected toward high technology. Tech Valley is a marketing name for the eastern part of New York State, encompassing the Capital District and the Hudson Valley. Originated in 1998 to promote the greater Albany area as a high-tech competitor to regions such as Silicon Valley and Boston, it has since grown to represent the counties in the Capital District and extending to IBM's Westchester County plants in the south and the Canada–US border to the north. The area's high technology ecosystem is supported by technologically focused academic institutions including
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
and the
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Polytechnic Institute or SUNY Poly) is a public university with campuses in Marcy and Albany, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1966 u ...
. Tech Valley encompasses 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway, and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the
computer hardware Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the computer case, case, central processing unit (CPU), Random-access memory, random access memory (RAM), Computer monitor, monitor, Computer mouse, mouse, Computer keyboard, ...
side of the high-technology industry, with great strides in the
nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing. In April 2021, GlobalFoundries, a company specializing in the
semiconductor industry The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconduct ...
, moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California to its most advanced semiconductor-chip manufacturing facility in Saratoga County, New York near a section of the Adirondack Northway, in Malta, New York. Fueled by its urban counties (Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga), the region is one of only 51 metros in the nation where businesses annually spend more than $1 billion on R&D. A substantial amount of those expenditures are in the field of semiconductor research, so much so that 1,404 semiconductor device-related patents awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2019 listed an inventor in the eight-county Capital Region – more than any other state in the nation except California and excluding the whole of New York.


Demographics

The Capital District is New York's most affluent
metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually co ...
outside the
New York City metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. Median household income was roughly $86,787 in 1999 and its educational attainment profile, with 28 percent of adults having a college degree, is slightly above state average and well-above the national average.


Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget. The MSA includes Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Schoharie counties; this area makes up a large portion of the Capital District. As of the 2020 census, the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA had a population of 899,262.


Combined Statistical Area

The Albany-Schenectady NY Combined Statistical Area (CSA) includes 10 of the 11 counties in the Capital District (excluding only Greene County). The Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) combines with the Glens Falls MSA (consisting of Warren and Washington counties) and three Micropolitan Statistical Areas to make up the Albany-Schenectady NY Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The three Micropolitan Statistical Areas within the CSA are the Gloversville (μSA) (formed in 1990), which consists of Fulton County; the Amsterdam μSA (also formed in 1990), which consists of Montgomery County; and the Hudson μSA (also formed in 1990), which consists of Columbia County. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the Albany-Schenectady NY Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,190,727. Adding the 2020 population of Greene County (47,931) to the population of the CSA (1,190,727) yields a total 2020 Capital District population of 1,238,658.


Congressional representation

The Capital District contains portions of three congressional districts: New York's 19th, 20th, and 21st congressional districts. As of 2019, those three districts are represented by Antonio Delgado ( D) (19th district), Paul Tonko ( D) (20th district) and Elise Stefanik ( R) (21st district), respectively.


Education


School districts

In Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties there are 54 public school districts, each of which is under the umbrella of one of four Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in the area: Capital Region BOCES, Questar III (Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene BOCES), Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES, or Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES. Some of these districts cross county borders since school district boundaries are independent of town and county borders. The smallest district by student enrollment is North Greenbush Common School District, with 20 students in 2006 and the largest school district is
Shenendehowa Central School District The Shenendehowa Central School District, often shortened to Shen, is a public school district located in New York's Capital District. The district's main campus is located off NY 146 in Clifton Park, and is home to eight of the district's 1 ...
, with 9,745 students in the end of the 2008 school year. According to Niche.com and U.S. News & World Report,
Shaker High School Shaker High School, is a public high school in Latham, Albany County, New York, United States, and is the only high school operated by the North Colonie Central School District. The school's Science Bowl team finished first in their regional co ...
in Latham, Niskayuna Central High School in Schenectady and Bethlehem Central Senior High School in Delmar are the highest ranked public high schools in the Capital District.


Colleges and universities

The largest educational institution in the Capital District is the
University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
, one of the four major university centers of the State University of New York. Founded in 1795, Union College was the alma mater of President Chester A. Arthur.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
in Troy is the oldest continuously existing technical university in the English-speaking world.


Transportation

Albany has long been at the forefront of transportation technology from the days of turnpikes and plank roads to the Erie Canal, from the first passenger railroad in the state to the oldest municipal airport in the nation. Today, Interstates, Amtrak, and the
Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is six miles (9 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an air port of entry in the town of Colon ...
continue to make the Capital District a major crossroads of the
Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
.


Interstate and other major highways

East-west
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
(I-90) and north–south Interstate 87 (I-87) meet at Exit 24 of the Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway in the Capital District. Exit 24 is the busiest exit on the Thruway. I-87 parallels the much older
US Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...
south of Albany and
US Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betw ...
north and I-90 parallels
New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syr ...
west from Albany; all three highways are still important for local and regional traffic despite the proximity of the Interstates.


