The Capital District is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County. Often the other counties of the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam Combined Statistical Area and Greene County are included, especially for economic and demographic compilations and regional planning.

The Capital District is notable for many historical and industrial events. The Battle of Saratoga and the Albany Plan of Union are two historical events from before American independence which are now considered of national and sometimes also of international importance. Many multinational corporations were founded in the Capital District including American Express, General Electric, American Locomotive Company, and International Paper.

The Capital District was first settled by the Dutch in the early 1600s and came under British control in 1664. Albany has been the permanent capital of the state of New York since 1797.

Origin of the name

The term Capital District is commonly used to refer to the area due to its location surrounding the state capital. This is similar to other capital districts throughout the world, all of which are associated with a respective capital city. The earliest reference to the name "Capital District" seems to stem from an abbreviated name for a Capital Police District, which was attempted by the state in the late 1860s comprising land that is now the cities of Albany, Troy, Rensselaer, Watervliet, and Cohoes; along with what are now the towns of Colonie (including the villages of Colonie and Menands), Green Island, North Greenbush, and East Greenbush. Later, Schenectady was added to this district as well.

In the 1910s several organizations covering the area of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and in between used the name Capital District in their name, such as the Capital District Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1913, the Capital District Life Underwriters Association also in 1913, and the Capital District Recreation League. The Capital District Recreation League, formed in 1916, proposed a Capital District Park (also referred to as the Six City Park) to be roughly from each of the six cities (Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Troy, and Watervliet). The location proposed was the area of the Shaker settlement. The park was never created, though in 1928 the location was used for Albany County Airport for the same reason of its central location to those same cities.

Alternative names

Capital Region, Capital-Saratoga, Tri-Cities, Tech Valley and Northeastern New York (NENY) are terms or nicknames sometimes used to refer to the Capital District in combination with counties surrounding the area (usually those to the north, and to a lesser degree west of the four core counties of the District). Capital-Saratoga is used for tourism purposes to promote Albany, Fulton, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties. Different definitions or uses of the names Capital District, Capital Region, and NENY may sometimes be used on regions that include Hamilton County; and the extreme northern portions of the Mid-Hudson Valley, usually Ulster and Dutchess counties; or extreme southern sections of Essex County.

The Capital District is a part of the area marketed under the name Tech Valley in recognition of the technology companies that have moved to the region, or are being wooed by governmental or educational institutions to relocate to the area. The 19-county region, which extends from the Canadian border south to Orange County, is marketed by organizations such as the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth.

History

First settlements

The first European settlers in the area were French fur traders; in 1540 they built a fort on Castle Island in Albany, but it was soon destroyed by the annual freshet. Permanent European claims and settlement began in 1609 when Henry Hudson sailed north up the Hudson River in the name of the Dutch. During the same year, Samuel Champlain explored south down Lake Champlain and Lake George in the name of France. Conflict soon ensued between the French and Dutch for control of the fur trade and both made alliances with different Native American tribes. In 1630, Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a Dutch patroonship in the area, which encompassed much of the area that is now the Capital District. In 1664 the English successfully conquered the Dutch while rivalry with the French continued. The Dutch, and then the English, maintained focus on settlement and farming while the French incursion into this area was limited to hunting for furs, trading with the natives, and building a few forts. Conflict arose when the French-built Fort Carillon and the British-built Fort William Henry near each other, both in order to control the route between the Hudson River Valley and the Champlain Valley.

Through its city charter, Governor Thomas Dongan granted Albany the right to purchase in "Schaahtecogue" (today Schaghticoke, in Rensselaer County) and at "Tionnondoroge" (today Fort Hunter, in Montgomery County).Arent van Curler founded Schenectady in 1662; Fort Saratoga was built at present-day Schuylerville in 1691; and Greenbush (present-day city of Rensselaer) was settled in the 1620s. South of Albany, settlement occurred quickly at first, but slowed as growth on the frontier pushed people north and west of Albany and left the southern reaches of the Capital District behind. Hudson, in Columbia County, was purchased from the natives in 1662 by Dutch farmers and speculators but did not see actual settlement and growth until 1783 when New Englanders, mainly from southeastern Massachussetts and Rhode Island, arrived. It was chartered as a city in 1785, becoming only the third city in the state.

