South End, Albany, New York

The neighborhoods of Albany, New York are varied demographically, geographically, architecturally, and historically. Downtown Albany is the city's oldest neighborhood, centered on State Street, one of Albany's oldest streets and its original main street. North and south of Downtown Albany are old residential communities often consisting of row houses; to the north, those neighborhoods include Sheridan Hollow, Arbor Hill, and North Albany, while to the south is the super-neighborhood of the South End, which includes several smaller neighborhoods.

On the western edge of Downtown Albany is the Empire State Plaza, which effectively cuts Downtown off from the gentrified neighborhoods of Center Square and Hudson/Park. Single-family detached homes, duplexes, and apartments, along with single-family houses that have been divided into multiple units, can be found west of the older neighborhoods. These neighborhoods, such as Helderberg, New Scotland/Woodlawn, and Pine Hills, tend to have larger lots and more suburban surroundings than the neighborhoods nearer to the Hudson River. Further west, the neighborhoods become more affluent and are dominated almost exclusively by single-family dwellings. The western portion of the City includes the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus and the University at Albany's main campus, as well as offices and commercial properties lining frontage roads along Washington Avenue Extension.

Arbor Hill is an historic neighborhood in northeastern Albany near the Hudson River. Arbor Hill encompasses the area from Clinton Avenue (formerly called Patroon Street) north to the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge (where North Albany begins) and from the Hudson River west to Henry Johnson Boulevard. Arbor Hill was outside Albany's first boundaries as set up in the Dongan Charter of 1686. The original name of the area was Colonie. Incorporated as a village on April 9, 1804, Arbor Hill was annexed by the city in 1815, at which time Patroon Street became Clinton Avenue. The name "Arbor Hill" comes from the nickname of the Ten Broeck Mansion, an important cultural and historical destination in the neighborhood. Arbor Hill includes Dudley Heights, a residential neighborhood north of Livingston Avenue that was the first location of the Dudley Observatory. Arbor Hill contains many other historic and cultural spots including the Palace Theatre, Quackenbush House, Church of the Holy Innocents, the Stephen and Harriet Myers House, and the former St. Joseph's Church. Demographically, Arbor Hill is predominantly African-American.

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