Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 115

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 115

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Peter Kalm, speaking of the streets of Albany in 1749, said : " The streets are broad, and some of them are paved. In some parts they are lined with trees ; the long streets are almost parallel to the river, and the others intersect them at right angles. The street which goes between the two churches is five times broader than the others, and serves as a market-place. The streets, upon the whole, are very dirty, because the people have their cattle in them during the summer nights." Indeed, so muddy were the streets in rainy seasons, that it was no uncommon sight for foot passengers and wagons to become mired in the mud, requiring as- sistance to be extricated. In the records of the Com- mon Council, March 12, 1694, it appears that the streets were so muddy that it was almost impossible for foot passengers to use them, and it was ordered that "every householder shall make, or cause to be made, eight foot ground before his own house, fronting on the streets, paved with stone, under a penalty after the first of June, of every week, of six shillings." The reference of Kalm and other tour- ists before the beginning of the present century to the paved streets, refers to this manner of pave- ments. The sidewalks merely were paved, not the streets proper.

Numerous references are made in the early Com- mon Council Records to paving the sidewalks. In 1695, {50 was raised for this purpose; and, in 1717, a number of streets were ordered to be paved, and in Rom street, now Maiden lane, and in all the other streets existing at that time, the pave- ment was ordered to be repaired.

Many laws were passed by the Common Council in the early history of Albany referring to the streets. In 1686, a law was passed that every Saturday morning each inhabitant should clean the street in front of his dwelling, and also that no filth should be thrown in the street. A few years later, the following ordinance was passed :

" Resolved, That an ordinance be issued forth that all the respectable inhabitants within said city do severally clean the streets from the dung, dust, chips and filth before their houses or lots in the said streets; and that all wood and stone, except for present building, or cooper's wood, be removed out of the said streets before the 15th of April next ensuing, on penalty of paying for every default afterwards by them made, the sum of six shillings to the use of the Sheriff or any Constable who shall sue for the same. And that hereafter, if any dung, dust, chips or filth shall be found (on any Saturday after twelve o'clock noon) lying in the said streets against the house or lot of any person within the said city, that such person shall pay, also, for such default and contempt, the like sum of six shillings, to be sued for as aforesaid. And that hogs or swine belonging to any of the said inhabitants be ringed with one ring in the nose before Saturday night next, and remain ringed from that time; and if the hiog or swine of any person as aforesaid shall be found not ringed, the owners of such hog or swine shall pay for every such default or neglect the sum of six shillings to the Sheriff or Constable who shall sue for the same."

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STREETS OF ALBANY.

A law was passed forbidding any person to drive through the streets faster than a walk under a penalty of three shillings. The spirit of this law was often enjoined upon the inhabitants by the early city fathers. Another law which was after enacted required that all hogs which ran at large should be properly ringed; but it seems that this injunction was not very carefully regarded, for more than a century after, Elkanah Watson, who had been elected Constable, as a joke, attended to his duties in earnest, and created a great sensation by attempting to enforce it by driving all hogs not ringed to the public pound.

On the early maps of Beverwyck, the names of but few streets are given; but in early conveyances the following names appear: Broadway was called Cow, de breede, or Broad, Lower Handlaers, and Brewers street; Hudson, Spanish street; Green, south of Beaver, Esplanade or Plain street; and north of Beaver, the Voddemart or Rag market, and Cheapside ; Chapel, Berg street ; State, Jonkers street; South Pearl, DeKlyne street.

After the charter was granted, in 1686, the city was divided into three wards; the first embraced all that part of the town south of State and Ex- change streets; the second lay north of State and West of James street; and the third contained that portion lying north of State and Exchange and east of James street.