The French and Indian War saw several major battles in the Capital District, including at the aforementioned forts. In the end, the French were defeated, freeing the land for further settlement to the west and north of Albany. During the American Revolution the area again saw fighting and Fort Ticonderoga experienced notable action. The Battle of Saratoga, which took place in the present-day town of , is considered the turning point of the war. In 1776, General Philip Schuyler built a small fleet of ships at Whitehall. They were used by Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Valcour Island. The event led to Whitehall's modern-day claim to be the birthplace of the United States Navy.

After the Revolution, settlements continued to proliferate west and north of the Albany area. North of Albany, along the river, settlements grew quickly: Waterford (oldest continuously incorporated village in the US, incorporated in 1794), Troy (settled in 1787, chartered as a village 1801, city in 1816), Lansingburgh (a village in 1763, annexed to Troy in 1900), and Watervliet (settled in 1643 and incorporated as a village in 1836 as West Troy, city in 1897). West from Schenectady, land purchases in the 1750s led to settlements at Fonda and Fultonville in Montgomery County, but land purchases elsewhere, such as at Gloversville in Fulton County did not see settlement until the end of the 18th century when the Iroqouis threat had been eliminated by the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, which came as retaliation for the Cherry Valley Massacre in nearby Otsego County.

Creation of the counties

The entire area of the Capital District was within the original boundaries of Albany County as established by the Province of New York on November 1, 1683; it was one of the original 12 counties. In 1772, Charlotte County and Tryon County were both formed from parts of Albany County. Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in 1784, and from part of that, Warren County was created in 1813. Tryon County was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, and from part of that, Fulton County was created in 1838. Tryon County was large: it encompassed the lands from five miles west of Schenectady to the western indeterminate boundary of the Province of New York.

What remained of Albany County in 1774 became the most populated county in the state with a population of 42,921 and it continued to be the most populous county until at least 1790, when the population was 75,921. Albany lost population as new counties were created from within: Columbia County was created in 1786; Rensselaer and Saratoga counties were formed in 1791; Schoharie County was created in 1795 from parts of both Albany and Otsego counties (Otsego having been created from part of Montgomery County in 1791); Greene County was formed in 1800 from parts of both Albany and Ulster counties; Schenectady County was created in 1809; and Warren County was formed in 1813 from Washington County. Fulton County was the last county in the Capital District to be formed. A graphical representation of the county breakup timeline can be seen below.

Industrialization and transportation

Many geographical features weighed heavily in the area's early industrialization. The abundance of small creeks with waterfalls led to early adoption of the waterwheel, while navigation south on the Hudson and west along the relatively flat Mohawk Valley allowed for easy access to and from resources and markets in those areas. In the late 1790s stage lines began to connect the various cities and villages in the area; this network would then connect the area to the rest of the country in the early 1800s. The early 1800s also saw the rise of turnpikes (the Great Western Turnpike would be the first in 1799), plank roads, and post roads. It was in Albany in 1809 that Robert Fulton first demonstrated that steam boats could be economically successful with a trip to the city of New York. In 1813, to support the army in the War of 1812, the US government built the Watervliet Arsenal in West Troy, one of the earliest large scale industrial complexes in the Capital District. In 1823 the Federal Dam was built on the Hudson, allowing for navigation north past Troy to Waterford and Cohoes. The Champlain and Erie canals were opened in 1823  and 1825, respectively. Their completion connected the area to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, leading to a large influx in industrialization and immigration. Shortly after the completion of the canals, in 1831, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company (M&H) built the Albany and Schenectady Railroad between those two cities. This was the first railway in the state.

