The Albany Billiard Ball Company

July 13, 2013January 7, 2014 albanymuskrat1 Comment

The Billiard Ball factory was in my neighborhood when I was growing up. It was located on Delaware Ave. just south of Whitehall Rd. There’s a strip mall today. It was a fixture of my childhood, belching smoke (God only knows what was in it.)

John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920) was the inventor of the celluloid billiard ball. Celluloid, besides being the base of photographic film, was a substitute for ivory, long the prime substance in billiard ball manufacture. The Hyatt “composition” ball, with a celluloid base, dominated the sport until the 1960s.

It went out of business in the mid 1980’s.

Early Photo of Factory

Women inspecting and packing billiard balls in the 1930’s.

Marker Identifying site of factory.

The Billiard Ball Factory c 1985 (Courtesy of the Albany Times Union.)

Billiad Ball Co factory workers late 1970s (Courtesy of the Albany Times Union.. Bob Richey Photo Archive)

Special U.S. Bicentennial Billiard Ball (Courtesy of Joseph Caruso, whose mother workedin the factory at That time.) — Special U.S. Bicentennial Billiard Ball (Courtesy of Joseph Caruso, whose mother worked in the factory at that time.)

Rich and Mike-Vietnam. Semper Fi… in Life and Death

May 27, 2013May 25, 2014 albanymuskratLeave a comment

A U.S. Marine, Mike DeMarco, killed in Vietnam in April, 1968, who wanted to be buried with his buddy, Rich Rockenstyre, another Marine and good friend, killed in Vietnam in August, 1967. He sensed his own imminent death, and begged Rich’s mother to allow him to be buried next his buddy when the time came.

They were 2 among a group of about 7 boys, all friends, who went off to the War, 3 of whom died, as did others from Albany.

RICH

Mike

See my blog post about the other 35 from Albany who died. Not Just Names on the Wall

Albany NY on the Vietnam Virtual Wall

Albany NY
CPT THOMAS JAMES BERGIN	SP5 CHRISTOPHER BROW	1LT STANLEY ALTON BROWN
PFC ROBERT GEORGE BURRELL	SP4 CHARLES CHANDLER	LCPL MICHAEL GREGORY DE MARCO
CPL BERTRAM ANTHONY DESO	SP4 RALPH JOSEPH DI PACE	LCPL WILLIAM FENTON DI TORO
LT RALPH PETER DUPONT Jr	PFC JOHN CHARLES FIFFE	SP4 EDWARD ARTHUR FINLAY
PFC JOHN WILLIE GLADNEY	SP4 KEITH ROBERT KNOTT	PFC CLIFFORD GEORGE LABOMBARD
LCPL RICHARD JAMES LEAHY	MAJ THEODORE R LOESCHNER Jr	MAJ HAROLD SHERMAN LONERGAN
LCPL ASHTON NATHANIEL LONEY	PFC HANS JORG RUDOLPH LORENZ	PFC KEVIN JOSEPH Mc ARDLE
PFC ARTHUR GERALD Mc NALLY	PFC FRANK MELECA	SP4 RICHARD JOHN MOSLEY
SSG DANIEL EUGENE NYE	SFPFN JOSEPH STANLEY OTT	SP4 LEWIS CHARLES OUELLETTE
LCPL RICHARD ROCKENSTYRE	SP4 THOMAS KEVIN RYAN	CPL WILLIAM MICHAEL SEBAST
SP4 DONALD JAMES SHEEHY	SP4 GERALD HOWARD SLINGERLAND	SSG ROBERT JAMES SMITH
GYSGT ANTHONY NICHOLAS VALENTE	CAPT WILLIAM MEADON VAN ANTWERP Jr	CPL JOHN JOSEPH VENNARD
CPL SAMUEL WILLIE WILLIAMS	SP4 ROBERT J WINTERS

The Colonie Summer Theater

May 23, 2013May 24, 2013 albanymuskratLeave a comment

The Colonie Summer Theater was THE place for summer entertainment in the Albany area in the 1960’s. It went by many names over the years: the Colonie Musical Theater, the Colonie Summer Theater, the Colonie Colosseum, and the Starlite Theater, but to locals, it was always “The Tent”. It was the place many baby boomer kids saw their first theater production or professional musical act. It was theater in the round .. there was a sense of intimacy. When it opened, there were only about 2,000 seats. It was summer theater at its best.

Some nights it was hot and steamy and still, but there always seemed to be a slight breeze blowing through the flaps of the brightly striped orange and green iconic tent. Other nights, the excitement of the show vied for attention with the crashing and booming of thunder and flashes of lightning.

