Another find, thanks to Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/troy-gasholder-building…read moreThere's not much like this fabulous building but it is definitely not open to the public. There was a gent there today when we stopped by and he opened the main gates for us so that we could get pictures. The building itself is closed and secured. If you stop by after hours and the gate is locked, you can still get a good view. So, what's this about? The Troy Gasholder Building dates back to when coal gas was manufactured and it needed to be stored so that it could be used later to light streets and homes. The building has a brick structure and the tank inside (not there, as far as I know) was 100 feet in diameter and 22 feet high, which would store 330,000 cubic feet of gas. Today, it's next to a repair yard and in the middle of a neighborhood of brownstone looking homes. There is some street parking. [Review 11508 overall, 1288 of 2019.]

This is one amazing sight!…read more It's a gigantic granite monument that rises up nearly 100 feet high in the center of downtown Troy- more or less where River Street, 2nd Street and Broadway collide. It was dedicated way back in 1890 to remember the soldiers and sailors of Rensselaer County who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. You'll see an ornate 4-sided granite base with all sorts of plaques and sculpted panels, a 50-foot granite column, and an attention grabbing 17 foot tall bronze statue of the Goddess Columbia who is standing on a cannonball and holding a trumpet and a sword. Quite the multi tasker she was! Some of the inscriptions on the base include the dates "1776", "1812", and "1861-65" . You'll see the words "To the Men from Rensselaer County who fought for Their Country on Land and Sea." The bronze sculpted panels are gorgeous -you'll see infantry, cavalry and artillery scenes and a sweet picture of the naval battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac (look at the way the artist captured the motion of the waves). The monument was rededicated in 1991 and has a place of honor in downtown Troy, which was vibrantly alive when I was there yesterday. Downtown was crowded with a terrific Farmers Market.

My wife and I brought our Chinese exchange friend here for the view of Albany. We were the only…read moreones up there for much of the time, and it was quiet and peaceful. While it was a gloomy February day, the views were still pretty good. Since I am familiar with the area, it was fun to look around and spot areas I know from the higher vantage point. For those who don't know Albany, they had nice picture boards pointing out the major sites in the area. However, since they were only in English (and not Chinese) they were of limited value to our friend. We did our best to help her out. One downside is that to gain access from the indoor concourse level you either need to take an elevator to the plaza level, or take an escalator. Because we had a baby stroller they helped us with the first elevator ride up. On the way down, though, they not only acknowledged that we had a stroller but instead asked us to "deal with the escalator." I believe they were short-staffed at the desk, but this was really annoying. Thankfully, a we made it down without incident (or lawsuit). At least it is free.

Now that you are in New York's capital, why not see it from the tallest building in the city. Best…read moreof all it's FREE to go to the 42nd floor observatory. If you come here on a sunny day, you can really see a lot of Albany and it's surroundings. I personally love viewing the Empire State Plaza from above. Go to the other side of the observation deck and you can see the governor's mansion. This is a GREAT place to take out of town visitors since there isn't a TON to do in Albany. Two things to keep in mind: 1. Hours are limited, at my time of visit it was only open M-F, 10-4. Kind of a bummer that this isn't open on the weekends, I think it used to be, but it has to do with state funding. 2. If the weather outside is horrible and cloudy you won't be able to see much. If you are visiting Albany, I'd also suggest a quick visit to the free state museum where you can also ride the carousel. Stroll up to Lark Street for a meal or beverage too! If it's nice out wander through Washington Park.

A lovingly restored and maintained historic home, with a one-room school house, a large barn, and…read morelots of history to explore and learn.

Cute little historic complex, which I'll describe in detail below, that pays its way for the Town…read moreof Colonie as a reception hall specializing in weddings. I can't comment on the weddings but it looks like a very good value for a small wedding and a charming, spacious setting. The historic complex has three main "attractions". The first is the Pruyn House itself, an odd combination of a federal brick and greek revival mansion, built in the first third of the 19th century for Casparus Pruyn and family. Pruyn was the agent/collector for Stephen van Rensselaer III, the last Patroon of Rensselaerswyck, the feudal remnant of the Dutch empire in the US that lasted in its odd legal form until the middle of the 19th century. It is not the main site of business, but it does speak a bit to the social history around the Patroonship system. There are interpretive placards in each room, including one on the Anti-Rent Wars that broke up the Patroon system finally. Most of the rooms have period furnishings in them, although not a full restoration, and as such it's a nice illustration of 19th century elite living but not exactly a full recreation. The upper floors have rooms that double as offices for the curators, so there are also modernized touches around. Even so, it's a moderately interesting look. There's not a lot of interpretation but enough to figure things out. Outside the main house is a lovely flower garden, and two more buildings. One is the Buhrmaster Barn, an early 19th century barn that was moved from a position close to the Mohawk River, and the old Verdoy school, which was moved from its location near Route 7 in 1995. The barn is used for receptions and programs, and has some very interesting intact woodwork but is, well, you know, a barn used for wedding receptions. It's nicer than a real barn but not as interesting. The Verdoy school house, though, is one of the best intact one-room school houses in the area, and they have a few desks and some props (I can't call them artifacts) left out, which I am guessing are used for school groups to come in, with some modern seating. It's worth a peek inside - the kids enjoyed playing school for a few minutes - but it's not a complete re-creation either. It's all free (donations accepted) and despite the relative lack of interpretation it should be of interest to those interested in local history, old houses, or just a pleasant walk around some grounds. There are picnic tables and a big open space in the rear, and I don't know if they care if you come and use it as a picnic spot, but I would recommend it as such if you're looking for one in the area and want to spice up your stop with a little history.

