Albany County Timeline

1900–1999

1910	Glenn H. Curtiss, Hammondsport aviator, sets world record for distance flight traveling from Albany to New York.
1911	New York State Capitol Fire.
1919	The 18th Amendment is ratified and prohibition goes into effect. Prohibition will end in 1933 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment.
1927	American aviator, Charles A. Lindbergh, lands his plane on Westerlo Island as the first stop on a national tour after his solo flight from New York to Paris.
1928	Albany Airport is dedicated on site of Shaker village farm. The new main building of Albany Hospital is erected.
1929	The Great Depression begins. It will last until 1941.
1930	Thirty-two story Alfred E. Smith State Office Building is erected.
1931	New Albany County Jail and Penitentiary is constructed on Shaker Road in Colonie.
1932	Port of Albany opens.
1933	City completes new water supply system from Helderbergs, the longest gravity-fed system in the world. Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge is erected over the Hudson River.
1939-45	World War II begins. The United States will enter the war in 1941.
1940	Erastus Corning 2nd is elected Mayor of the city of Albany. Mayor Corning will be in office from 1941 to 1983 and become the longest tenured Mayor in the County.
1954	Albany observes the 200th anniversary of Congress of 1754, at which Benjamin Franklin presented the Albany Plan of Union. The New York State Thruway opens.
1957	New York State develops new campus site for offices on west side of city of Albany.
1959	Albany celebrates the 350th Anniversary of the voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain. As part of New York State's Year of History, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands visits Albany and attended ceremonies culminating in a parade and ball.
1960	The Albany County portion of the Adirondack Northway opens.
1965	First American Army and Marine combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
1965	Construction begins on the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany. The project continues through 1978 when the final building is completed. The Plaza includes several state agency and cultural buildings, including the New York State Museum, the "Egg" and the Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd Tower. The Corning Tower is the largest building in New York State, outside of New York City.
1967	Demonstrations for civil rights and against the Vietnam War.
1968	The Albany County Board of Supervisors is replaced by a 39-seat County Legislature.
1969	Pete Seeger's Clearwater sloop leads the way for Clearwater Projects, providing environmental education and the cleaning up of Hudson River pollution.
1976	A new Albany County charter goes into effect with provisions for a County Executive and County Comptroller.
1980	The US Federal Census counts 285,909 residents in Albany County.
1982	Resolution and city ordnance establishes the city-county Albany County Hall of Records (ACHOR). Its first location is 27 Western Avenue.
1983	Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd dies during his forty-second year as mayor of Albany.
1983	George Deukmejian Jr., born in Menands, becomes the 35th Governor of the State of California. Governor Duekmejian graduated from Watervliet High School, Siena College and Saint John's University School of Law.
1986	Albany County Hall of Records (ACHOR) moves from 27 Western Avenue to 250 South Pearl Street. City of Albany celebrates its 300th anniversary.
1990	Albany County Civic Center, the Knickerbocker Arena, opens as a popular concert and sports venue. Sponsors will change name to "Pepsi Arena" in 1997, then to "Times Union Center" in 2006.
1991	Albany is awarded All-American City by The National Civic League.
1997	City of Albany celebrates its 200th anniversary as the capital of New York State.
1998	A newly refurbished Albany County Airport becomes Albany International Airport.
1999	Albany re-creation of Henry Hudson's ship the Half Moon by Dr. Andrew Hendricks. Tours board the ship to see period artisans; volunteer crew sails the Hudson River.

Sources:

• Kimball, Francis P. Knickerbocker News, September 18, 1959
• Internet Time Line for Albany, NY
• Hislop, Codman Albany: Dutch, English, and American, The Argus Press, Publishers, Albany, New York, 1936.
• McEneny, John J. Albany, Capital City on the Hudson, An Illustrated History, c. 2006 (with special material, “Albany Time Line,” by Robert W. Arnold III)
• Roseberry, C. R. Albany: Three Centuries A County, The Argus Press, Publishers, Albany, New York, 1983.