Sergey Kadinsky

Albany Photography

If you ignore the scratch mark, this is a map of old Albany, with its colonial-period fortifications. The hilltop fort is the site of the present Capitol. The three prominent streets are Broadway, State St., and Pearl St.

Unfinished Highway

Governor Rockefeller's Empire State Plaza was to have been complemented with a highway linking Rensselaer, and cutting through Albany. Instead, the Albany Artery is less than two miles long, an unfinished dream. The extra tunnels were built for that ambitious dream.

The highway turns back at Swan Street. In the 1960s, the residents of the Center Square neighborhood were able to stop the Artery from cutting through their neighborhood. A few homes were prematurely condemned for the unbuilt highway. This field became a community garden and public park.

Some of Center Square's residents are a little offbeat. With many Americans leasing, renting, and reselling their cars within a few years, bumper stickers and murals are becoming a rarity. Nearby, one can find a store selling Pinocchio's relatives.

Washington Park

Henry Johnson was a WW II hero, killed a dozen attacking Germans single-handedly before succumbing to wounds. His valor saved his entire platoon. The memorial stands in Washington Park, which is Albany's version of Central Park.

On the left, the Spanish mission-style Washington Park Amphitheater. It hasn't seen shows in years, and needs some repaving. Very sad condition. On the right, the park contains a few mansions inside it. Some are used as law offices

Scooby Doo meets Ben & Jerry

Aging hippie-mobile. Notice the anti-Bush stickers. If I were to put up a Pepsi sticker ad, or a pro-Bush sticker, would the driver notice, or would the new stickers simply be lost amid the confusion of color that covers this van?

The driver is an admirer of Maurice Sendak's works.

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