My family went to the Tent at least 3 or 4 times each summer. The memory of the sights and smells of The Tent are right up there with Coppertone, swimming pool chlorine and orange Popsicles when I think of summer.

I was raised in a family with a love for theater, especially musical theater.My brother and I were weaned on Rogers and Hammerstein LPs and gorgeous Technicolor movie musicals. But nothing prepared me for the my first real musical theater at The Tent. It was thrilling and exciting,,, there was a sense of immediacy that was wonderful. The actors and actresses entered down the aisles… right next to where you were sitting. In that small venue, it was almost like they were performing just for me. The sound of the pit band was bright and clear.

The Tent was started by Eddie Rich, a New York City producer, in 1958. He created a venue that brought headliners and somewhat past their prime headliners from all over, and from all aspects of show business; actors, singers, dancers, musicians. The first production was Damn Yankees. We went. I remember being gob smacked, and wandering around the neighborhood for at least a week singing “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets, and little man, Lola wants you” at the t0p of my lungs, anywhere and everywhere.

My most vivid memory is a performance of Brigadoon, the Lerner ad Lowe musical about a small village in Scotland that appears magically, once every 100 years, and then vanishes again. There is a chase scene in Act II. When it began in the Tent… the performers used very inch of the theater, running up and down the aisles; we became part of the performance. It was if there was no distance between us.. we, the entire audience and the actors were one. For an 11 year old, it was one of the most thrilling experiences, something only avilable in such an intimate setting.

Rich died in 1968, but the theater continued. Joe Futia took over operations and built a new, permanent structure in 1969 that replaced the old tent, but it was still theater in the round. Even in the new building.. the farthest seat was just over 50″ from the stage. The actual “theater’ events became fewer over time,- but I recall seeing Gypsy and The Solid Gold Cadillac with Martha Raye in the 1970s. Futia was terrific at booking the hottest bands and comedians of the time, at the peak of their celebrity.. Blood, Sweat and Tears, Eddie Murphy, Iron Butterfly in one night gigs, but there were also Las Vegas style acts, like Wayne Newton, Tom Jones and Jerry Vale, with week-long runs.

In the late 1970s, a revolving stage was constructed. The acts started to change – a lot of country/western; there were boxing matches. There were no more week-long productions. I think the headliners were getting ‘bigger” and didn’t want to play a smaller venue.

And then abruptly in the late 1980’s The Tent closed its doors.. mid-season. The operators at the time canceled all remaining shows – leaving angry ticket holders. It re-opened for the 1988 season.. under the aegis of Northeast Concerts. The first act was a double bill – Three Dog Night and America. The Tent was now the Starlite Theater.

But the next decade was a struggle – there were several owners and it never managed to become financially feasible again. The halcyon years of the 1960’s and even the 1970’s were gone. The baby boomers were occupied elsewhere.. with children and mortgages, and there were other options fro summer entertainment throughout the Capital Region and the Berkshires.

The last season was 1997; the Starlite never re-opened. It fell in to sad disrepair and was finally demolished in November 2012.

Notices and memorablia from some of the Tent performances: 1958- 1971.

1958-1959

1960-1962

Line at “The Music Man” 1962

1963 -1966

1967

1968

1969/70

1971

The Paradise Show Boat .. The Floating Night Club

May 19, 2013June 30, 2013 albanymuskrat1 Comment

The Paradise Show Boat

For three years, the Paradise Show Boat Club was THE place to go in the Capital District. It booked some of the biggest acts and exuded a glamour and vitality unique to the 1930’s.

The Paradise Show Boat started out as a 5 masted schooner called the “City of Portland”. When she was launched in 1916 she was the largest single-deck wooden vessel ever built in the United States. She weighed more than 4000 tons and was over 300 feet long. The City of Portland was commissioned into the United States Navy during World War I. After the War end she hauled cargo. mostly in southern waters near New Orleans, various Florida ports and Central America.

However, in 1924, on trip in the Northeast, she became water-logged in the Hudson Highlands off the New Jersey coast. She ended up, badly damaged, at the docks in Perth Amboy, N.J.

In late 1930, she was purchased by Edward Berry and John Moncello with the intent to turn her into a floating pleasure boat in Albany. She was towed up the Hudson to the port of Albany, near the Albany Yacht Club. Her 5 masts were reduced to 3. Major renovations were envisioned. There would be a dining room, dance floor, miniature golf course and tennis courts; all the amenities one might find at the time on an ocean-going cruise ship.