State street and Broadway are the two oldest streets in Albany. State street, when it was first laid out, was made of unusual width for that day, originally to accommodate the old Dutch Church which stood near Broadway in the center; but after- wards a line of public buildings were erected there. They were not all removed until the beginning of the present century. From a map of State street made in 1792, it was represented as being 149 feet wide at Pearl street, and gradually extending in width until it became 158 feet wide at Lodge street. The old English Church, which stood in the center of the street opposite Chapel, was erected in 1715. From the river to Broadway it was a narrow avenue, but beyond Broadway it opened to a liberal width and extended about 1, 900 feet to the brow of the hill, the original as- cent being about seven feet in one hundred. State street usually impressed the tourists, who visited Albany in its primitive day, most favorably. John Lambert, in 1807, described it as resembling the Haymarket in London. In Spafford's Gazetteer, published in 1813, it was described as a grand avenue into the heart of the city, and that it was regarded as the grand central point of Albany, " where its opulence is to be displayed, where taste shall vie with taste, architect with architect, age with age, in perpetual succession." Until the close of the last century its original grade had not been much reduced, and being still unpaved was usually incumbered with mud, rendering traveling extremely difficult. In 1792, the wagon of Philip Schuyler became buried in the mud in front of Green street, requiring assistance to extricate it. It was paved from Broadway to the Capitol Park in 1796, and in 1828 pavement was extended from this point to

Lark street. In 1831, from Broadway to the Quay, it was widened to seventy feet. The width of this part had been only thirty-five feet at Market street, and forty-three feet at Quay. The buildings on each side, at this period, were mostly of wood, and in a wretched condition. The present width of State street is 133 feet at Broadway and 157 feet at the foot of the Capitol Park.

Broadway, north from State street, was called Market street on the early maps, from the fact that the public market was situated in its center between Maiden lanc and State street. The Market house was built in 1791, at an expense of £222. It was removed many years ago, before the street was named Broadway. The mar- ket was a great gathering place for the inhabitants of the neighborhood on warm afternoons, when the butchers had departed. They took their chairs there, and smoked and gossiped for hours. South of State street, Broadway was known as Court street; but until near the beginning of the present cen- tury it only extended to Lydius street, from which point only a common road extended along the bank of the river to the ferry. West of Court street, beyond Lydius street, the Dutch Reformed Church owned considerable land, used as pasture; and in 1791 the consistory directed that this por- tion of the church domain be laid out into lots. At this time a gate swung across Lydius street at the end of Court street, and it was considered the southern extremity of the city. Only a common road extended through the pasture land. At this time Court street was extended and a number of streets were laid out in this section, several of these being named after the early Dutch ministers. They have since been filled in to a considerable extent and rendered valuable, although when laid out, and the land converted into building lots, the church realized less than one hundred dollars per lot. There were comparatively few lots built upon south of Lydius street, between South Pearl street and Broadway, as late as 1840, though now it is one of the most densely settled portions of the city. Court street was changed to name of South Market about the beginning of the present century. The name of Broadway for both North and South Market streets was adopted in 1840. At one time Court street was considered the most fashionable part of the city.

At the present time Broadway extends from Gansevoort street to the northern boundary of the city, and thence into the Troy road. No street in the city presents such a varied aspect. At the south end it is lined with manufacturing establish- ments. Near the steamboat landing it is given up to hotels and restaurants; then follows a line of stores to State street. North of State street it widens into one of the handsomest streets in Al- bany, having on it hotels and many large commer- cial buildings; from Columbia street to Clinton avenue it decreases in width and commercial activity; north of Clinton avenue it is a street of substantial residences till the new viaduct is reached, beyond which are several manufacturing buildings. Court street was paved in 1796.

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

The Broadway Viaduct was built in 1882-83 to obviate the danger of crossing the tracks of the Central Hudson railroad on Broadway and Col- onie street. The grades of Broadway and Colonie and North Lansing streets were depressed and the tracks carried over upon iron bridges. The work was done by the railroad company at an expense of $128,765; but the damage to adjacent property owners had to be met by the city, and has been assessed at $134, 237.

