Schenectady (/skəˈnɛktədi/skə-NEKT-ə-dee)[2][3] is acity inSchenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populous city and the 25th-most populous municipality.[4] The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of theMohawk andHudson Rivers. It is in the samemetropolitan area as the state capital,Albany, which is about 15 miles (24 km) southeast.[5]
Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from theMohawk wordskahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines" and used for the area aroundAlbany, New York.[6] Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river.
Connected to the west by the Mohawk River andErie Canal, Schenectady developed rapidly in the 19th century as part of the Mohawk Valley trade, manufacturing, and transportation corridor. By 1824, more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade; like many New York cities, it had a cotton mill that processed cotton from theDeep South. In the 19th century, nationally influential companies and industries developed in Schenectady, includingGeneral Electric (GE) andAmerican Locomotive Company, which were powers into the mid-20th century. Schenectady was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy.
When first encountered by Europeans, theMohawk Valley was the territory of theMohawk nation, one of the Five Nations of theIroquois Confederacy, orHaudenosaunee. They had occupied territory in the region since at least 1100 AD. Starting in the early 1600s, the Mohawks moved their settlements closer to the river, and by 1629, they had also taken over territories on the Hudson River's west bank that were formerly held by theAlgonquian-speakingMahican people.[8]
In the 1640s, the Mohawk had three major villages, all on the Mohawk River's south side. The easternmost one was Ossernenon, about 9 miles west of present-dayAuriesville, New York. When Dutch settlers developedFort Orange (present-dayAlbany, New York) in the Hudson Valley beginning in 1614, the Mohawk called their settlementskahnéhtati, also transliterated toSche-negh-ta-da, meaning "beyond the pines", referring to a large area ofpine barrens between the Mohawk settlements and the Hudson River. About 3,200 acres of this unique ecosystem are now protected as theAlbany Pine Bush.[9][10] Eventually, the word entered the lexicon of the Dutch settlers. The settlers in Fort Orange usedskahnéhtati to refer to the new village at the Mohawk flats (see below), which became known as Schenectady (with a variety of spellings).[11][12]
In 1661,Arendt van Corlaer (later Van Curler), a Dutch immigrant, bought a large piece of land on the Mohawk River's south side. The colonial government gave other colonists grants of land in this portion of the flat, fertile river valley, as part ofNew Netherland.[citation needed] The settlers recognized the Mohawk had cultivated these bottomlands for maize for centuries.[13] Van Curler took the largest piece of land; the remainder was divided into 50-acre plots for the other first 14 proprietors, Alexander Lindsey Glen, Philip Hendrickse Brouwer, Simon Volkertse Veeder, Pieter Adrianne Van Wogglelum, Teunize Cornelise Swart, Bastia De Winter atty for Catalyn De Vos, Gerrit Bancker, William Teller, Pieter Jacobse Borsboom, Pieter Danielle Van Olinda, Jan Barentse Wemp(le), Jacques Cornelize Van Slyck, Marten Cornelize Van Esselstyn, and Harmen Albertse Vedder. As most early colonists were from the Fort Orange area, they may have anticipated working as fur traders, but theBeverwijck (later Albany) traders kept a monopoly of legal control. The settlers here turned to farming. Their 50-acre lots were unique for the colony and were "laid outin strips along the Mohawk River," with the narrow edges fronting the river, as inFrench colonial style.[14] They relied on rearing livestock and wheat.[14] The proprietors and their descendants controlled all the land of the town for generations,[13][14] essentially acting as government until after the Revolutionary War, when representative government was established.