What a fabulous tour we were given! And for free! So many fun facts and the age and intricacy of…read morethe architecture makes this a must see! The only US Capitol building without a dome! We thoroughly enjoyed everything about this place!

The Queen of Queens heads to the capitol. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. A beautiful…read morebuilding that was easily accessible although you will have to go through multiple security checkpoints when navigating through the building. Don't worry, security officers were personable and were happy to direct to where you need to be. I think they rather you ask than aimlessly wander around this pretty important government building. There are shops and places to grab a quick bite. There is also a Dunkin' in there and this was what I needed to refuel halfway through the day. If you like history/public affairs/governmental stuff...definitely worth a visit. I'm sure I'll be back in some capacity.

We visited here twice when we were in Albany this Fall. On our first visit, we toured the grounds,…read morewhich are beautiful, and learned some cool facts from the interpretive signs. On the second visit, we checked out the holiday craft market featuring over 90 vendors including purveyors of mushrooms, coffee, cheeses and tons of hand made table linens and crafts. Some great finds here included mushroom seasoning, ginger jams, and some rare treats from their heavily discounted "attic" section which was super fun to browse. I picked up two cool, old style cookbooks from here for just a couple dollars.

Well despite coming here to Albany for such a short time out of disappointment in regards to my…read morefamily who never told me that they wanted to stay here shortly I had left them alone and went my own way to this Shaker heritage community unfortunately they are closed on Monday and Tuesday and originally I was supposed to go to Cleveland for at least going to the arboretum down there in Cleveland no they want to go over here and stores are closed anyways this looks like a good place to check out I would come back here again but without my family since I like the quaintness of state capital Albany in upstate New York other than that not much I could say I like how they have this rare cow that they raise here that's almost extinct chickens and how they educate you about the Shakers since they don't live a life of producing but rather of the celibate life in Christianity from the days of George Washington and the American revolution. That is what I learned about this place unfortunately I couldn't go to the museum because it was closed on Monday

Beautiful modern statue of real life person Uncle Sam! The small park is in Troy, NY close to the…read morewaterfront. Several plaques to read. Parking. Bus stop. Benches to sit. Review: 5+

Troy's Uncle Sam [Troy NY]…read more Keep your eyes open or you might miss this shiny silver statue of the Uncle Sam Monument who stands facing River Street. The statue identifies him as "Uncle Sam Wilson." The inscription on the statue says that he was born in Arlington MA. He was a New York meatpacker who supplied barrels of beef to the U.S. Army (who were preparing to go to war with Canada) during the war of 1812. Rations of meat were uncommon back then and when asked who supplied it "Uncle Sam" was mentioned. The barrels were stamped "U.S." and since then the kindness of Uncle Sam and United States were associated. He is buried in Troy NY at Oakwood Cemetery. Other inscriptions on the monument says: Troy's Citizen - America's Uncle The big thing is not what happens to us in life But what we do about what happens to us. U S of AMERICA N A C M Originated during War of 1812 L E This was a nice statue with a cool history behind the man. Review #3013

Ralf was our guide and it was very pleasurable he was very knowledgeable very upbeat and cheerful…read more He kept the tour moving and he answered all our questions intelligently. I was very pleased with the tour and I'm an ex Navy guy so that's saying something !

Only one remains afloat in America [Albany NY]…read more We learned so much from our docent, Caroline.. this is a guided tour inside the World War II destroyer escort. General admission was $10 each and lasted about an hour. There were 563 built during WWII and the USS Slater is the only destroyer escort left in the US. It has been restored to its original 1945 configuration. We were fortunate to learn about this national historic landmark. The first thing we learned was the history behind the name of the USS Slater (DE 766). The destroyer escort was named after Seaman Frank O. Slater. He was assigned to the USS San Francisco at Pearl Harbor and was killed when a Japanese torpedo bomber he had shot down crashed into his gun position. Instead of leaving his gun and trying to find a safe place for cover he stayed at his position continuously firing until the plane crashed his gun mount. The tour took us to the galley, officers and enlisted mess halls (btw, the officer mess hall doubled up as the operating room, there is a medicine cabinet by the wall), we viewed the chart room and the sonar room, captain's cabin, ship's office, signal bridge... we mounted ladders to get up and down between decks. These are steeper than stairs so it could be challenging for some. Overall, a very educational tour and I enjoyed it. A Destroyer Escort's main job is to defend naval task forces from Japanese submarines and Kamikaze air attacks in the Pacific. Review #3014

Lots of room. And the concessions area is a great throwback to the early days of drive ins.read more

Just came here for the first time on Saturday and we had a great time. They explain everything…read morepretty quickly so if you don't have a million questions or want to fight about how much the movies used to cost since you last went there the line can move pretty quick. The concession area is semi self serve which is nice because you can just grab what's available, pay, and head back without missing much. We got burgers and mozzarella sticks in between shows and there was still a good variety available at that time. Will definitely come back again.