The street next in importance to State street and Broadway, during the earlier history of Albany, was North Pearl street, which ran from State street to Clinton square. North from this point it was pre- viously called Orchard street. South of State street, this street on the early maps was named Washington street, but is now called South Pearl. Pearl street now, as in the past, has always been an important business street. In the early part of the last century it contained many private dwellings and some busi- ness houses. Succeeding years and the growth of the city have made it one of the most popular and thriving business streets in the city. Old houses have given place to stores. Especially is this true for a considerable distance on both sides of State street.

North Pearl street has been widened and greatly improved within a few years, and now presents the appearance of a grand avenue. Division street was the extreme southern boundary of South Pearl street as late as 1850, since which it has been extended, and is now thickly populated as far as Gansevoort street. One of the curious features of the olden times affecting this street, was a law passed by the Common Council in 1793, which provided that two chains be stretched across the street, one on each side of the First Presbyterian Church, to prevent the passage of vehicles during church services, effectually barricading that edifice from the passage of all but foot passengers. These chains were not removed until 1832.

Chapel street is another very ancient street of Albany. In early times it was a very important business thoroughfare. It was the most westerly and highest street of the city when laid out, and for that reason was called Berg street (that is, Hill street), which in time came to be written by the English, Barrack street, from the Dutch pronun- ciation, bar-rg, as though it were two syllables. It was chiefly occupied, for many years, by houses of Indian traders.

Lydius street for many years formed the extreme southern boundary of the city, and extended from Lodge street to Broadway. It was named after Rev. Johannes Lydius, a Dutch Reformed Minis- ter, who came to Albany in 1700. In 1867, the name Lydius street was changed by the Common Council to Madison avenue, which at that time provoked much opposition from the Dutch citizens. Where Lydius street was laid out was once the camp- ing and training ground of the British army when commanded by Abercrombie and Amherst. Madi- son avenue has been gradually extended westward, now reaching from the river to its junction with Western avenue. It forms one of the longest streets

in Albany; contains many fine dwellings of recent erection; and is considered one of the most fash- ionable and desirable locations for private residences in the city.

Hudson avenue is another of the early streets of Albany, and in early days of the city only extended as far as Eagle street. It has been called by vari- ous names, the earliest, as previously stated, being Spanish street, then Prideaux, Buffalo and Hudson streets, and finally, Hudson avenue. The valley through which it runs was the course-way of the Ruttenkill. In 1832 it was filled in, and paved from Eagle street to Hawk street. Hudson avenue on account of its easy grade, being the least precipitous of all the streets leading up the hill, has become one of the principal thoroughfares of Albany, and is lined with some very fine residences. In 1881-82, this avenue, from Broadway to South Pearl street, was widened and straightened, at a cost of $74,965.

Green street and Maiden lane are on the list of original streets in early Albany. The ancient names of Green street have been given before. Before it received its present name it was known as Van Driessen street. Its present name being in honor of General Greene, of the revolution, ought to be written with a final e. The earliest name given Maiden lane was Rom street. This was one of the first laid out in Beverwyck, appearing on the first map of the city in existence. In the early history of Albany it was an important business street. From Broadway to North Pearl street it is now a thoroughfare of considerable importance. Extend- ing from the river to Eagle street it is very narrow, and the shortest and steepest route from the rail- road depots to the Capitol.

Ferry street, now known as South Ferry, was opened to Washington, now South Pearl, in 1789, by arrangement made by the Common Council with the Consistory of the Dutch Church, which owned the land in that vicinity.

This concludes our account of the principal streets of Albany of much importance up to near the close of the last century, at which period, it must be remembered, this city had not been ex- tended much beyond the limits of the old palisades. All business then centered around the river, State street, Pearl street, and Broadway. Even as late as 1796, our city was only a good sized village, with 5,000 inhabitants and not more than one thousand houses. It was not until a number of years after the revolution that Albany showed signs of rapid growth.

Says Gorham A. Worth :

"The City of Albany, in 1800, though the cap- ital of the State, and occupying a commanding position, was, nevertheless, in point of size, com- mercial importance, and architectural dignity, but a third or fourth-rate town. It was in 1800 an old town, but the face of nature in and around it had been but little disturbed. All was antique, clean, and quiet. There was no putting up nor pulling down; no ill-looking excavations; no lev- eling of hills; no filling up of valleys. The stunted pines still covered the hills to the very edge of the town, and the ravines and valleys were clothed -

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with evergreens, intermixed with briars and span- gled with the wild rose."