Lloyd Vanfbenscoten, a local man from Altamont (a small town outside of Albany), was engaged to decorate the ship. While he was waiting for the ship to be ready for his work, he set up camp in Albany and painted the wonderful old murals on the walls of the old Boulevard Cafeteria (now Ristorante Paradiso – how coincidental is that?) on Central Ave. and Robin St.

In the photo below, the City of Portland is docked in Albany, near Madison Ave and Riverside Park.

The intended renovations did not materialize quickly. For a while she lay at anchor in the Schodack Creek. The proposed fittings were much scaled back to a just dining room and a dance floor. Finally, in 1933, she was anchored and ready for business in Troy, not Albany. Albany City officials would not permit her to be moored in the Port of Albany. She was towed across the River and found a home at the bottom of Fulton Street in Troy. The Paradise Show Boat was open.

The Paradise soon became a wildly popular local venue, offering major talent and drawing large crowds. The major headliner to play the Show Boat was the wonderful Cab Calloway and his Cotton Club Orchestra.

Cab Calloway.. REEFER MAN

http:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=D44pyeEvhcQ

Another headliner was Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears. She was one of the only female band leaders, with an all female band. Hutton toured with the Melodears for five years. Known as the “Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm,” she often danced and sang as she conducted. Ina was known for fabulous gowns, ranging from the glamorous to the almost scandalous. The audience expected sex appeal and she gave it to them, often changing costumes 3 times within a show.

INA RAY HUTTON

The Melodears

Most of the other bands that played The Paradise were well known, from their recordings and radio broadcasts. They included Ted Blake and Bennie Meroff, who had close connection with Jack Teagarten and Bix Beiderbeck , and the Blue Barron, who would go on to have one certified hit in the late in 1940’s, “Cruisin’ on the River.

But there were other acts. Some nights the lineup looked like a Broadway revue of the time, and others, more like a classic night club floor show. There was a “house band” comprised of local musicians; it played regularly on WGY. There were fan dancers and vaudeville acts like the Gould Sisters from the old Orpheum Circuit who sang and did musical impersonations. Carlton and Juliette were a Latin dance duo from Havana who were said to have popularized the Cha Cha in later years. Phil Regan was the “singing Irish Cop”, a handsome tenor who went on to appear in a number of movies in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Gypsy Nina was a well-known dark beauty who sang and played the accordion.

Most often the acts made the circuit in and around New York City, Long island, Upstate New York and New Jersey in night clubs and supper clubs. Some, like Edith Murray, a singer, appeared in one of the first one reel “talkies”. Others, like Mildred Roselle, a blues singer, appeared in Broadway revues, clubs, and was a recording studio singer.

Some of the music was sweet, perfect for dancing “cheek to cheek”. but there was plenty of jazz, swing and blues. There was something for every audience; “society singers” to acrobatic acts. While some performers were ‘regulars”, most of the acts changed regularly so there was always something new. There were tea dances on week-end afternoons; charities and club booked the Paradise for fund-raising and special events.

Charlton and Juliette

GYPSY NINA

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/gypsy-nina

Phil Regan NICE TO SEE YOU

[ youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-YzirGbis]

I think my favorite act is Elvera Gomez and her Canadian Rockets.. if only for the name.. but there is a great graphic in the ad too.

1934

1935

1936

In the Show Boat’s last summer season, 1936, the

In summer, 1936, the Paradise moved to Crescent Beach, about 5 miles north of Albany, up Route 9, to a site on the Mohawk River. However, it appears that, while she was towed back to Troy in fall, 1936, she never re-opened.

It was the Hudson River itself that did in the Paradise. She survived the spring floods of 1936, and being smashed by millions of tons of ice that clogged the River in the winter. But it was the possibility that she would break her moorings and smash into the Congress Street Bridge, destroying the only direct automobile and bus route into Troy that made the Mayor of Troy and his Police Commissioner demand that the Paradise be moved in December, 1936. By this time the Paradise seems to have been acquired by new owners. The demands for her removal went unheeded several times. Finally, in 1937 the Paradise was sold at auction for scrap.

Albany Urban Development: A Bump in the Road – The Delmar Bypass

April 25, 2013May 5, 2013 albanymuskratLeave a comment

February 1961

In the first few months of 1961 Governor Rockefeller’s proposal to re-invent the Capital City was met, for the most part, with open arms and enthusiasm. (At least by community leaders, downtown merchants, local newspapers and suburbanites.) But there was one notable, and illustrative, exception.

