Portal:Capital District/Selected article/10
The Port of Albany–Rensselaer, widely known as the Port of Albany, is a major port operating year-round on both sides of the Hudson River within Albany and Rensselaer, New York. The name Port of Albany-Rensselaer came into use in 1925, though separate private and public port facilities have existed in both cities since the 17th century. The Albany Basin and Erie Canal were both constructed with public funds in 1825 leading to a huge boost in the shipping industry. The current port location was constructed in 1932 under Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Public and private facilities not owned by the Port of Albany continue to exist in both cities, though they tend to be recreational and non-commercial.
The Port of Albany consists of roughly 236 acres (96 ha), of which approximately 202 acres (82 ha) are in Albany and 34 acres (14 ha) in Rensselaer. It is 124 nautical miles (230 km) north of New York Harbor. From New York Harbor to the Federal Dam three miles (5 km) north of Albany, the Hudson River is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. The Hudson has a deep water shipping channel 400 feet (120 m) across, and at Albany the river is 700 feet (210 m) across with a maximum 31 feet (9.4 m) saltwater draft and a mean range of tides of 4.7 feet (1.4 m). The port is at sea level.
Since the founding of Albany in 1624 as a trading post, shipping has been important to its growth and prosperity. Furs (especially beaver), timber, and farm produce were important exports while European people and goods were shipped in. The Dongan Charter, which established Albany as a city, made Albany the exclusive market town in the upper Hudson River Valley. From its beginning the port consisted of hastily-built docks built every spring and destroyed every winter by erosion, flooding, ice, and tidal action. Three city-owned docks were established in 1766, the northern and southern ones later being expanded into wharves.