In 1819 the city extended but two miles north and south, and but one mile in the widest part east and west. Until 1793 not a street had been paved, and most of them were in a filthy, neglected con- dition. Even State street, now a most spacious and beautiful avenue, was then not only without pavements and ungraded, but in many places broken, and some parts even precipitous, while the slightest rain upon its clayey soil rendered travel- ing most unpleasant and difficult. In those days the staid Dutch settlers were slow to make im- provements, and the influx of strangers in this, even then, ancient town, who were in favor of schemes to improve and beautify the city, excited strong hostility in the feelings of those who were opposed to all innovating projects. The most progressive stranger who came to Albany about this time, was Elkanah Watson, who came from Plymouth, Mass., in 1789, and to whom early Albany owes as much for improvements as to any one man. At the time of his arrival, Mr. Watson said in his journal: "No street was paved, no lamps, no library; not a public-house of any de- cency; and water-spouts, projecting from the eaves of the houses, deluged unwary night travelers sunk in mud and darkness." To the mind of Mr. Watson, familiar with the elegancies and advance- ment of European cities, the various defective arrangements in the city of his adoption were seen and appreciated; and, soon after becoming a resi- dent, he engaged earnestly, through the press and by personal efforts, in suggesting and urging local improvements connected with these subjects. His efforts received bitter opposition. The following amusing incident, taken from his journal, will ex- hibit the state of feeling he had excited:

"Just after State street had been paved at a heavy expense, I sauntered into it immediately suc- ceeding a heavy thunderstorm, and whilst regret- ting the disturbance in the sidewalk, and to observe the cellars filled with water [for in that section, which was near the present locality of the State Bank, the street grading had been elevated some feet], I heard two women, in the act of clear- ing their invaded premises from the accumulation of mud and water, cry out, 'Here comes that in- fernal paving Yankee !' They approached me in a menacing attitude, broomsticks erect. Prudence dictated a retreat to avoid being broomsticked by the infuriated Amazons, although I did not run as some of my friends insisted, but walked off at a quick pace." In subsequent years, Mr. Watson received many generous tributes of acknowledg- ment and thanks from those who, in their progress, had opposed his efforts to improve and embellish the city.

It was not before 1860 that the last vestige of the original wide domain of Hendrick Halenbeck was obliterated in this city. This consisted in the removal of the burial ground on the southwest cor- ner of South Pearl and Hamilton streets, set apart by Halenbeck in the middle of the last century as a private burial ground. It was near the north

line of his farm, which extended from Plain street to Beverkill at Arch street, where it joined the farm of General Schuyler; the south line at Pearl street being designated by a cannon, which re- mained in the ground until a few years ago .. The boundaries of this property east and west are un- certain, but are claimed to have extended from Eagle street to the river. It is also claimed that South Pearl street was laid out by Halenbeck through his property, and given by him for a street. Through this farm the present Grand street was laid out in the fore part of the last century, and called Halenbeck street. In 1829 the City Surveyor presented to the Common Council a pro- file of this street from Hudson to Hamilton streets. Although it had, nearly a century before, been laid out and named, no vestige of a street had yet been made there. A portion of it south of Lydius street was used only as a lane leading to the farm of Oliver Kane (now the site of Ash grove Church), across which swung a gate. It was laid out sixty feet wide, as though it was expected to make it a more important avenue than South Pearl street, which was then only forty-five feet in width. In

1838 the Common Council was petitioned to have it paved from Hudson to Lydius street. In 1835 but one house was located on this street, at the northeast corner of Hamilton and Grand, which stood alone like an outpost upon the western verge of the city. All was open barren pasture and clay hills beyond, as far as the eye could reach, and so continued until Hamilton street was dug out, leav- ing a high wall of clay on either hand. In process of time the name of Halenbeck street was changed to Grand, an outrage upon the generous donor of the land through which it originally passed.

