HEAR about HERE

03/26/2026

03/17/2026

03/16/2026

Enjoy the 75th St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Albany! 🍀

If you’re planning a visit to the Albany Institute this Saturday, please be aware that road closures and parking restrictions related to the parade may affect your arrival. Check https://ow.ly/qWNn50Ys4qo for details before heading downtown.

If you’re already in the neighborhood, consider adding a stop at the museum. Here’s what’s happening this weekend at the Institute:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Saturday, Mar 14 | 11–11:45 AM
Guided Family Tour of the galleries — free with admission

🎨 Saturday, Mar 14 | 12–4 PM
Art for All drop-in artmaking in the classroom — free with admission

🗣️ Sunday, Mar 15 | 2–3 PM
Docent Tour of the galleries — free with admission

🖼️ Galleries open Wednesday–Sunday. We look forward to seeing you soon!

[Flag Day Parade, State Street, unidentified photographer, June 14, 1914, gelatin silver print. Albany Institute of History & Art Library, DI 702]

03/16/2026

03/16/2026

A blog post featuring women from history with ties to four historic sites in Albany, New York.

03/16/2026

On this day in 1776, Benjamin Franklin wrote to Major General Philip Schuyler, requesting his assistance in his diplomatic travels to Canada.

“The Congress have appointed three Commissioners to go to Canada, of which Number I have the Honour to be one. We purpose setting out some day this Week. I take the Liberty of mentioning this, as possibly a little previous Notice may enable you more easily to make any Preparation you shall judge necessary to facilitate and expedite our Journey, which I am sure you will be kindly dispos’d to do for us.”

Franklin and his delegation set out from Philadelphia on April 2nd and reached Schuyler's home in Albany on April 9th- the start date likely pushed back due to concerns about difficult weather harming the 70-year-old Franklin’s health.

(Image: Benjamin Franklin. Mezzotint after C. N. Cochin, junior, 1777. Wellcome Collection.)

03/16/2026

The Dutch, both in Europe and in their colonies, were notoriously prolific smokers, to the extent that painters in Holland satirized the phenomenon, and visitors to New Netherland commented on it with distaste. Peter Kalm noted in his 18th century account of his travels in North America that "Nearly all women who had passed their fortieth year smoked to***co; even those who were considered as belonging to the foremost families. I frequently saw about a dozen old ladies sitting about the fire smoking. Once in a while I discovered newly married wives of twenty and some years sitting there with pipes in their mouths".

Dutch colonists typically smoked with white clay pipes that were mass produced in Amsterdam. Large numbers of the same pipes were sold to the colonists' indigenous allies and trade partners. Consequently, pipes and pipe fragments appear frequently in the archaeological record.

Although white clay pipes were manufactured and distributed by all of the major colonial powers, the Dutch are unique for fashioning their broken pipe stems into whistles! Clay pipes tended to be cheap to make and easy to break, so they were often replaced. In New Netherland there is archaeological evidence showing that some colonists would cut a notch into a broken pipe stem to create a rudimentary whistle!

🖼Pijprokende Vrouw, Wallerant Vaillant, c. 1658-1677, Rijksmuseum
Fragment of to***co pipe, 17th century, Rijksmuseum

03/16/2026

03/16/2026

New post, getting close – and if you know where Lakeview Park was, you'll know what it's about. However, the chances that anyone knows where Lakeview Park was are heckin' slim.

03/13/2026

Water features don’t have to sit idle when the weather changes 🌊❄️🎄

With thoughtful design, they can serve different purposes throughout the year, becoming ice skating rinks in the winter or serving as vibrant holiday market destinations ⛸️

We can already see this kind of seasonal transformation in action at Clinton Square in Syracuse 👇

What was once part of the Erie Canal's path is now a stunning fountain park that anchors one of the city’s most active public spaces.

Today, tens of thousands of people gather there every year, whether to ice skate from late November through March, participate in walks and runs
or attend festivals and events during the warmer months 🎉

The square is also surrounded by shops, salons, restaurants, pubs, and other small businesses that thrive thanks to the steady flow of visitors.

This is the kind of year-round activity and local business growth we would expect to see around the Albany Waterway vision as well.

Great public spaces don’t just look good, they also bring people together and strengthen local economies

Visit the link in our bio to find out more, including how you can help make this vision a reality!

03/11/2026

03/11/2026

The Battles of Saratoga saved the American Revolution and changed the world. Learn the history of the fall 1777 events.