The streets of Albany, New York, have had a long history going back almost 400 years. Many of the streets have changed names over the course of time, some have changed names many times. Some streets no longer exist, others have changed course. Some roads existed only on paper. The oldest streets were haphazardly laid out with no overall plan until Simeon De Witt's 1794 street grid plan. The plan had two grids, one west of Eagle Street and the old stockade, and another for the Pastures District south of the old stockade.
Early colonial streets These streets had their starts during the Dutch colonial era in the 17th century, some such as Broadway, State, and Pearl streets grew and continued to stretch out into the countryside, while some such as Van Tromp are short stubby streets one block long. Others are so narrow that today they are blocked off to vehicular traffic.
State Street
Albany's original "main street". The original name was Yonker Street; it and Broadway are the two oldest streets in Albany. Three structures sat in the middle of the street; from east to west they were: the original Dutch Reformed church, St. Peter's Anglican Church, and Fort Frederick; by 1810 they had been demolished. State Street west of Eagle Street was called Deer Street; today it is sometimes referred to as "upper" State Street to distinguish it from the older "lower" State Street. "Upper" State Street is a one-way street traveling east and goes from a Y-intersection with Western Avenue and continues east to Eagle Street. There are two other discontinuous sections of State Street; one is blocked from "upper" State Street by the downtown campus of the University at Albany, SUNY (SUNY Albany) and is a one-way street traveling west from Cortland Place to O'Leary Boulevard (Partridge Street) then is blocked by the downtown dorms of SUNY Albany, Albany High School, and St. Mary's Park. The next section goes from North Main to North Pine streets. State Street from Broadway to Eagle Street is part of New York Route 5, though this is an unsigned part of the route.
Broadway
Called Handalaers Street on the Miller map of 1695. One of the original streets within the Dutch stockade, it and State Street are the two oldest streets in Albany. The intersection with Yonker (State) Street is where the original Dutch Church sat until 1806. North of State Street it became known as Market Street. The second oldest house in Albany, the Quackenbush House was built along Broadway. Handalaers Street was changed to Market Street, and then in 1815 Court Street became South Market and Market became North Market. Broadway from Madison Avenue north out of the city was once New York Route 2 until the 1980s. The only portion of Broadway within the city of Albany that is part of a state or US route is a small section from State Street south to Hamilton Street is part of New York Route 5, though unsigned as such.
Pearl Street
Another early Dutch street today it is part of NY Route 32 (NY 32) and is a core of downtown Albany, lined with bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues such as the Times Union Center, the Palace Theatre, and the Capital Repertory Theatre. The intersection with State Street was once called Elm Street Corner, where stood an Elm Tree planted by Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. South of State Street the road was a path to the common pastures owned by the Dutch Church, it was one of many such paths referred to as "Cow Lane". After the Revolution it was named Washington Street in honor of George Washington. In 1814/15 Pearl Street north of State was renamed North Pearl while the street south of State was renamed South Pearl. In 1804 the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike was chartered and constructed as a continuation of South Pearl Street through the hamlet of Kenwood to the hamlet of Bethlehem Center. In 1870 a portion of Kenwood was annexed to Albany and the city was involved in a lawsuit (Harriet M. Elmendorf v. The City of Albany) over its right to lay sidewalks along the turnpike (technically private property) and to levy an assessment upon property in order to cover the cost of the sidewalk.
The entire length of Pearl Street was part of NY 32 until the 1960s, today going north NY 32 leaves South Pearl Street at Interstate 787 (I-787) and returns to South Pearl at the intersection with Rensselaer and Morton streets.
Hudson Avenue Originally called Hudson Street it laid along the southern edge of the stockade, the oldest building in Albany is at 48 Hudson Avenue and built at a time when Hudson Street was little more than a path along the outside of the stockade. Over time it was continued west as far as Washington Park. On the other side of Washington Park, Hudson Street started again along the same line. When the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza was built a large section of Hudson Avenue disappeared. Today Hudson Ave is split into four sections. Hudson Ave exists from Broadway until South Pearl Street where the South Mall Arterial and Empire State Plaza covers its route, then again from Swan Street to Willett Street where Washington Park stands in the way, then South Lake to Partridge where the College of Saint Rose sits, and then Hudson Ave continues from Main to Allen.
Maiden Lane and Pine Street Maiden Lane and Pine Street are two parallel streets with an entwined history. Maiden Lane is the older of the two, it was one of the original streets within the stockade and was called Rom Street. Being one block north of State Street it was often used as a service road for the buildings fronting on the north side of State. Maiden Lane ran from Fort Albany and western edge of the stockade east to the Hudson River, where there was a ferry that crossed to the other side of the river. After Fort Albany and the stockade were removed Maiden Lane was extended west as far as Eagle Street where it met the Kings Highway from Schenectady (today Washington Avenue).