Beginning from the first decades ofEuropean colonization, Dutch colonists formed relationships with Mohawk women, though they did not usually result in marriage. Their children were raised within Mohawk communities, as the tribe had a matrilineal kinship system, and these multiracial offspring were considered to be born into the mother's clan. During thecolonial era, thefur trade formed one of the important trading relationships between Indigenous groups and colonists. In response to labor shortages among Dutch colonists,enslaved Africans were imported to work on farmsteads in Schenectady.[15]
Some Euro-Indian descendants, such asJacques Cornelissen Van Slyck and his sisterHilletie van Olinda, who were of Dutch, French, and Mohawk ancestry, became interpreters and intermarried with Dutch colonists. They also gained land in the Schenectady settlement.[16] They were among the fewmétis who seemed to move from Mohawk to Dutch society, as they were described as "former Indians", although they did not always have an easy time of it.[17] In 1661, Jacques inherited what became known as Van Slyck's Island from his brother Marten, who had been given it by the Mohawk. Van Slyck family descendants retained ownership through the 19th century.[18]
In 1664, an English fleetconquered the colony of New Netherland and renamed itNew York. They confirmed the monopoly on the fur trade by Albany, and issued orders to prohibit Schenectady from the trade through 1670 and later.[19] Settlers purchased additional land from the Mohawk in 1670 and 1672. (Jacques and Hilletie Van Slyck each received portions of land in the Mohawk 1672 deed for Schenectady.)[20] Twenty years later (1684) GovernorThomas Dongan granted letters patent for Schenectady to five additional trustees.[21]
On February 8, 1690, duringKing William's War, French forces and theirIndian allies, mostly Ojibwe and Algonquin warriors, attacked Schenectady by surprise, leaving 62 dead, 11 of them enslaved Africans.[22] American history notes it as theSchenectady massacre. In total, 27 persons were taken captive, including five enslaved Africans; the raiders took their captives overland about 200 miles to Montreal and its associated Mohawk mission village ofKahnawake.[22] Typically, the younger captives were adopted by Mohawk families to replace people who had died.[23] Through the early 18th century in the raiding between Quebec and the northern British colonies, some captives were ransomed by their communities. Colonial governments got involved only for high-ranking officers or other officials.[23] In 1748, duringKing George's War, the French and Indigenous attacked Schenectady again, killing 70 residents.
In 1765, Schenectady was incorporated as a borough. During theAmerican Revolutionary War, the local militia unit, the2nd Albany County Militia Regiment, fought in theBattle of Saratoga and againstLoyalist troops. Most of the wars in the Mohawk Valley were fought further west on the frontier in the areas of theGerman Palatine settlement, which was west ofLittle Falls. Because of their close business and other relationships with the British, some settlers from the city were Loyalists and moved to Canada in the late stages of the revolution. The British crown granted them land in what became known as Upper Canada and later Ontario.
After the Revolutionary War, the village residents reduced the power of the descendants of the early trustees and gained representative government. Long interested in supporting higher education and morals, the members of the city's three oldest churches—the Dutch First Reformed Church, St. Georges Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church—formed a "union" and foundedUnion College in 1795 under a charter from the state. The school had started in 1785 as Schenectady Academy. This founding was part of the expansion of higher education in upstate New York in the postwar years.
Schenectady was chartered as a city in 1798. In 1819, Schenectady suffered a fire that destroyed more than 170 buildings and most of its historic, distinctively Dutch-style architecture.[24] The Erie Canal was dug along the Mohawk River in the 1820s. During this period, migrants poured into upstate and western New York from New England, but new immigrants also arrived from England and Europe. Many traveled west along the Mohawk, settling in the western part of the state, where they developed more agriculture on former Iroquois lands. A dairy industry developed in the central part of the state. New settlers were predominantly of English andScotch-Irish descent.
New York had passed a law for gradual abolition of slavery in 1799,[25] but in 1824, 102 enslaved individuals were still in Schenectady County, with nearly half residing in the city. That year, the city of Schenectady had a total population of 3939, which included 240 free Blacks, 47 enslaved, and 91 foreigners.[26]
In the 19th century, after completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Schenectady became an important transportation, manufacturing, and trade center. By 1824, more of its population worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade.[26] Among the industries was a cotton mill,[26] which processed cotton from the Deep South. It was one of many such mills in upstate New York whose products were part of the exports shipped out of New York City. The city and state had many economic ties to the South at the same time that some residents became active in theabolitionist movement.
Schenectady benefited by increased traffic connecting the Hudson River to the Mohawk Valley and theGreat Lakes to the west and New York City to the south. TheAlbany and Schenectady Turnpike (now State Street) was constructed in 1797 to connect Albany to settlements in the Mohawk Valley. TheMohawk and Hudson Railroad started operations in 1831 as one of the first railway lines in the United States, connecting the city and Albany by a route through thepine barrens between them. Developers in Schenectady quickly founded the Utica and Schenectady Railroad, chartered in 1833; Schenectady and Susquehanna Railroad, chartered May 5, 1836; and Schenectady and Troy Railroad, chartered in 1836, making Schenectady "the rail hub of America at the time" and competing with the Erie Canal.[27] Commodities from the Great Lakes areas and commercial products were shipped to the East and New York City through the Mohawk Valley and Schenectady.
