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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;leeg, post: 4222819, member: 17073&quot;][ATTACH=full]1080876[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Their combined terms of office have occupied nearly on-tenth of Albany’s municipal existence. Singularly enough, John Boyd Thacher, uncle of the present Mayor, presided at Albany’s Bi-Centennial of the Dongan Charter a half century ago.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Albany has lived, altogether, under ten Dutch Governors, fifty English Governors, eighteen Provincial American Governors, and forty-five Governors of New York State. The treaty-making, begun in 1618 between the Dutch and Indians, has continued in the legislative corridors of the modern State. Albany has been the seat of the Empire State government 139 years. From the galleries and floor of the Capitol it has witnessed the passage of such epochal legislation as the abolition of slavery and Erie Canal bill, and of much social reform.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seven Presidents have been identified with the city. Martin Van Buren, the ‘little magician,’ came to Albany from Kinderhook. With William L. Marcy and others, he formed the coterie known as the Albany Regency, which for a quarter-century ruled Democratic national policies. Van Buren, from Governor and United States Senator, became President, receiving his notification in Albany. Millard Fillmore, thirteenth President, was State Comptroller, and Vice-President, succeeding Zachary Taylor, as President. He married the widow of a political foe in Albany at the Schuyler Mansion. Chester A. Arthur, whole President, has as mistress of the white House, his sister, Mrs. John E. McElroy of Albany. He is buried in Albany’s Rural Cemetery. Grover Cleveland, while Governor, was notified at the Executive Mansion of his Presidential nomination. McKinley studied at Albany Law School. Theodore Roosevelt, from Governor, became Vice-President and President. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while Governor, flew from Albany to Chicago to accept the nomination for the Presidency.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Many others have found Albany’s political arena a road to fame. Samuel J. Tilden, former Governor to occupy the Executive Mansion, lost the Presidency by one vote in the election of 1876. Charles E. Hughes, former Governor, is Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Alfred E. Smith, four-term Governor, was a Presidential nominee.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Political figures since New York was a colony have been familiar personages on the streets of the city. In colonial days, Governors of New York, because of Indian and frontier dangers, always maintained a second residence in Albany, though New York City was then the capital.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pieter Schuyler twice acted as governor of the Province. Abraham Ten Broeck and Leonard Gansevoort were presidents of the Provincial Congress, and Gansevoort’s name appears on the proclamation of the first constitution of the State.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among the State Governors Albany has had John Tayler, William L. Marcy, Van Buren and Martin H. Glynn. United States Senators of Albany have included Philip Schuyler, Charles E. Dudley, John A. Dix, Ira Harris, and Roscoe Conkling, who was born in the city.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The present Capitol, a $25,000,000 structure, first tenanted in 1879, occupies an area of three and one-half acres, almost equaling that of the National Capitol. The earlier Capitol, built in 1808, was outgrown and torn down. The Court of Appeals building dates from 1842, The State Education Building was erected in 1912, and the 34-story State Office Building, typical of the growth of the modern State, in 1928. Other office space and special health laboratories are used by the State government.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the acquisition of the Executive Mansion on Eagle Street in 1875, Governors occupied private residences. Martin Van Buren lived at 92 State Street; William L. Marcy at 2 Elk Street; Hamilton Fish at 15 Elk Street; Horatio Seymour, 1 Elk Street and John A. Dix, 123 Washington Avenue.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080877[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; The position of Albany as a gateway of commerce has intrigued observers, especially those coming from Europe, since the earliest times. Its trade was on the sea in the Dutch days, but the shallow draft in the Hudson for the upper thirty miles impeded the city’s progress until a decade ago. In steamboat days, because of these shoals, passengers often had to be taken off a mile below the city and ferried to the docks. Light-draft vessels, both sail and steam, however, made voyages in great numbers. The evolution of metal hulls and deeper drafts for a considerable period reduced the city’s shipping.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1925, as a result of an insistent public demand, Congress voted to deepen the Hudson River to 27 feet at the upper end, the remainder of the route to New York Bay being adequate for ocean ships. This was accomplished in 1932, at a federal expenditure of $7,000,000. To this the Cities of Albany and Rensselaer, forming the Port District, added a like amount, in constructing deepwater docks and terminal facilities.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In this manner, after a long interim, the Hudson River was restored for ocean navigation for nearly its entire tidal length. The Port of Albany became once more a world harbor.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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