Apparitions at the Albany Waterfront
I visited the Albany Waterfront park for the first time on Saturday. Odd place. It’s a small peninsula sticking out into the bay that’s crisscrossed by walking paths in various states of repair.
It feels like a former industrial area—maybe a port or warehouse district, I’m unsure of the history— gone wild. There is a sort of main path that runs along the water, but it intersects with a bunch of smaller paths that twist through the area. Tall grasses and plants (six, seven feet tall) make some areas feel like you’re walking through a maze. Remnants of previous structures(?) (concrete, rebar, chucks of asphalt) and bits of metal and driftwood jut out of the ground from time to time. (According to Albany Today the site was a former landfill–I just learned that, BTW.)
The most interesting thing about this weird little park is the art. Local artists have made lots of… stuff from the flotsam and jetsam. Some are elaborate (like the figure above or the dragon/sea monster complete with rider below) and some are simple–stenciled graffiti or a piece of driftwood that’s been given a face.
We went around dusk and the light was failing, but I plan to go back and take some more pictures.
If you’re in Albany, it’s worth checking out.