PAVEMENTS .-- From the best information, we are led to believe that Watervliet street, which began at Columbia, where Montgomery now is, and ran diagonally to where Broadway and Patroon (now Clinton avenue) intersect, was the first street paved in Albany, the work having been begun and nearly completed in 1793. During this and the succeed- ing year, rapid progress was made in paving streets. The Albany Register of September 29, 1794, tells us that the paving system had been prosecuted with so much vigor, that only Pearl and a few cross streets remained to complete the enterprise. Said the Register: "The contrast in so short a time from one of the filthiest to one of the cleanest cities in America is truly astonishing, and must be pleas- ing to every citizen, especially when we take in con- templation that noble extent of pavement, now near- ly completed, through the whole extent of Watervliet street to the bridge, the very idea of which a few years ago would have been thought to have been the hight of madness." It was also said that prop- erty had risen in value in consequence. It was found that a mistake had been made in paving the sidewalks with small stones.

From 1793 to 1804 many miles of pavement were laid. Church street, parts of Lydius, Van Schaick, Westerlo and Sturgeon streets, and parts of Bass and Herring lanes, and all the lots from Court street westward to Dallius street, and from

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Ferry street northward to the north bounds of the church pasture, were filled up and leveled, pre- paratory to paving. In 1804 the Common Coun- cil ordered that parts of State, Lion (now Wash- ington avenue) and Washington (now South Pearl), which remained unpaved and greatly out of repair, should be immediately paved by the owners and occupants; the work to be completed within eight days after notice from the City Superintendent, showing the rapidity with which this important improvement in the streets was pushed at this date.

It will be almost impossible, as well as uninter- esting, to give in detail the names of the streets (and the dates) paved from the beginning of the present century. It would be a task requiring much research, and would take greater space than we are able to use in this article. A diligent in- spection of the Common Council records will show how rapidly the work of paving progressed in the city after it was commenced in 1793. From 1820 to 1833, probably more miles of pavement were completed than during any corresponding years of the city's history. During this same pe- riod many streets were extended and many new ones laid out. Space forbids our giving any de- tailed account of the rapid growth of the city at this period, which the records of the Common Council so plainly indicate.

Until the year 1869, no other kind of pavement had been laid but the round cobblestone still so generally used. During this year, Broadway, from Hudson avenue to Wilson street, was repaved with wooden blocks of Canada pine, called the Nichol- son pavement. In 1870, Hudson avenue, from Broadway to Willett street, was paved with this kind of pavement; and also Green street, from State street to Madison avenue. But it was soon proved that this style of pavement was unfit for the heavy trucking done on these streets. After five years of use it was substituted in Broadway by the granite block, which in 1874 was laid from Hudson avenue to Wilson street. The wooden pave- ment in Hudson avenue and Green street was soon after replaced by the granite block. Since then granite block pavement has been laid in Western avenue, from Livingston to the Boule- vard; Ten Broeck, from Clinton avenue to Living- ston avenue ; First street, from Ten Broeck to Hawk; Third street, from Ten Broeck to Hall place; Hall place, from First to Third; State, from Swan to Lexington avenue; James, from State to Columbia; Steuben, from Broadway to Eagle; Elk, from Eagle to Hawk; Second avenue, from Sloan to Delavan avenue; South Pearl, from Gansevoort to Mount Hope; Willett, from State to Madison avenue; Columbia, from Broadway to Chapel; North Pearl, from State to Clinton avenue; Clinton avenue, from Broadway to North Pearl; Knox, from Madison avenue to Morris; Steuben, from Broadway to North Pearl. Contracts have been let for similarly paving State, from Eagle to Lex- ington avenue; Eagle, from Spruce to Myrtle avenue; Washington avenue, from Eagle to Lex- ington avenue; Broadway, from Hudson avenue to South Ferry; and South Pearl, from State to Gan-

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 115

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452