Mass transit

The four core counties of the Capital District are served by buses of the Capital District Transportation Authority, which has transit hubs in the three principal cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. There is also express bus service between Saratoga Springs and Albany. The CDTA serves a large part of Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. The city of
Mechanicville Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents. The city is lo ...
, Saratoga County runs a public transit service on four routes which cover the city and the surrounding suburbs in the towns of Stillwater and Halfmoon in Saratoga County and the hamlet of Hemstreet Park in the town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County. Greater Glens Falls Transit (GGFT) serves Bolton Landing (May to October), Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, Lake George, Queensbury, and South Glens Falls.


Cities with intercity bus service to outside the region

* Albany:
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
, Trailways, and Peter Pan/Bonanza buses all serve a downtown terminal. There is also a
Chinatown bus Chinatown bus lines are discount intercity bus services, often operated by Chinese Americans. They have been established primarily in the Chinatown communities of the East Coast of the United States since 1998, and similar services operate on ...
service that leaves from Central Avenue and goes to Chinatown in Manhattan. * Schenectady: Greyhound and Trailways serve a downtown terminal on State Street. * Glens Falls: Greyhound and Trailways serve a downtown terminal. * Saratoga Springs: Greyhound * Rensselaer:
Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada operating in the eas ...
operates regular service from the Albany-Rensselaer Train Station to New York City and Ridgewood, New Jersey


Airports

Nine of the 11 counties in the Capital District make up the Upper Hudson Region as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In 1978 the FAA assigned the Capital District Regional Planning Commission to be responsible for this region's aviation system planning and to provide technical assistance. The Upper Hudson Region has 26 airports open to public use, with 13 designated as system airports. Those 13 airports are: *
Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is six miles (9 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an air port of entry in the town of Colon ...
in Colonie, Albany County, the only commercial service airport; * Schenectady County Airport in Glenville, Schenectady County; *
Saratoga County Airport Saratoga County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6  km) southwest of the central business district of Saratoga Springs, a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. It is included in the ...
in
Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
, Saratoga County; * Columbia County Airport in Columbia County; * Fulton County Airport in Johnstown, Fulton County; * Freehold Airport in Greenville, Greene County; * South Albany Airport in Bethlehem, Albany County; * Rensselaer County Airpark in Poestenkill, Rensselaer County; * Duanesburg Airport in Duanesburg, Schenectady County; * Burello-Mechanicville Airport in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County; * Plateau Sky Ranch in Edinburg, Saratoga County; * Sharon Airport in
Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...
, Schoharie County; * Maben Airport in Prattsville, Greene County.


Rail

Amtrak has several routes servicing the stations of the Capital District. The Adirondack (north to Montreal, Quebec and south to the city of New York),
Empire Service The ''Empire Service'' is an Inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service ...
(west to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, south to New York), Ethan Allen Express (northeast to
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
and south to New York), Maple Leaf (west to Toronto and south to New York),
Berkshire Flyer The ''Berkshire Flyer'' is a seasonal Amtrak passenger train service between New York City and the Berkshire Mountains in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, via the Hudson Valley. The weekly train departs Penn Station on Friday afternoons during the s ...
(east to Pittsfield and south to New York), and the Lake Shore Limited (at Albany-Rensselaer separate routes from Boston and New York merge to one train west to Chicago, on way east one train splits to two, one east to Boston another south to New York). Amtrak stations in the region are: * Albany-Rensselaer station in Rensselaer County * Schenectady station in Schenectady County * Saratoga Springs station in Saratoga County *
Fort Edward station Fort Edward station (also known as the Fort Edward–Glens Falls) is an intercity train station in Fort Edward, New York. It was originally built as a Delaware and Hudson Railroad depot in 1900, as a replacement for two earlier stations. The firs ...
in Washington County * Hudson station in Columbia County * Amsterdam station in Montgomery County *
Whitehall station Whitehall station is an Amtrak intercity train station in the village of Whitehall, New York. It is served by the '' Adirondack''. It has one low-level side platform with a small shelter on the east side of the track. History The Saratoga and W ...
in Washington County File:RensselaerRailStation.JPG, Albany-Rensselaer station File:Fort Edward-Glens Falls (Amtrak station) in 2008.jpg,
Fort Edward station Fort Edward station (also known as the Fort Edward–Glens Falls) is an intercity train station in Fort Edward, New York. It was originally built as a Delaware and Hudson Railroad depot in 1900, as a replacement for two earlier stations. The firs ...


References


External links


Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce

Capital-Saratoga Region Tourist Information

Capital District regional tourism

TechValley.org

Capital District Regional Planning Commission

Capital District Transportation Authority

''Times Union'' list of notable residents
{{USLargestMetros Upstate New York