[28] Albany is one of the oldest surviving European settlements from the original Thirteen Colonies[29] and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States.

[34] The Dutch briefly regained Albany in August 1673 and renamed the city Willemstadt; the English took permanent possession in 1674 with the Treaty of Westminster.

Migrants from Vermont and Connecticut began flowing in, noting the advantages of living on the Hudson and trading at Albany, while being only a few days' sail from New York City.

[53][54] The construction of the turnpike, in conjunction with canal and railroad systems, made Albany the hub of transportation for pioneers going to Buffalo and the Michigan Territory in the early and mid-19th century.

[62][63] In 1829, while working as a professor at the Albany Academy, Joseph Henry, widely regarded as "the foremost American scientist of the 19th century",[64] built the first electric motor.

The city's location at the east end of the Erie Canal gave it unparalleled access to both raw products and a captive customer base in the west.

The iron industry waned by the 1890s due to increased costs associated with a newly unionized workforce and the opening of mines in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota.

[96] While cities across the country grappled with similar issues, the problems were magnified in Albany: interference from the Democratic political machine hindered progress considerably.

Rockefeller did not want to be limited by the Legislature's power of the purse, so Corning devised a plan to have the county pay for the construction and have the state sign a lease-ownership agreement.

[110] Albany remains an important location for business presence, given its role as de facto seat of Tech Valley and being home to the state capitol.

Fortune 500 companies with offices in Albany include American Express, J.P. Morgan and Chase,[111] Merrill Lynch,[112][113] General Electric, Verizon, Goldman Sachs,[114] International Paper,[115] and Key Bank.

[119][121] The highest natural point in Albany is a USGS benchmark near the Loudonville Reservoir off Birch Hill Road, at 378 feet (115 m) above sea level.

[152][153] Like most cities of comparable age and size, Albany has well-established Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities.

[163] Despite its history of Christendom, in 2019 the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA was found to be among the most post-Christian cities in the United States in a study by Christian polling firm The Barna Group.

[165] Since the early 2000s, there has been an increase in Orthodox Jews moving to Albany from the New York Metro area, largely due to cheaper housing prices and closer walking proximity to synagogues.

[195] Since the 2000s, the economy of Albany and the surrounding Capital District has been directed toward high technology, a growing fourth sector of the area's economic base.

[197] Tech Valley encompasses 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway,[196] and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the computer hardware side of the high-technology industry,[193] with great strides in the nanotechnology sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing.

[199] Albany's geographic situation—roughly equidistant from New York City to the south and Montreal to the north—makes it a convenient stop for nationally touring artists and acts.

[201] Bars are concentrated in three areas: about two blocks on Park Street, downtown; along Lark Street, home to smaller bars, which fit the neighborhood's artistic and eclectic style; and Western and Madison Avenues, in midtown, centered on the College of Saint Rose and SUNY Albany's downtown campus and drawing younger people.

[215] The USS Slater (DE-766), a decommissioned World War II destroyer escort that was restored in 1998, is a museum ship docked in the Hudson River at Quay Street.

[216] The Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Broadway at Quackenbush Square, hosts a museum, gift shop, and the Henry Hudson Planetarium.

The design called for much use of concrete and glass, and the style has slender, round-topped columns and pillars reminiscent of those at Lincoln Center in New York City.

[265] The Tri-City ValleyCats short season minor league baseball team have played at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in North Greenbush since 2002.

[277] In 2023, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) selected cities for their 8 franchises, and Albany was chosen as the primary home for the New York Atlas.

[286] The Albany Riverfront Park at the Corning Preserve has an 800-seat amphitheatre that hosts events in non-winter months, most notably the Alive at 5 summer concert series.

This gives Albany the distinction of having the oldest active city charter in the United States and "arguably the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere.

The pioneering influence of General Electric in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television with WRGB; the station was also the first affiliate of NBC.

A short un-tolled section of Interstate 90 extends around the northern and eastern portions of Albany before linking back up with the Berkshire extension of the Thruway, which leads to the Massachusetts Turnpike and ultimately to Boston.

[345] Amtrak provides service south to New York City; north to Montreal, and Burlington (Vermont); west to Niagara Falls, Toronto and Chicago; and east to Boston.

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Albany and the surrounding area, including Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs.