History, Natural History & the Arts
Building on more than three decades of protecting land in and around the Adirondack Park, the Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the permanent protection of land in the Town of Lake Luzerne.
The newly protected 1,260-acre “West Mountain” property is located west of the West Mountain Ski Area, between the southeastern boundary of the Adirondack Park and Moreau Lake State Park and adjacent to Ralph Road State Forest.
[Read more…] about OSI Protects Land Near West Mountain, Warren County
Driving north on I-787 approaching Troy you can see an iconic building – a tall red brick building with turrets that looks like a fortress.
It’s at 1 Jackson Street. What I like to call the Fortress of Shoddy. [Read more…] about The Hudson River’s Fortress of Shoddy in Troy
One day as my wife and I and our dogs walked along River Road at Riparius on the Hudson River, my wife said to me in a folksy manner “just think all this water here, is on its way to New York City.”
It’s true the Hudson River has flowed out of the Adirondack Mountains for millennia, southward towards the Atlantic Ocean. And over the last two centuries or so there have been plans to dam the Upper Hudson for one reason or another. Most of those plans have dealt with using the water resources for some down state endeavor. [Read more…] about Hudson River Dam History: The Big Hadley And Glen Dams
Humpbacks of the Hudson
Book purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.
The new novel Tail Feather: Adventures of a Mohawk Paddler on the River-That-Flows-Two-Ways (2020) by Ray E. Phillips delivers the audience to turbulent times archaeologists call the “contact period,” the time of first encounters between indigenous people of the Americas and European explorers, traders, and settlers.
The story embraces a sweeping panorama off the Hudson River from Lake-Tear-of-the-Clouds in the Adirondacks the Manhattan Island. [Read more…] about A New Hudson River Historic Fiction: Tail Feather
UPDATE 8/21: 
This process has been halted due to a water leak. Repairs are underway and the ship is expected to make her journey home next week.
USS Slater, the last Destroyer Escort afloat in America, is expected to depart Staten Island via tugboats on Friday, August 21 at 10:30 am for her voyage back to Albany following shipyard repairs.
The voyage is expected to take approximately 20 hours, but due to traffic on the river it is impossible to predict arrival times. [Read more…] about UPDATE: USS Slater Return to Albany Delayed
The Wilderstein Historic Site, on the Hudson River in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, NY, has announced they will offer guided outdoor tours on Saturdays and Sundays starting August 15th. [Read more…] about Outdoor Tours of Wilderstein Historic Site Available
Like millions this past 4th of July weekend, my family tuned in to Disney’s streaming of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s epic Hamilton.
The performances indeed blew us all away. Our toes tapped under our tray tables to Daveed Diggs’ electric portrayal of Thomas Jefferson and “What Did I Miss?” Our hearts pained over Phillipa Soo’s gorgeously rendered entreaties “Look Around” and “That Would Be Enough.”
But all these indelible lyrics underscored why we will never be satisfied. Despite the brilliance of the script and cast, in dramatizing the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda left us longing for narratives beyond those of the Founding Fathers and their rarefied circle. Now we want to know what will come next to fill the ever more obvious omissions in our nation’s history. [Read more…] about The Hamilton Musical And History’s Unsung
USS Slater, the last Destroyer Escort afloat in America, is expected to depart Albany via tugboats on Sunday, July 5th at 7 am for her voyage to Staten Island for shipyard repairs.
The voyage is expected to take approximately 20 hours, but due to traffic on the river it is impossible to predict arrival times. Updates on USS Slater‘s location will be posted on Facebook throughout the day. [Read more…] about UPDATE: USS Slater Headed Down The Hudson
The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced the launch of a new 3D digital tour of their Hudson River School exhibition.
The Albany Institute has one of the largest collections of Hudson River School style paintings and now, visitors can explore the landscapes and scenes of the Hudson River School painters from anywhere in the world. [Read more…] about Hudson River School Exhibit Digital Tour Launched