The last enslaved individuals in Schenectady gained freedom in 1827, under the state's gradual abolition law. The law first gave freedom to children born to enslaved mothers, but they were indentured to the mother's master for a period into their early 20s. Union College established a school for Black children in 1805, but discontinued it two years later. Methodists helped educate the children for a time, but public schools did not accept them.[28]
In the 1830s, theabolitionist movement grew in Schenectady. In 1836, Rev.Isaac Groot Duryee (also recorded as Duryea) co-founded the interracial Anti-Slavery Society at Union College and the Anti-Slavery Society of Schenectady in 1837.Freedom seekers were supported via theUnderground Railroad route that ran through the area, passing to the west and north to Canada, which had abolished slavery.[29]
Through the late 19th century, new industries were established in the Mohawk Valley and powered by the river. Industrial jobs attracted many new immigrants, first from Ireland, and later in the century from Italy and Poland. In 1887,Thomas Edison moved hisEdison Machine Works to Schenectady. In 1892, Schenectady became the headquarters ofGeneral Electric. This business became a major industrial and economic force and helped establish the city and region as a national manufacturing center.[citation needed] GE became important nationally as a creative company, expanding into many different fields.American Locomotive Company also developed here, from a Schenectady company, and merging several smaller companies in 1901; it was second in the United States in the manufacture of steam locomotives before developing diesel technology.
Like other industrial cities in the Mohawk Valley, in the early 20th century, Schenectady attracted many new immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, as they could fill many of the new industrial jobs. It also attracted African Americans as part of theGreat Migration out of the rural South to northern cities for work.[31] General Electric andAmerican Locomotive Company (ALCO) were industrial powerhouses, influencing innovation in a variety of fields across the country.
Schenectady is home toWGY, the second commercial radio station in the United States, (afterWBZ inSpringfield, Massachusetts, named forWestinghouse). WGY was named for its owner, General Electric (the G), and the city of Schenectady (the Y).[32] In 1928, General Electric produced the first regular television broadcasts in the United States, when the experimental station W2XB began regular broadcasts on Thursday and Friday afternoons. This television station is nowWRGB; for many years, it was the Capital District'sNBC affiliate. It has been the area'sCBS affiliate since 1981.
The city reached its peak of population in 1930, around 95,000. TheGreat Depression caused a loss of jobs and population in its wake. In the period after World War II, some residentsmoved to newer housing in suburban locations outside the city. In addition, GE established some high-tech facilities in the neighboring town ofNiskayuna, which contributed to continuing population growth in the county. In the latter part of the 20th century, Schenectady suffered from the massive industrial and corporate restructuring that affected much of the US, including in the railroads. It lost many jobs and population to other locations, including offshore. Since the late 20th century, it has been shaping a new economy, based in part on renewable energy. Its population increased from 2000 to 2010, from over 61,000 to over 66,000 - albeit still some 15,000 below its 1960 level.[33]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 square miles (28.49 km2), of which 0.1 sq mi (0.26 km2) (1.27%) is covered by water.
It is part of theCapital District, the metropolitan area surrounding Albany, the New York's state capital. Along with Albany andTroy, it is one of the three principal population and industrial centers in the region.
ZIP code 12345, which is used by the GE plant in Schenectady, has attracted media attention on account of its simplicity.[34] Thousands of letters andChristmas lists addressed toSanta Claus are mailed to the ZIP code every year.[35]
Schenectady has ahumid continental climate that is hot-summer (Dfa) bordering upon warm-summer (Dfb.) Average monthly temperatures range from 22.9 °F (−5.1 °C) in January to 71.8 °F (22.1 °C) in July.[36] These are estimates made by local amateur observers and are not official, as Schenectady does not have a weather station of its own (its "official" temperatures come from nearby Albany).