One of the key plans in the works prior to Rocky’s announcement of the “NEW” Albany was the development of a series of arterials and “by-passes” surrounding Albany; to make travel in and out of the City easier. Planning of a Riverfront Arterial (787) was well underway, and work was expected to start shortly. However, the Delmar/Slingerlands Bypass was still in the planning phase. The Slingerlands component of the Bypass would start at the State Campus, between Western and Washington Avenue with the construction of the Crosstown Arterial. The Delmar component would be linked into the Riverfront Arterial (787), and skirt the City on the south. The two “bypasses” would join up in a largely undeveloped area in the Town of New Scotland.

That was the plan until a new, “flatter” route was proposed. This new route would avoid valleys and hills, and cut through high density residential areas of Delmar, linking to the Slingerlands portion in the vicinity of Bridge Street and Cherry, Kenwood and Union Avenues. The Delmar and Slingerlands areas were, coincidently, home to many high ranking officials in Rocky’s Administration. When the new proposal was revealed, many of the good people of Bethlehem – including those identified as “prominent area residents” in the local newspaper – went nuts.

Petitions were signed, 700 residents showed up at a protest meeting, and letters sent to local newspapers, elected representatives, Administration officials and, of course, to the Governor.

State Senator Julian Erway and Assemblymen Harvey Lifset, who represented the area, were moved to issue a statement saying they would ““talk to engineers about the routes and oppose any legislation unnecessarily threatening communities way of life”. Further, they added, ” Any highway bill introduced in the future will have our close scrutiny as it effects these communities and every effort possible will be exert on our part to defeat any measure that would unnecessarily disrupt the quiet enjoyment of its homes and neighborhood living.”

The communities’ message was clear. Don’t mess with us. We do not want your highways. And it was received as clearly. The residents of the suburbs won. It was all over in a matter of a less than a month..

Bits and pieces of the Bypasses were constructed over a period of 50 years, but the original proposal died. It was moribund by 1963 and never revived.

Construction on the Albany section of the Slingerlands Bypass began in the early 1962. This first section, the Crosstown Arterial, from Washington on Avenue to Buckingham Drive in Albany was completed by 1964.. Another 2 lane highway section, not 4 lane as originally proposed, linking the Bypass to New Scotland Road was completed in 1968. A final 4 lane section of the Bypass was completed in 2005, but it too ends at New Scotland Road.

The 4 lane section of the Delmar Bypass (Rte. 32) that links to the Riverfront Arterial (787) via Southern Boulevard was constructed, but it ends at Elm Avenue on the outskirts of Delmar. You can get to the Slingerlands Bypass by traveling over 2 lane Elm Avenue; a meandering circuitous route, not nearly a straight shot as originally envisioned.

My takeaway is that the “prominent” residents of the suburbs pushed back hard enough against New York State and did not have its will imposed on them.

That didn’t happen in the area where the South Mall was built. To the extent those residents spoke out, their voices were not heard.

February 2 1961

February 7, 1961

February 10, 1961

February 10 , 1961

February 13, 1961

February 15, 1961

February 16, 1961

February 21, 1961

And that was it. Oh, there were a couple more minor skirmishes, but the community had won.

February 27 1961

February 28, 1963

February 28, 1961

1963

THE LAST FAMILY OUT OF ALBANY’S SOUTH MALL

April 22, 2013April 22, 2013 albanymuskrat2 Comments

This is the story of the Leonard Family, the last family to leave their home in the 98 acre area seized by Albany NY and the State of New York for construction of the Empire State Plaza. Thousands of other families were displaced – the estimates are between 9,000 and 13,000 people were moved. As well as hundreds of businesses. It took about 24 months to systematically destroy neighborhood after neighborhood within that almost 100 acre area. Neighborhoods that developed over 300 years and centuries of Albany history were wiped out in less than 2 years.

It was if once started , all traces of the the crime scene couldn’t be erased fast enough. It started in late in 1962 and ended in early 1965. The bulldozers and wrecking balls worked day in and day out.. non-stop, sometimes into the night and weekends.

The oldest daughter in the photo, Michele. was my best friend. She died about a month ago. Michele, here’s to you! Love ya, girl friend! Here is your story and that of your family.

December 22, 1964

Albany’s South Mall Part 5 Shovel Ready?

April 16, 2013April 16, 2013 albanymuskrat1 Comment

February 1961

The re-invention of New York’s Capital City was viewed by Governor Rockefeller as the renewal of Albany, but also as a pilot program. Albany would serve as a test case for a state and local partnership to reinvigorate the decaying cites of New York State. His ability to pull this off would serve be a feather in his cap when he ran for re-election in 1962, and when he sought his party’s presidential nomination in 1964, which he most assuredly would. Time was of the essence. The Harriman State Office Campus would be completed on his watch, the new State University at Albany construction would begin shortly and serve as a model for enhancement and expansion of New York’s public college and university system. It would rival, if not surpass, that of California, the best in the nation.