Manufacturing consequently became prominent in the area. Gloversville was labeled the "headquarters of the glove and mitten industry" and became the preeminent glove-manufacturing and leather-working region in New York. Cohoes became known as the Spindle City for its large cotton mills, due mainly to Harmony Mills, the largest cotton mill complex in the world when it opened in 1872. Troy became famous for its iron works due to Burden Iron Works, though later Troy would earn the nickname of Collar City due to Cluett, Peabody & Co., which made Arrow brand shirts at the largest collar, cuff, and shirt factory in the world at the time. In 1887 Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady, and in 1892 Schenectady became the headquarters of the General Electric Company (GE). Schenectady Locomotive Works, along with seven other locomotive manufacturers, merged in 1901 and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) was formed and headquartered in Schenectady. Due to the dominance of GE and ALCO in their respective industries, Schenectady would gain the nicknames of Electric City and "The City that Lights and Hauls the World".

Urban decline and rise of the suburbs

Starting with the 1960 US Census, Albany, Schenectady, and Troy have posted declines in population in every census. Meanwhile the suburbs, and in particular Saratoga County, saw an influx in population. Saratoga County grew at the expense of Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. There were many causes to this, including the building of interstates and other highways allowing for more commuting, lack of available suitable land within the urban centers, and the subsequent location of shopping centers following the people to the suburbs.

The decline of manufacturing from the northeastern United States contributed to a general decline as well. Watervliet, Cohoes, and especially Troy lost the competitive edge that came with being at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers: the location no longer meant better access to markets, waterfalls no longer made the cheapest power, and cheap labor in the southern and western parts of the nation became important to companies. General Electric moved their headquarters to Connecticut from Schenectady in the mid-70s. Within the Capital District manufacturing shifted to the suburbs as well since the suburbs had large open spaces for larger warehouses, factories, and office parks, while the cities were constrained in available land. Albany International, with their headquarters and factory straddling the Menands and Albany border, built a new factory in 1987 in rural East Greenbush, as did Garden Way, headquartered in Troy. The region's first technology park was built in the 1980s in rural North Greenbush by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

Not only was there a shift in population and manufacturing to the suburbs, there was also a shift in retail shopping as well; retail sales in the cities declined 1 percent between 1972 and 1987, having increased 63 percent in the suburbs. In 1957 Westgate Plaza became the first "suburban"-style shopping center in the area; it was and still is within the city limits of Albany however, but then two years later in 1959 Stuyvesant Plaza was built outside Albany in the neighboring town of Guilderland. 1966 saw the opening of Colonie Center, the area's first enclosed shopping mall. When built it drew shoppers from hundreds of miles from Albany. Macy's and Sears originally wanted to build in downtown Albany, but interference from Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd led to those stores choosing to move into Colonie Center instead. Problems with Mayor Corning would also force the Albany Times Union newspaper to move from Albany to Colonie in the 1970s.

Five more enclosed malls were built in the next ten years, all outside of city limits: Mohawk Mall outside Schenectady, Northway Mall across from Colonie Center, Pyramid Mall outside Saratoga Springs, Aviation Mall outside Glens Falls, and Clifton Country Mall in Clifton Park. In 1977 the first mall built within a city was completed: the Amsterdam Mall in Amsterdam. This destroyed much of Amsterdam's downtown. The next year, Troy opened the Uncle Sam Atrium, and in 1986 Cohoes attempted an urban mall. All three failed and ended up as office space.

Geography

The Capital District's most prominent geological features were formed by glaciers creating its major rivers and valleys through ancient mountain ranges. The Hudson River forms the Hudson Valley which is a north-south running valley through the core of the Capital District while its tributary the Mohawk River forms the Mohawk Valley which runs west from Schenectady, the Schoharie Creek, a tributary of the Mohawk, forms the Schoharie Valley which runs through Schoharie County. Major mountain ranges are the Adirondack Mountains in the northwestern area and the Appalachian Mountains along the southern and eastern sections. The Appalachians include the Rensselaer Plateau in Rensselaer and southeastern Washington counties; the Taconic Mountains along the Washington, Rensselaer, and Columbia counties' borders with Vermont, Massachussetts, and Connecticut; the Allegheny Plateau in Schoharie, Greene, and western Albany counties, which includes the Helderberg Escarpment in Albany County; and the Catskill Mountains in Greene County. Major lakes include the Great Sacandaga Lake in Saratoga and Fulton counties, Saratoga Lake in Saratoga County, and Lake George in Warren and Essex counties.