Schenectady was a manufacturing center known as "the City that Lights and Hauls the World"—a reference to two prominent businesses in the city, the Edison Electric Company (now known as General Electric), and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
GE retains its steam-turbine manufacturing facilities in Schenectady and its global research facility in nearbyNiskayuna. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been relocated from Schenectady to theSun Belt and abroad. Corporate headquarters forGE Vernova are now inCambridge, Massachusetts.[37]
ALCO produced steam locomotives for railroads for years. Later, it became renowned for its "Superpower" line of high-pressure locomotives, such as those for theUnion Pacific Railroad in the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II, it converted to support the war, making tanks for the US Army. As diesel locomotives began to be manufactured, ALCO joined with GE to develop diesel locomotives to compete with GM'sEMD division, but corporate restructuring to cope with the changing locomotive procurement environment led to ALCO's slow downward spiral. Its operations fizzled as it went through acquisitions and restructuring in the late 1960s. Its Schenectady plant closed in 1969.
In the late 20th century, due to industrial restructuring, the city lost many jobs and suffered difficult financial times, as did many former manufacturing cities in upstate New York. The loss of employment caused Schenectady's population to decline by nearly one-third from 1950 into the late 20th century. The early industries had left many sites contaminated with hazardous wastes. Such environmentalbrownfields have needed technical approaches for redevelopment.
In the 21st century, Schenectady began revitalization. GE established a renewable energy center that brought hundreds of employees to the area. The city is part of a metropolitan area with improving economic health, and a number of buildings have been renovated for new uses. Numerous small businesses, retail stores, and restaurants have developed on State Street downtown.[38]
In December 2014, the state announced that the city was one of three sites selected for development of off-reservation casino gambling, under terms of a 2013 state constitutional amendment. The project would redevelop an ALCO brownfield site in the city along the waterfront, with hotels, housing, and a marina in addition to the casino.[39]
In February 2017, the Rivers Casino and Resort opened with 66 table games and 1,150 slot machines on a 50,000-square-foot gambling floor with a steakhouse and a restaurant lounge.[40] The $480 million (~$602 million in 2024) residential-retail project on 60 acres includes a marina, two hotels, condominiums, apartments, and retail and office space for technology firms.[40]
In the census of 2010, 66,135 people, 26,265 (2000 data) households, and 14,051 (2000 data) families were residing in the city. The population density was 6,096.7 inhabitants per square mile (2,353.9/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 59.38% (52.31% non-Hispanic - NH) White, 24.19% African American, 14.47% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 8.24% from other races, 5.74% from two or more races, 2.62% Asian American, 0.69% Native American, and 0.14% Pacific Islander. TheGuyanese population in the area is growing[citation needed]. The top ancestries self-identified by people on the census are Italian (13.6%), Guyanese (12.3%), Irish (12.1%), Puerto Rican (10.1%), German (8.7%), English (6.0%), Polish (5.4%), and French (4.4%). These reflect historic and early 20th-century immigration, as well as that since the late 20th century.[47]
The Schenectady City School District is very diverse; (71%- 2011)(80%–2013) of district students receive free or reduced lunch. The student population of the school district ismajority minority: 35% Black (48% graduate), 32% White (71% graduate), 18% Hispanic (51% graduate), 15% Asian (68% graduate). As of 2016, the graduation rate for the high school was 56%.[48]
Of the 28,264 households in 2010, 31.2% had children under 18 living with them, 28.0% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were not families. About 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the age distribution was 26.3% under 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $29,378 (2010–$37,436), and the median income for a family was $41,158. Males had a median income of $32,929 versus $26,856 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,076. About 20.2% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.5% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over. The 30,272 (2000 data) housing units at an average density of 2,790.6 units per square mile (1,077.5 units/km2).
