I love to travel the “blue highways.” Off of the interstate I have the opportunity to explore the country instead of whizzing by at 65 mph. In October I started a series of blogs about traveling along route U.S. 20, the longest road in the country. This week I continue this trip, starting to explore this old route as it crosses New York, from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania.
U.S. 20 comes west from the city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and into the town of New Lebanon, New York. In the summer this valley is home to weekly flea markets at Meisner’s Auction Service. A great place to stop for lunch or snack is the Blueberry Hill Market Cafe. They serve excellent sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. West of town is the Lebanon Valley Speedway. This half-mile dirt track and drag racing strip offer races all summer long.
The road climbs out of the Lebanon Valley and up to the town of Nassau. Nassau was founded in 1806 as a farming community, and that, along with tourism remain its primary economic driver. The main street is lined with building that date back close to or over 100 years.
From the town of Nassau, U.S. 20 wends its way down through growing suburban towns towards Albany. One of these is Rensselaer, a town of the east bank of the Hudson River. It was founded in 1609, and its history includes being the site of the first recorded Grand Slam Home Run (1881), being a center of the U.S. dye industry and a major producer of Bayer aspirin. Rensselaer was also a major stop and transfer between the Boston & Albany Railroad and the NY Central Railroad, a role it still plays today for Amtrak.
Crossing the Hudson River, U.S. 20 becomes Madison Avenue in the city of Albany, New York’s capital city. It passes under the Empire State Plaza, Nelson Rockefeller’s monument to state government and his own memory. I wrote a blog about it which you can read HERE. Madison Avenue continues along until it ends at Western Avenue. At the junction, where U.S. 20 switches from one to the other is a beautiful building from the 1880’s. 500 Western Ave was built as a joint fire and police station, providing a home to one of Albany’s first steam-powered water pumps. While the police station still occupies its half of the building, the fire company moved to a new home in 1988. Its space is now the home of the Steamer No. 10 Theater, named for fire company.
This short trip across the Berkshire mountains of New York offer a wonderful day in the country and a look at the state’s history and government. Next week we will continue west…