Location

Climate

The Capital District has a humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. Albany receives around 36.2 inches of rain per year, with 135 days of at least .01 inches of precipitation. Snowfall is significant, totaling about 63 inches annually, but with less accumulation than the lake-effect areas to the north and west, being far enough from Lake Ontario. The core of the region is however, close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from Nor'easters, and the region gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. The region also occasionally receives Alberta clippers. Winters are often very cold with fluctuating conditions, temperatures often drop to below 0 °F (-18 °C) at night. Summers in the region can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures above  and dew points near 70. Severe thunderstorms are common but tornadoes are rare. Albany receives on average per year 69 sunny days, 111 partly cloudy days, and 185 cloudy days; and an average, over the course of a year, of less than four hours of sunshine per day, with just over an average of 2.5 hours per day over the course of the winter. The chance during daylight hours of sunshine is 53%, with the highest percentage of sunny daylight hours being in July with 64%, and the lowest month is November with 37%.

Cityscape

Architecture

The Capital District, having a history of settlement stretching back 400 years, has had many different architectural styles built over the years. Early Dutch farmhouses are still standing in the rural towns, especially west of Albany, such as the Mabee House. The Van Ostrande-Radliff House (1728) in Albany and the Rosa House in Schenectady (before 1700) are the oldest houses in each city. Troy has many distinctive features in architecture that sets it apart, such as its ornamental ironwork, cast-iron storefronts such as the Arts Center of the Capital Region, and the abundance of windows by Tiffany such as St. John's Episcopal Church, Troy Public Library, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The Capital District also has a large selection of brownstone buildings especially in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany and the Washington Park neighborhood in Troy. Washington Park in Troy is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the state. Schenectady'sStockade neighborhood has representations of residential architecture from all periods in its 300 year history including Dutch, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian. Also in Schenectady is the GE Realty Plot built by General Electric as homes for their employees, the houses are in revival styles such as Tudor, Georgian, Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial, and Spanish Colonial. The first all electric house was built by GE in the Realty Plot to showcase its products. In Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood is a style of residential architecture that is rare in the rest of the Capital District, bungalows in the Spanish revival style, with red tile roofs and stucco walls, only 27 still exist and are the remnants of the Winchester Gables development.

Parks

For recreation the Capital District has many state and local parks, preserves, hiking trails, public pools, and ice skating rinks.

The following state parks are in the Capital District: Cherry Plain, Max V. Shaul, Saratoga Spa, Grafton Lakes, Mine Kill, Schodack Island, Hudson River Islands, Moreau Lake, Thompson's Lake, John Boyd Thacher, and Peebles Island. While they are frequently referred to as state parks, the Adirondack Park and Catskill Park have much more in common with a national forest: they mix private with public land and have year-round residents within their boundaries in long-established settlements. The boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks are often referred to as the Blue Line. Parts of Fulton, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties are in the Adirondack Park. Much of Greene County is in the Catskill Park

The various municipalities of the Capital District have established many parks, small and large, for the recreational enjoyment of the residents and visitors of the area. Central Park in the city of Schenectady has over 4,000 individual rose bushes of between 300 and 400 different varieties in its rose garden at the Wright Avenue entrance. Washington Park in Albany is home to many festivals, including the TulipFest and the LatinFest.

Festivals

One of the largest events in the Capital District is the Tulip Fest held in Albany every spring at Washington Park. The tradition stems from when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd got a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. In addition, he sent a request to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to name a variety as Albany's tulip. On July 11, 1948 her reply was "Her Majesty gladly accepts the invitation to designate a tulip as the official flower of Albany." She picked the variety "Orange Wonder", a bronzy orange shaded scarlet. The first Tulip Fest was celebrated the next year on May 14, 1949 with opening ceremonies still carried on today as tradition, such as the sweeping of State Street and the crowning of a Tulip Queen. The African-American tradition of Pinksterfest, whose origins are traced back even further to Dutch festivities, was later incorporated into the Tulip Fest.

The largest Flag Day parade is held every year in Troy. The 42nd annual parade in 2009 is along a two mile long route. First Night celebrations are held in Saratoga Springs, while in 2006 Albany decided to eliminate its First Night celebrations in favor of a new "Albany WinterFestival" (WinterFest).

Other major festivals in the Capital District include ethnic festivals. The Albany LatinFest which has been held since 1996 and drew 10,000 to Washington Park in 2008. In Schenectady the growing Guyanese community has celebrated the Guyanese Family Fun Day for sevearl years in that city's Central Park. PolishFest is a three day celebration of Polish culture in the Capital District, held in the town of Colonie for the past eight years.

Amusement

The Capital District has many enclosed malls that are regional malls (malls over 400,000 sq. feet), and two that are classified as super-regional malls (malls with over 800,000 sq. feet). Crossgates Mall in Guilderland and Colonie Center in Colonie are the two super-regional malls with over one million square feet of rentable space in each. Regional malls are located in Schenectady, Saratoga, and Warren counties.

In the Capital District are several regional amusement parks and water parks. The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom is a Six Flags park in Queensbury, Warren County; with an indoor waterpark and hotel across the street. Zoom Flume Water Park is in East Durham, Greene County. Hoffman's Playland in the town of Colonie, in Albany County, is a children's amusement park.

During the winter months the Capital District has many places to go for such cold-weather activities as skiing, snowboarding, tubing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice climbing. Some downhill ski centers include Maple Ridge in Schenectady County, Willard Mountain in Washington County, Windham Mountain and Hunter Mountain in Greene County, and Hickory Ski Center in Warren County which has the sixth highest vertical drop in the state. In addition to downhill skiing most also have cross-country skiing trails as well. There are also cross-country trails at the state parks in the area, the Schenectady County Forest in Duanesburg and Pine Ridge XC Ski Area in Rensselaer County. There are over 18 miles of official trails for snowshoeing at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

Municipalities

The 11 counties of the Capital District are divided into 13 cities and 143 towns, with 62 villages that are inside one or more towns. One village, Green Island is coterminous with its town and share only one government institution. The municipalities in the Capital District range in size from villages with a few hundred residents to Albany (the largest city) with over 95,000 and Colonie (the largest town) with over 79,000.

• Albany County (pop. 294,565) is the largest county by population in the area, the largest city in the Capital District- Albany, and the largest town- Colonie, are within this county. State government dominates the economy.
• Columbia County (pop. 63,094) is coterminous with the Hudson μSA. Hudson is the largest city and the county seat.
• Fulton County (pop. 55,073) is coterminous with the Gloversville μSA. Gloversville and Johnstown are popularly referred to as the Twin Cities or Glove Cities. Johnstown is the county seat and Gloversville is the largest city.
• Greene County (pop. 48,195) is the only county in the Capital District outside the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam CSA. The village of Catskill is the county seat.
• Montgomery County (pop. 49,708) is coterminous with the Amsterdam μSA, county seat is the village of Fonda, largest city is Amsterdam. Largest employer is St. Mary's Hospital.
• Rensselaer County (pop. 152,538) is the third largest county by population, Troy is the largest city and the county seat. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a world-renowned college.
• Saratoga County (pop. 200,635) is the second largest county by population. Saratoga Springs is the largest city and Ballston Spa is the county seat. The Saratoga Race Course brings thousands of tourists each August.
• Schenectady County (pop. 146,555) is the birthplace of General Electric and still retains the core of its alternative energy production. The city of Schenectady is the largest city and county seat.
• Schoharie County (pop. 31,582) is a rural county in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA. Schoharie is the county seat.
• Warren County (pop. 63,303)
• Washington County (pop. 61,042) is a rural county in the Glens Falls MSA, Fort Edward is the county seat.

Culture and contemporary life

Culture

Albany is often derided as "Smallbany" (also spelled Smalbany) for its perceived lack of culture and as a backwater in tourism circles, even though it consistently ranks high on lists of top cities/metro areas for culture, such as being 23rd in the book Cities Ranked & Rated, Albany-Schenectady-Troy ranked 12th among large metro areas and Glens Falls ranked 12th among the small metro areas, in Sperling's Best Places,, and Expansion Management (a monthly business magazine) gave the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area five Stars, its highest ranking, for quality of life features. The Capital District has many museums, historical sites, art galleries, and festivals that stretch back to the 1600s.

Media market

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy media market, the 56th largest in the United States, includes all of the 11 counties of the Capital District, along with Hamilton County, New York, as well as Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and Bennington County, Vermont. In total, there are 16 AM/MW stations, 30 full-power FM stations, 14 low-power FM translators, 8 full power analog TV stations, 5 low-power TV translators, and 8 full power digital TV (DTV) stations licensed to communities within 30 miles (48 km) of downtown Albany. In terms of broadcast media, Albany is part of Arbitron market #63 (radio), and Nielsen DMA #57 (television), and is a broadcast market with historical relevance. The pioneering influence of General Electric in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television (WRGB), WRGB also has the distinction of being the very first affiliated station of the NBC Television Network. In 1947, this region was also home to the first independently-owned and operated stand-alone FM radio station in the United States, W47A and one of the earliest FM broadcast stations (today's WRVE), in addition to the first federally licensed radio station in upstate New York, WGY.

In the early 2000s, the greater Albany market had the distinction of having the highest concentration of FM broadcast stations east of the Mississippi River. There are no radio stations in the Albany area that provide programming in languages other than English on a full-time basis. A few individual programs in languages including Spanish, Italian and Arabic are scheduled, primarily on college owned and operated stations.

The Albany Times Union is area's primary daily newspaper; its headquarters moved to suburban Colonie from Albany in the 1970s after a dispute with then-Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd over land needed for expansion. More localized are the Daily Gazette, which focuses primarily on Schenectady; the Troy Record, which focuses on Troy; The Post-Star, which focuses on Washingon, Warren, and northern Saratoga counties; The Saratogian, which focuses on Saratoga County; the Amsterdam Recorder for Montgomery and Fulton County; the Gloversville Leader-Herald for Fulton County; and the Hudson Register Star for Columbia and Greene counties. Metroland is the alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday, while The Business Review is a business weekly published each Friday. Capital Region Living is a monthly magazine available in Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington counties in New York, and Bennington County, Vermont, Rutland County, Vermont, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Cuisine

The Capital District has been the birthplace of several important foods in American food culture. Potato chips were invented by African-American & Native American chef George Crum, at the Moon Lake Lodge's restaurant in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County. The club sandwich was also invented in Saratoga Springs, at the Saratoga Club-house, today the Canfield Casino, in 1894. Pie à la Mode was first made at the Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge, Washington County in the 1890s.

Sturgeon in the Hudson River was once so plentiful that the fish was referred to as "Albany beef".

Sports

Though the Capital District is not well-known for its sports teams it does have a rich history of professional teams and college athletics. The Troy Trojans were a Major League Baseball team in the National League for four seasons from 1879 to 1882. In 1883 the New York Gothams, later the New York and San Francisco Giants, took the Trojans place in the National League. Nearly half of the original Gotham players had been members of the Trojans.

NBA head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons to the 1984 CBA championship. Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50-6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars Mario Elie and Vincent Askew were part of that season's squad. A third NBA head coach has roots in the Capital District as well, Pat Riley, most famous as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, but also of the New York Knicks and Miami Heat. Riley played for Linton High School in Schenectady. Riley was also a football star at Linton, and as a young boy played on the Schenectady Little League Baseball team when in 1954 it won the Little League Baseball World Series.

Mike Tyson received his early training in the Capital District and his first professional fight was in Albany in 1985 and Tyson's first televised fight was in Troy in 1986. He fought professionally four times in Albany and twice each in Troy and Glens Falls between 1985 and 1986.

