WELCOME TO ALBANY

Albany is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles (219 km) north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and has a major port. The Hudson River has been deepened so that ocean-going ships can reach the city. As of July 2007, the city had an estimated population of 94,172.

Albany has close ties with the nearby cities of Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs, forming a region called the Capital District, a historic area of the United States. The bulk of this area is made up of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which has a population of 850,957; this MSA is the fourth largest urban area in New York and the 56th largest MSA in the United States.

Albany was built on the site of the Dutch Fort Orange and its surrounding community of Beverwyck. The English acquired the site from the Dutch in 1664 and renamed it Albany, in honor of James II, Duke of Albany. A 1686 document issued by Thomas Dongan granted Albany its official charter. After New Amsterdam, Albany is the second oldest city in the state in terms of its date of incorporation.

Festivals

A photographer taking photographs during Albany's Tulip Festival

• The Tulip Festival, or the Tulip Fest as it is locally known, is set in Albany’s Washington Park. This traditional Albany event marks the beginning of spring as thousands of tulips bloom in the Park in early May. It includes musical performances and the coronation of the Tulip Queen. Tulip Fest is a celebration of Albany’s rich Dutch heritage, and draws both local and regional attendance.
• Alive at Five is a free concert series held downtown on Thursdays throughout the summer. The concert series features local, regional, and national artists and hosts different genres of music each week.
• Price Chopper’s Fabulous Fourth and Fireworks Festival at the Empire State Plaza celebrates Independence Day with musical performances and the region's largest fireworks display.
• The African American Family Day Arts Festival takes place in early August at the Empire State Plaza and provides musical acts, cultural cuisine, and family entertainment.
• Latin Fest offers Latin music, dance, food and crafts every year in Washington Park.
• The Albany Jazz Festival is held at the end of summer every year in the Albany Riverfront Park Amphitheater.
• Lark Fest is a festival held each fall over a three day span. The festival, held on Lark Street, enjoys local musical performances ranging from jazz to metal and other genres, and unique artisan wares are sold.

Recreational areas

Washington Park is recognized as one of New York's oldest city parks. The Park was officially organized in 1809, but its current location has been used as a recreational site for well over 300 years. Washington Park's current layout was designed in 1868 by Frederick Law Olmsted. It was opened for the public use in 1871. Frederick W. Brown's Lake House was added in 1876. Previously it had been a cemetery and when they made it into a park they moved the graves to Albany Rural Cemetery.

• Lincoln Park was organized in 1886. It was originally known as Delaware Square and later as Beaver Park. Today, the park has a pool that is open to city residents during the summer months.
• The Pine Bush is the only sizable inland pine barrens sand dunes in the United States, and is recognized as a unique pine barrens ecosystem. It contains over 300 species of vertebrate animals, over 1,500 species of plants, and over 10,000 species of insects and other invertebrate animals. Many of them are rare and restricted to the Pine Bush habitat. The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is sung by the Indian brave from the Vale of Tawasentha located in the Pine Bush. George Washington wrote of the Pine Bush in his diaries while traveling in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War. In Moby-Dick, Herman Melville describes the dark beauty of the Pine Bush in a long account of a stage coach ride from Albany to Schenectady.
• Albany Riverfront Park at the Corning Preserve is home to an 800-seat amphitheatre which hosts numerous events from Spring through Fall. In addition, a visitors center houses an explanation of the Hudson River’s tides. The park also features a bike trail and boat launch.
• Buckingham Lake Park contains a pond with fountains, a footpath, a playground, and picnic tables.