Pine Street was originally a short two block street running west from Barrack Street (now Chapel) to the stockade and later as far as the Public Square (today Eagle Street). A proposal in 1831 to extend Pine from Chapel east to Broadway at a cost of $45–60,000 was defeated. In the 1970s an urban renewal project called the Hotel Ten Eyck Project destroyed Maiden Lane between Chapel and North Pearl streets, while Pine Street was finally extended east from Chapel to Broadway to take up the traffic that could no longer use Maiden Lane.
Maiden Lane between Eagle and Chapel streets has since been renamed Corning Place in honor of Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd, and the section between North Pearl and James streets is the only section named Maiden still open to vehicular traffic, the rest of the remaining sections being turned into a pedestrian mall. The Hudson River Way pedestrian bridge over Interstate 787 goes from where Maiden Lane meets Broadway and allows for access to the Corning Preserve and Hudson River.
Clinton Avenue Formerly Patroon Street, named for being the dividing line of the city of Albany to the south and the patroonship of the Van Rensselaers to the north per the Dongan Charter. It was renamed in honor of DeWitt Clinton as Clinton Avenue.
De Witt streets
In the 1790s Simeon De Witt made a grid plan for future streets in Albany, one grid for west of Eagle Street and one grid for the Pastures. West of Eagle Street the east–west streets were named for mammals while the north–south streets were named for birds. The bird names were, in order from east to west- Eagle, Hawk, Swan, Dove, Lark, Swallow (Knox and Henry Johnson Boulevard), Snipe (Lexington Avenue, portion of New Scotland Avenue), Duck (now Robin), Pigeon (now Lake Avenue), Turkey (Quail), Sparrow (Ontario), and Partridge. The mammal streets were, in order from north to south- Hare (Orange), Fox (Sheridan Avenue), Elk, Lion (Washington Avenue), Deer (State), Tiger (Lancaster), Buffaloe [sic] (Hudson Avenue), Wolf (Madison Avenue), Otter (Elm), and Mink (Myrtle). Many of these streets were not brand new though the names were. Prior to the 1790s- Eagle was Duke, Swan was Boscawen, Dove was Warren, Lark was Johnson, Swallow was Gage, Snipe was Schenectady, Duck was Schoharie, Hare was Wall, Fox was Howe, Lion was King, "upper" State was Prince, Tiger was Prideaux, Buffalo was Quiter (Native American name given to Albany's first mayor), Otter was Pitt, and Mink was Monckton.Tony Opalka (City Historian), "Why are so many streets named after birds?", Capital Neighbors, Spring 2010, p. 3.
With the exception of Elk Street all the mammal names were changed over time. Many of the mammal streets changed names to that of the older downtown streets as they were later connected, such as Buffaloe Street changing to Hudson (Street) Avenue, and Deer Street changing to State Street. A few of the bird streets were changed as well, such as Snipe to Lexington Avenue and Swallow to Knox; while some bird-named streets simply changed to a more respected bird; such as Duck to Robin and Turkey to Quail. Because of ravines, swamps, and other undesirable building ground some of the streets were not opened over their entire planned length, leading to large gaps in street numbering. Some of the undesirable land would in time be taken by parks or large institutions, forever splitting some streets into two, three, or even four parts.
Madison Avenue Madison Ave was originally two separate streets in the De Witt plan, Lydius Street in the Pastures from the Hudson River to Dallius Street (Dongan Street), and named Wolf Street west from Eagle Street. As time went on and Lydius Street headed uphill from South Pearl that section came to be called "Lydius continued". Wolf Street would change to Lydius when the roads were connected at Eagle. What is now Madison Place was called Madison Avenue, Lydius would take the name Madison Ave and Madison Place would get its current name. In 1864 the state of New York passed Laws of 1864 Chapter 434, entitled AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to form a separate road district of all that part of the city of Albany lying west of Allen street, and to exempt the same from certain taxes.", banned the city from improving, grading, or opening Madison Ave west from Allen Street to Magazine Street. Allen Street continues to be the western termination of Madison Ave, the street never being opened any further.
In the west Madison Ave meets Western Avenue at a wye-intersection, it is referred to as "The Point" and it was here that the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, the first railroad in the state of New York, had its Albany terminal. The right-of-way of Wolf Street/Lydius Street was to continue indefinitely, and today East Lydius Street in the town of Guilderland continues down the same line of the original plan of Wolf Street. The same is true of Madison Avenue Extension and much of Washington Avenue Extension in the Pine Bush of the city of Albany. In 1994 the city sold the "paper street" of Madison Avenue Extension adjacent to Crossgates Commons to the shopping center's then-owner Washington Commons Associates (today The Pyramid Companies).
Today, Madison Avenue from South Pearl Street west, forms part of U.S. Route 20. Madison Avenue forms the majority of the northern border of the Mansion Historic District, and has along its route Bleecker Park, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Empire State Plaza, New York State Museum, Dana Park, Washington Park, College of Saint Rose, and one of only two movie theaters in the city.
Washington Avenue