The Empire State Plaza [Albany, NY]
The Plaza is the centerpiece of Albany's state office venues. It features the Corning Tower, the tallest building in Upstate New York at forty-four stories, four state agency towers, the state legislative offices, the state judicial building, a bunch of memorials, the dual-theatre performing arts center known as The Egg, and it is adjacent to the NYS Museum.
The plaza is particularly awesome because of the activities that I've partaken in there: freaking out agoraphobia-style on the Fourth of July, getting a photocopy of my hand autographed by the Average White Band, frolicking around the reflection pool late at night with my friends, and crashing proms in the convention center underneath the Egg on more than one occasion. In addition to its outside level (with the reflection
pools and kinetic sculptures), the Plaza also contains the subterranean Concourse, with various shops, places to eat, and security guards that don't let you lay down on the benches. No visit to the Capital Region would be complete without some serious time spent here.
Gateway Diner [899 Central Ave, Albany, NY]
For lots of people, Gateway is a sleazy, smoke-filled shack with substandard food and substandard facilities. For my friends and I (and generations of wisened Albany denizens), Gateway is some kind of cosmic nexus where the water is free, the cannoli spins eternally in the glass refrigeration column near the front door, and Quick Draw is only predictable until you actually play. I've been to Gateway at
about every hour of the day and before/after several big life events: after coming back from Philmont, before passing my road test, after coming home from my first year at college, after drama club shows at the high school, and just about every weekend, probably an average of two or three times a week when I'm in Albany. Gateway is the site of Weltz's annual debate dinner, and a night at Gateway was the scene for the beginning of my infamous cheesecake grudge against Mike Zonca. Incidentally,
I highly recommend the cheesecake, the gyros, the omelettes, and the cheese fries, and I strongly urge avoidance of the chicken wings and the pancakes. The place is the last bastion of a time that I don't even know if I lived through. Either way, I'm not sure whether or not I would want to live through it. (website)
NYS Museum [Empire State Plaza - Madison Ave, Albany, NY]
The State Museum is a one-stop testament to the incredible diversity that the State of New York has to offer. The museum features art, wildlife, history, special exhibits, a whole bunch of stuffed birds, and a fantastically powerful 9/11 exhibit. The museum also houses a whale skeleton, tons of groovy gems and minerals from across the state, an old-school carousel that you can ride for free, and everyone's favorite life-size mastodon model. My friends and I frequent the museum,
if only to relive our childhood memories and become tourists in our own hometown once more. The museum building sits at the southern end of the Empire State Plaza, and also houses the State Archives. (website)
The Hudson River Way [Maiden Lane and Broadway, Albany, NY]
This pedestrian bridge was completed in the summer of 2002, spanning I-787 and reuniting downtown Albany with the Corning Preserve. The bridge is paved with several hundred bricks that have been engraved with the names of families and companies that donated money to enable the project... my family's brick is towards the midpoint of the bridge, on the right-hand side as you're walking towards the river. The bridge also features
a number concrete obelisks with paintings that are supposed to tell the story of Albany's history. A huge slab of granite at the end of the bridge serves as a map of the hudson river, with Lake Tear of the Clouds at one end, Albany in the center, and New York City at the other end. The whole project is pretty phenomenal, and the riverfront is a nice place to eat lunch on a summer day.
CDTA
The Capital District Transportation Authority is our local bus company, and it has several fantastic routes, most of which mysteriously beginning somewhere near the bottom of State Street. The CDTA employs several upstanding bus operators and several not-so-upstanding bus operators. Nevertheless, the CDTA has several passionate supporters, most notably James Patrick Keenan. The CDTA is also the orginization of geniuses behind the brand-spanking new $53.1 million train station in Rensselear, NY.
Why Rensselear needed such a station during a period in which Amtrak's future was (and still is) seriously on the fritz, well, the world may never know. (website)
John Boyd Thatcher State Park [Route 157, Voorheesville, NY]
This park is situated atop the Helderberg Escarpment, which is a sizeable rupture of sedimentary rock dating back to the Silurian and Devonian periods, during which the whole damn state was underwater. Times have changed, though, and now there's a trail along the cliff that one can hike on, and a swell overlook with coin-operated telescopes that one can view much of Albany County from. The park also has a public swimming pool with a
diving board and lots of nifty places to have a picnic. Thatcher Park was the site of a picnic I attended on senior skip day, and a good time was had by all, especially when Dave France leapt on top of a pavilion to retrieve a frisbee in about two seconds. He was subsequently accused of being a robot.
Bombers Burrito Bar [258 Lark St, Albany, NY]
Bombers has all kinds of mexican-type cuisine, but they're famous for their rice-filled burrito monstrosities that weigh at least a few pounds and satisfy any appetite, ever. If you eat at Bombers, you'll be good for the day. Anyway, the place is located in the middle of the Lark Street 'village,' one of Albany's trendiest and awesomest locales. The eatery is also home to one of those table-type Pac-Man machines. (website)
Park Playhouse [Washington Park, Albany, NY]
The Park Playhouse is an old-world Spanish-style lakehouse that serves as the stage for free musical theatre in the summer. The Park Playhouse currently runs two shows every summer: one by the professional theatre company, and the second by younger local talent. The shows are frequently quite phenomenal, and the only problem is that the setting sun gets in your eyes while you're waiting for the show to start. Washington Park also plays host to a variety of annual events, including but not limited to the Tulip Fest and Lobsterfest. (website)
Jiminy Peak [Route 43, Hancock, MA]
While it's not exactly in the Capital Region, it's close enough: Jiminy Peak is the premier ski resort-type place in southern New England, and it's where many not-so-avid skiiers in the Capital Region go to develop their skills. I personally started downhill skiing on Christmas Eve, 2002, and Jiminy Peak has a pretty solid variety of trails. They also have some of the best New England clam chowder within a forty-five minute radius of Albany, and that alone may be worth the ever-increasing lift ticket price. Right now, my favorite trails include John Hancock, the Slingshots, and 360. (website)