The largest religious body is the Catholic church, with 44,000 adherents, followed by Islam, with 6,000 followers. The third-largest religious body is the Reformed Church in America, with 3,600 members. The fourth is the United Methodist denomination, with 2,800 members.[49]
Notable congregations are theFirst Presbyterian Church (Schenectady, New York), which is affiliated with the PCA. First Reformed Church RCA, formed in the 17th century, is one of the oldest churches in the town. St George's Episcopal Church dates back to 1735; it shared facilities with the Presbyterians for more than 30 years.[50]
Schenectady has amayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term with no term limits.[51] The Schenectady City Council has seven seats (councilors), who serve four-year terms and are elected alternately.[52]
TheCapital District Transportation Authority provides bus service throughout Schenectady, along with connections to the surrounding cities of Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Troy.[53]
In the early 20th century, Schenectady had an extensivestreetcar system that provided both local andinterurban passenger service. The Schenectady Railway Co. had local lines and interurban lines serving Albany,Ballston Spa,Saratoga Springs, and Troy. Also, a line ran fromGloversville,Johnstown,Amsterdam, andScotia intodowntown Schenectady operated by theFonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville Railroad (FJ&G). The nearly 200 leather and glove companies in the Gloversville region generated considerable traffic for the line. Sales representatives carrying product sample cases began their sales campaigns throughout the rest of the country by taking the interurban to reach Schenectady'sNew York Central Railroad station, where they connected to trains to New York City, Chicago, and points between.
The bright orange FJ&G interurbans were scheduled to meet every daylight New York Central train that stopped at Schenectady. Through the 1900s and into the early 1930s, the line was quite prosperous. In 1932, the FJ&G purchased five lightweight "bullet cars" (#125 through 129) from theJ. G. Brill Company. These interurbans representedstate-of-the-art design: the "bullet" description referred to the unusual front roof that was designed to slope down to the windshield in an aerodynamically sleek way. FJ&G bought the cars believing that strong passenger business from a prosperous glove and leather industry would continue, as well as legacy tourism traffic to Lake Sacandaga north of Gloversville. Instead, roads were improved, automobiles became cheaper and were purchased more widely, tourists traveled greater distances by car, and the Great Depression decreased business overall.
FJ&G ridership continued to decline, and in 1938, the state condemned the line's bridge over the Mohawk River at Schenectady. The bridge had once carried cars, pedestrians, and the interurban, but ice flow damage in 1928 prompted the state to restrict its use to the interurban. When the state condemned the bridge for interurban use, the line abandoned passenger service, and the bullet cars were sold. Freight business had also been important to the FJ&G, and it continued over the risky bridge into Schenectady a few more years.
The Mohawk River at Schenectady is crossed by the Western Gateway Bridge, originally built in 1923–25, and replaced in 1971.[54] From 1874 to 1925 the Mohawk River had been crossed by a bridge running from the foot of Washington Ave., Schenectady to Washington Ave., Scotia, a steel bridge built upon the seven piers of a former wooden bridge, built in 1808, called the Burr Bridge.[55][56]
Proctors Theatre is an arts center. Built in 1926 as a vaudeville/movie theater, it has been refurbished in the 21st century. It is home to "Goldie", a Wurlitzer theater pipe organ. Proctor's was also the site of one of the first public demonstrations of television, projecting an image from a studio at the GE plant a mile [1.6 km] away. A 2007 renovation added two theaters: Proctors is home to three theaters, including the historic Mainstage, the GE Theatre, and 440 Upstairs.
TheStockade Historic District features dozens of Dutch and English Colonial houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. It is the state of New York's firsthistoric district, designated in 1965 by the Department of Interior and named after the historic stockade that originally surrounded the colonial settlement.[57]
TheSchenectady County Historical Society has a History Museum and the Grems-Doolittle research library, both at 32 Washington Avenue in the Stockade District. It has adapted a house originally built in 1895 for the Jackson family. It was used by the GE Women's Club from 1915 until 1957, when it was donated to the Historical Society. The History Museum tells of the history of Schenectady, the Yates Doll House, the Erie Canal, the Glen-Sanders Collection, etc. The research library has many collections of papers, photographs, and books. It welcomes people doing local and genealogical research.
TheGeneral Electric Realty Plot, abutting Union College, was one of the first planned residential neighborhoods in the U.S., and was designed to attract GE executives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It features an eclectic collection of grand homes in a variety of architectural styles, including Tudor, Dutch Colonial, Queen Anne, and Spanish Colonial. The plot is home to the first all-electric home in the United States. It hosts an annual House and Garden Tour.
Union College, adjacent to the GE Realty Plot, is the oldest planned college campus in the United States. It features the unique 16-sidedNott Memorial building, built in 1875, and Jackson's Garden, 8 acres (32,000 m2) of formal gardens and woodlands.