Since 1988, the Siena College men's basketball team (the Siena Saints) have appeared in five NCAA Tournaments (1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, and 2009)

Professional teams

• Albany River Rats (AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, was an affiliate of the New Jersey Devils until 2006).
• Albany Firebirds (af2 arena football)
• Albany Legends (International Basketball League)
• Tri-City Valley Cats (New York-Penn League "short A" baseball, affiliate of the Houston Astros)
• New York Buzz (World Team Tennis)
• Chance of a Lifetime Basketball Academy (National Pro-Am basketball franchise)

Economy

The economy of the Capital District was at the beginning of settlement by Europeans dominated by the fur trade, especially in beaver pelts, hence Albany's early name of Beverwyck. But as settlement grew and matured the economy became traditionally anchored by several large manufacturing industries, such as the glove and leather industry in Fulton and Montgomery counties, American Locomotive and General Electric in Schenectady, first steel and then the shirt industry in Troy, and lumber in Albany and Watervliet. Now the economy of the region is heavily anchored by the state as the largest employer in the eleven-county region, employing thirteen percent of the non-farm workforce in the Capital District. One-fourth of the area's workforce works for the state or local governments, with the state of New York, the Federal government, and Albany County as the first, third, and eighth largest employers in the area.  There have traditionally been three legs holding up the region's economy- state government, heath care, and education. Health care provides a large and growing sector of the region's economy as well. Albany Medical Center, St. Peter Health Care Services, and Northeast Health are the fourth, fifth, and sixth largest employers in the eleven-county Capital District.

Manufactoring has been disappearing but is still important, and makes up six percent of the non-farm workforce. Major factories in the area are owned by General Electric, still the region's largest private-sector employer, and spin-offs such as Momentive Performance Materials' plant in Waterford, Saratoga County and the SABIC plant in Selkirk, Albany County. Mechanical Technology Inc. (MTI) of Schenectady, another spin-off from General Electric, has helped put the region on the map for alternative energy production, as has its own spin-off, Plug Power of Latham and the Center for Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The economy in recent decades has been pushing towards the high-tech with such promotions as the moniker of Tech Valley. Tech Valley is a marketing name first coined by Walter Altes in 1998 to promote the Hudson Valley/Capital District area as a high-tech industry area similar to Silicon Valley and Boston.

The Capital District has historically been linked to banking, finance, and insurance. Bank of Albany, founded in 1792, was the second bank established in the state, and American Express was founded in Albany. Finance and insurance employs six percent of the workforce in the area. Many important regional and national banks are headquartered in the area, such as Trustco Bank, and many national banks have regional headquarters in Albany, such as Bank of America and KeyBank. Albank, Norstar, Troy Savings Bank, Hudson River Bankcorp, and KeyBank were all founded in the area and have either moved their headquarters out of the region, such as KeyBank in 1994, or been merged into larger companies such as Hudson River Bankcorp into First Niagara Bank, out of Buffalo. Though Bank of America is the nation's largest bank it ranks only sixth in the region in bank deposits. Citizens Bank is the region's largest bank by market share of deposit holdings (32.5%), while Trustco Bank is largest by number of branches (52) in the area, as defined by the FDIC.

In 2006 Forbes ranked the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA the 18th best place for business in the nation. It was the second highest ranking in the Northeastern United States and the highest in the state. The Glens Falls MSA ranked 85th overall, and 35th for income growth, in the small metro category. According to the United States Census Bureau the Capital District's gross domestic product (GDP) was $32.345 billion in 2008 (in constant 2001 US dollars), up 3.4 percent from the year before. The region ranked 42nd in growth rate, and as the 56th largest metro area.

2009 recession

The Capital District has traditionally been seen as being insulated from recessions. Though the Capital District is doing better than the national average, it is not completely immune from this downturn. Manufactoring jobs are down 6.2 percent, half that of the 12.2 percent nationwide; the unemployment rate in the region in August was 7 percent compared to 9.7 nationwide.

Demographics

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA is New York's most affluent metro area outside of the New York City metropolitan area. Median household income was roughly $43,000 in 1999 and its educational attainment profile, with 28 percent of adults having a college degree, is slightly above state average and well-above the national average. The Glens Falls metro area however lags the state and the nation in both income and educational attainment. Median household income was slightly under $40,000 in 1999, and only 19 percent of adults held college degrees.

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas