MotherJudge & Friends - 1st Friday 11/2

Help us welcome Americana alt-folk diva Caroline MotherJudge and Sten Isachsen back to the U. Club with special guest Scott Hopkins on banjo! Here's what Mother Judge has to say about the evening ...

Join us in one of our favorite rooms for "Songs to Make you Want to Sing & Dance." Great food & fellowship at historic University Club, the jewel in the midtown Albany crown. Support First Friday! Get out, get some culture, see old friends and kick off the holiday season with something a bit more relaxing. See you there!

On the first Friday of each month, the University Club celebrates the arts and culture in Albany by serving as a 1st Friday venue, with free live music from 8 - 10 p.m. One need not be a member to enjoy live music, dinner and dancing in the Grille Room, dress is casual, and cash and major credit cards are accepted. Call 518-463-1151 to reserve a table for dinner, served until 9 p.m.

Celebrate Archives Month with "App Launch" Party on 10/18!

University Club Foundation, Historic Albany Foundation, and the Albany Institute of History and Art host a reception celebrating the mash-up of history and technology with the "Albany: Then & Now" app

Smart phone users will have a new way to tap into Albany’s photographic archives and rich architectural history when they download the “Albany: Then & Now” application. The public is invited to celebrate Archives Month with a reception on Thursday, October 18 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at the National Register-listed University Club of Albany, 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street.

Christine Ward, Assistant Commissioner, New York State Archives and Chief Executive Officer, Archives Partnership Trust will discuss this and other inventive uses of technology to promote our history.

The app, created by Albany resident Tim Varney of Troy Web Consulting, is a virtual tour through archival photos of Albany’s historic streetscapes. By using location-based mapping, users can stand at the very spot where a photograph was taken, in many cases 100 years ago or more, and see what the buildings looked like at that time. Background information is available for all of the images.

“Albany: Then & Now” was produced through the cooperation of Troy Web Consulting and the Historic Albany Foundation. All photographs were provided by the Albany Public Library, Albany County Hall of Records, New York State Archives, Albany Institute and the Library of Congress. The app is free, and is available for iPhone and Android users.

The Albany Institute of History & Art will provide a tour of their redesigned website, funded in part by a $148,000 federal Institute of Museum and Library Service grant. The new website will allow online visitors to better understand the history and cultural heritage of Albany and the Hudson Valley through the museum’s collections, educational program and exhibits.

The reception is free and open to the public, light fare will be served, and drinks will be available. The Club’s award-winning Chef Kevin Pagano will debut some new apps as well – tasty appetizers featuring seasonal flavors and ingredients. Please RSVP to Genny Faist at Historic Albany at 518-465-0876 x10 or by email at gfaist@historic-albany.org .

Archives Month is an annual, month-long observance of the importance of archival and historical records to modern life. In New York, the observance began in the late 1980s when groups of archivists in various regions of the State decided to hold special events and activities at a particular time each year to increase public awareness of the relevance of archives.

The University Club Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, is presenting this event in conjunction with Historic Albany Foundation. The U. Club Foundation was formed to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the University Club building and property, its neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901. Historic Albany Foundation is a private, not-for-profit membership organization working to promote the preservation and appreciation of the built environment in and around the city of Albany. One of America’s oldest museums, the Albany Institute of History & Art was founded in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington, making it older than the Louvre, the Smithsonian, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Troy Web Consulting is an agile software development company focused on architecting, building, and deploying mobile and web applications.

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Check out a great write-up on the "Albany: Then and Now" app on All Over Albany! 

U. Club Joins Centennial of Soldiers & Sailors Monument 10/5

Hosts reception, lecture from Dr. John Pipkin of SUNY, Washington Park Conservancy

On October 5, 1912, an imposing monument was unveiled in Washington Park “in commemoration of the men of Albany who gave their lives to save the Union.”

On October 5, 2012, the Washington Park Conservancy will rededicate that monument with a ceremony at the monument from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. immediately followed by a reception and presentation at the National Register-listed University Club of Albany, 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street. The events are free and open to the public, light fare will be served, and drinks will be available.

The monument, created by sculptor Hermon MacNeil and designed by Lord & Hewlett, sits at the northern entrance to Washington Park at Henry Johnson Boulevard. A bronze female figure representing America stands holding palm branches as a symbol of peace and a sword as a symbol of war. Behind her is a rectangular marble block adorned with reliefs depicting Civil War soldiers and sailors marching off to war. The monument represents "The Nation at Peace Won Through Victorious War."

The white Tennessee marble had become soiled over the years, and water infiltration threatened the monument’s future. The not-for-profit Washington Park Conservancy recently invested some $12,000 to restore the monument in time for its rededication.

The ceremony in Washington Park will feature remarks by elected officials, period music, a military honor guard, and a wreath-laying to pay formal respects to the sacrifice of America’s veterans. Following the ceremony, participants are invited to the University Club for a reception and presentation from Professor John Pipkin on the history of Washington Park.

From 8:00 – 10:00 p.m., the Club will present live music from TN3 (the Todd Nelson Trio) as part of its monthly celebration of 1st Friday. TN3 mixes elements of jazz, rock and electronics, playing original songs and new arrangements of unusual covers, including pop, folk and gospel.

John Pipkin is Distinguished Service Professor of Geography and Planning at the University at Albany. His interests are in urban design, urban planning, architectural symbolism, social geography, landscape history, and public space. He also serves as Vice President of the Washington Park Conservancy.

The University Club Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, is presenting this event in conjunction with the Washington Park Conservancy. The Conservancy was formed in 1985 to help guide the periodic restoration and regular maintenance of Historic Washington Park. The Foundation was formed to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the University Club building and property, its historic neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901.

Celebrate 1st Friday at the U. Club with TN3 - Friday 10/5

Join us as we welcome our friend and neighbor, Todd Nelson, and his band, TN3, back to the University Club.

TN3 mixes elements of jazz, rock and electronics, playing original songs and new arrangements of unusual covers, including pop, folk and gospel and any other genre signified by the muse.

The music of TN3 is improvisational but not noise; exploratory in texture and sound but melodic; arranged but open-ended; structured while embracing the random; aware of the past without repeating it; unafraid of space, subtlety or beauty, and it rocks.

According to musician and critic David Malachowski, TN3 features "exquisite chord melody playing and a smorgasbord of genres, all with a jazzy undercurrent, and (Todd's) formidable technique."

On the first Friday of each month, the University Club celebrates the arts and culture in Albany by serving as a 1st Friday venue. One need not be a member to enjoy live music, dinner and dancing in the Grille Room, dress is casual, and cash and major credit cards are accepted. Call 518-463-1151 to reserve a table for dinner.

Check out this video from a performance at The Sanctuary for Independent Media.