Albany would be the crown jewel, garnering national, perhaps even international attention. It would be a modern city, stripped of the old, surrounded by a modern transportation network of highways moving hundreds of thousands of people every day around the jewel. It would be a model of efficient government and public administration. It would provide empirical evidence of what Rocky could do for the country, as he reached for the national brass ring.

As I mentioned before, Rocky’s ideas weren’t new, they were shared by most governments in the Northeastern corridor and in the Midwest Older , rusting cities needed to be brought into the 20th century. Kennedy, the new president, was just as eager at a national level. if we could put a man on the moon, we could make it happen across the country. Money was no object. Massive re-development was the ultimate stimulus package for a sagging economy.

Feb 1, 1961

And JFK was more than willing to help Mayor Corning, despite Rocky’s being a potential opponent in the 1964 election. The Democratic Machine’s ability to deliver votes within the City and County of Albany was on a par with the great political machines of Chicago and Boston. Such was the power of Mayor Corning and Dan O’Connell, legendary political boss for over 30 years. During the days of the hard fought 1960 Democratic presidential primaries a special visit had been paid by close Kennedy aides to the Mayor and Uncle Dan (as he was known). (And since this is Smalbany, they went to visit Dan at his house, and of course the neighborhood was atwitter when we saw the limos on my street during that visit.

Additionally. Joseph Kennedy, JFK’s father, owned an office building on State St. and had been the major owner of RKO when it built the Palace Theater. Everything is intertwined.

February 6, 1961

February 8, 1961

February 14, 1961

The consensus of those who had moved to suburbia was that Albany needed many things to draw them back to the urban core – a convention center, better lighting , parking and removal of “eyesores”.

February 2, 1961

February 4, 1961

Although Mayor Corning had already commissioned a study and plan to re-invent the city, a housing survey conducted by the State was moving forward, designed to elicit formation about available housing stock at all income levels, deteriorated areas, community development needs, and needs of employees. All this information would be correlated with urban development activities all ready under way (cart before the horse?) . The results of the survey would not be made public (LOL- how times have changed), but provided to the Mayor to release as he saw fit.

February 4, 1961

The survey of downtown business was moving along as well. The urban planning firm of Candeub, Fleissig & Associates has been retained by city merchants . The Candeub firm has been retained by the Mayor two years prior to develop the urban renewal plan for Albany that had been made public only recently.

Candeub was the the largest and most powerful urban planning firm in the nation at time. As federal money for urban re-development became abundantly available across the country, Candeub was recommended to large and small cities everywhere by federal housing officials. isadore Candeub was the primary partner in the firm, and a 1948 graduate of MIT with a degree in city planning, Candeub was ubiquitous in municipal and environmental planning almost everywhere; Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and even Alaska. Candeub’s approach to urban planning epitomized the time. It was all about the modern, the new, and efficiency, with the little thought to what we today call “social capital’. Candeub, i think, was the most influential single entity in urban planning throughout the 1960’s and into the 1970’s and put its stamp on America that would persist for generations.

(I’m not going into the a long discussion of the 1960’s approach to urban planning. For anyone who is interested, I recommend the work of Jane Jacobs, one of the first ( and most influential) activists in fighting conventional urban planning in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Get a copy of her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) and Robert Caro’s The Power Broker (1975), the story of Robert Moses.

February 8, 1961

Albany’s South Mall Part 4 The Era of Good Feelings

April 9, 2013 albanymuskratLeave a comment

On January 23, 1961, an Albany Knickerbocker News editorial was cautiously optimistic about the “New Albany”. Rocky and Nelson would get along and Albany would re-invent itself.

January 23, 1961

Downtown merchants would be surveyed to determine what they saw as their needs and the needs of the City.

January 24, 1961

Plans to create “by pass” highways in Delmar and Slingerlands were well underway. These roadsed would allow commuters to bypass Albany city streets to reach the their suburbs.

January 26, 1961

January 30, 1961

Another sign that things were moving along was the announcement on January 27 that about 120 applicants for the new the high rise projects had been approved. The first 100 apartments were scheduled for residence in March

January 27, 1961.

The optimism was contagious. Mr. Swartz , owner of Swartz & Levinson Shoe’s, was planning to open a new resraurant, Hugh Denniston’s, on Green St, . in the Capitol Hotel. (Hugh Denniston’s was the name of the tavern in which George Washington was presented with the keys to Albany when he and Marha came to the city for the baptism of the daughter of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler in 1789.)