Central Park is the crown jewel of Schenectady's parks. It occupies the highest elevation point in the city. The Common Council voted in 1913 to purchase the land for the present site of the park. The park features an acclaimed rose garden and Iroquois Lake. Its stadium tennis court was the former home to theNew York Buzz of theWorld Team Tennis league (as of 2008). Central Park was named after New York City's Central Park.[citation needed]
TheSchenectady Museum features exhibits on the development of science and technology. It contains the Suits-Bueche Planetarium.
Schenectady's Municipal Golf Course is an 18-hole championship facility sited among oaks and pines. Designed in 1935 by Jim Thompson under theWPA, the course was ranked byGolf Digest among "Best Places to Play in 2004" and received a three-star rating.
Jay Street, between Proctor's and City Hall, is a short street partially closed to motor traffic. It features a number of small, independently operated businesses and eateries, and is a popular destination. Just past the pedestrian section of Jay Street is Schenectady's Little Italy on North Jay Street.
The Edison Tech Center exhibits and promotes the physical development of engineering and technology from Schenectady and elsewhere. It provides online and onsite displays that promote learning about electricity and its applications in technology.[58]
Upper Union Street Business Improvement District, near the Niskayuna boundary, is home to almost 100 independently owned businesses, including a score of restaurants, upscale retail, specialty shops, salons and services.
Vale Cemetery, listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, includes more than 30,000 burials of noted and ordinary residents of the city. It includes the historic African-American Burying Ground, where city residents annually celebrate anniversaries ofJuneteenth andEmancipation.
Science-fiction writerIsaac Asimov placed the corporate headquarters and factory ofU.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. (fictional 21st-century manufacturer of robots) in Schenectady.
Science-fiction writerHarlan Ellison said that anytime a fan or interviewer asked him, "Where do you get your ideas?", he would reply "Schenectady".[64] Science fiction writerBarry Longyear subsequently titled a collection of his short storiesIt Came From Schenectady.[65]
InObjective, Burma! (1945), Sid Jacobs (William Prince) tells Mark Williams (Henry Hull) about his house at 791 Crane Street in Schenectady. He had taught at Pleasant Valley school before the war.
In the 1952Looney Tunes shortFool Coverage,Daffy Duck plays an insurance salesman from the Hotfoot Casualty Underwriters Insurance Company of Schenectady.
In the 1950s television seriesThe Honeymooners, Trixie's mother is from Schenectady.
The Way We Were (1973) was filmed on location at Union College, and in nearby Ballston Spa.
The 1996 made-for-TV filmUnabomber: The True Story starring Robert Hays as David Kaczynski, brother of UnabomberTed Kaczynski, refers to Schenectady, where David and his wife were living when they figured out his brother's involvement in the bombings.
The Time Machine (2002), the remake starringGuy Pearce, features Schenectady's Central Park in the ice-skating scenes, standing in for New York City's Central Park.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) is a film partially set in Schenectady, where some scenes were shot. It plays on the aural similarity between the city's name and the figure of speechsynecdoche.
In the ABC-TV seriesUgly Betty, Marc St. James (played byMichael Urie) is said to be from Schenectady.
Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009) was entirely filmed in Schenectady County, but is set in Wisconsin, where the historic events took place. It features the Schenectady, theTown of Rotterdam, and the Village of Scotia, all in New York. The film starsThora Birch as Barbara Hoffman, the historic Wisconsin murderer, andKeith Carradine as a detective determined to catch her.
^Fortenbaugh, Samuel B. Jr. (1978).In Order to Form a More Perfect Union: An Inquiry into the Origins of a College. Schenectady: Union College Press.ISBN0-912756-06-3.
^Neisuler, J. G. (1964).The History of Education in Schenectady, 1661–1962, Schenectady: Board of Education, City School District
^Gregory, James N. (2009) "The Second Great Migration: An Historical Overview",African American Urban History: The Dynamics of Race, Class and Gender since World War II, eds. Joe W. Trotter Jr. and Kenneth L. Kusmer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 22.
^Brian Belanger,Radio & Television Museum News,"Radio Station WGY", Radio History, February 2006. Retrieved on December 1, 2008Archived March 26, 2009, at theWayback Machine
^Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen (eds.),Exploring Historic Dutch New York, New York: Museum of the City of New York/Dover Publications, (2011)ISBN978-0-486-48637-6
