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Schenectady NY

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About Schenectady NY

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 61,821, making it the ninth-largest city in New York. The name "Schenectady" is derived from a Mohawk word for "on that side of the pinery," or "near the pines," or "place beyond the pine plains."

The city of Schenectady is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany; Schenectady is about fifteen miles (24 km) northwest of Albany.

The area that is now Schenectady was originally the land of the Mohawk nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. When Dutch settlers arrived in the Hudson Valley in the middle of the 17th century, the Mohawk called the settlement at Fort Orange "Schau-naugh-ta-da", meaning "over the pine plains." Eventually, this word entered the lexicon of the Dutch settlers, but the meaning was reversed, and the name referred to the bend in the Mohawk River where the city lies today.

Schenectady was first settled in 1661 when the area was part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Settlement was led by Arent van Curler (Dutch: Arendt van Corlaer) of Nijkerk in the Netherlands. Additional land was purchased from the Mohawks in 1670 and 1672. In 1684 Governor Thomas Dongan granted letters patent for Schenectady to five trustees.

On February 8, 1690, during King William's War the Schenectady massacre, led by France and its Indian allies, resulted in the death of 62 of Schenectady's inhabitants. In 1748, during King George's War it was again attacked by the French and their Indian allies.

In 1765, Schenectady was incorporated as a borough. It was chartered as a city in 1798. During the American Revolutionary War the local militia unit the 2nd Albany County Militia Regiment was active during the Battle of Saratoga and in fights against Loyalist troops. Union College was founded here in 1795.

In the 19th century Schenectady became an important transportation center connecting the Hudson River to the Mohawk Valley and the Great Lakes. The Albany and Schenectady Turnpike (now State Street), established in 1797, connected Albany to the Mohawk Valley. The Erie Canal (now Erie Boulevard), opened in 1825, passed through here, as did the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, opened in 1831, one of the first railway lines in the United States.

In 1887, Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady. In 1892, Schenectady became the headquarters of the General Electric Company. Interestingly, when 5-digit ZIP codes were introduced by the U.S. Postal Service in the 1960s, the GE campus was assigned 12345, in spite of the fact that all the zip codes surrounding GE begin with 1230_.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 square miles (28.5 km²), of which, 10.9 square miles (28.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.27%) is water.

It is part of the Capital District, the metropolitan area surrounding Albany, New York state's capital. Along with Albany and Troy, it is one of the three principal population and industrial centers in the region.

The city was once known as "The City that Lights and Hauls the World" – a reference to two prominent businesses in the city, the Edison Electric Company (now known as General Electric), and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).

GE retains its administrative core in Schenectady, but many of manufacturing jobs relocated to the Sun Belt and abroad. The American Locomotive Company produced steam locomotives for railroads for years, and then in the later years became famous for its "Superpower" line of high pressure locomotives, such as those for the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1930s and 1940s.

As diesel locomotives began to appear, ALCO joined with GE to develop diesel locomotives to compete with the EMD division of General Motors. But corporate restructuring to cope with the changing locomotive procurement environment saw the slow downward spiral of ALCO and ALCO's operations fizzled as the company went through acquisitions and restructuring in the late 1960s. Its Schenectady plant closed in 1969.

In the late 20th century, the city experienced difficult financial times, as did many upstate New York cities. The loss of employment helped cause Schenectady's population to decline by nearly one-third since 1950. Nevertheless, Schenectady is presently a part of a metropolitan area with improving economic health. (See below for homes for sale Schenectady NY)

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides regular service to Schenectady. Schenectady also has freight rail service from Canadian Pacific Railway and CSX Transportation.

Schenectady once had a local streetcar system and an electric interurban passenger line from Gloversville, Johnstown, Amsterdam, and Scotia into downtown Schenectady. This was on the electrified Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville Railroad. Considerable passenger traffic for the interurban was created by the numerous leather and glove companies (178) in the Gloversville region. Sales representatives with their product sample cases beginning their sales campaigns throughout the rest of the country would use the interurban to reach Schenectady's New York Central Railroad station to connect for trains to New York City and Chicago and points between.

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Places of Interest - Schenectady NY:

"Proctor's Theatre is an arts center. Built in 1926 as a vaudeville/movie theater, it has been refurbished. It is home to "Goldie," a Wurlitzer theater pipe organ. Proctor's was also the site of one of the first public demonstrations of television, projecting an image from a studio at the GE plant a mile [2 km] away. Today, Proctors is home to 3 theaters including the historic Mainstage at Proctors, the GE Theatre at Proctors and 440 Upstairs at Proctors.
The Stockade Historic District, which features dozens of Dutch and English Colonial houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, is New York's first historic district, designated in 1965. It is named after the stockade fence that originally surrounded the settlement.
The General Electric Realty Plot, located near Union College, was built for General Electric Company executives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and features an eclectic collection of grand homes in a variety of architectural styles, including Tudor, Dutch Colonial, Queen Anne, and Spanish Colonial. The Plot is home to the first all electric home in the United States, and is one of the first planned residential neighborhoods in the US. The Plot also hosts an annual House and Garden Tour.
Union College, adjacent to the GE Realty Plot, is the oldest planned college campus in the United States. The Union campus features the unique 16-sided Nott Memorial building, built in 1875, and Jackson's Garden, eight acres (32,000 m²) of formal gardens and woodlands.
Central Park is the crown jewel of Schenectady's parks. Central Park is the highest elevation point in the city. The Common Council voted in 1913 to purchase the land for the present site of the park. The park features an acclaimed rose garden, Iroquois Lake, and a stadium tennis court which was the former home to the New York Buzz of the World Team Tennis league (as of 2008). Central park was named after New York City's Central Park, the crowning achievement of the designer of both, Frederick Law Olmstead.
The Schenectady Museum features exhibits on the development of science and technology. It contains the Suits-Bueche Planetarium.
Schenectady City Hall is the focal point of government in the city. It was designed by McKim, Mead and White and built in 1933.
Schenectady's Municipal Golf Course is an 18-hole championship facility sited among oaks and pines. Designed in 1935 by Jim Thompson under the WPA, the course was ranked by Golf Digest among "Best Places to Play in 2004" and received a three-star rating.
Jay Street, located between Proctors and City Hall, is a short street partially closed to motor traffic. It features a number of small, independently operated businesses and eateries and is a popular destination.
Schenectady Light Opera Company (SLOC) is a small community theater on group on State Street in downtown Schenectady.
The Empire State Aerosciences Museum, in nearby Glenville, features extensive exhibits and materials on aviation.
The Edison Exploratorium, exhibits and promotes the physical development of engineering of technology that was developed or produced in Schenectady."

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