History · Albany

A history of Albany,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Albany from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

24old images & papers
0recent photos
From Albany’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The first known residents were the Ohlone before Spanish settlement in the early 19th century.

In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community. Armed with two shotguns and a twenty-two-caliber rifle, they confronted the drivers of the wagons near what is now the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street. The women told the drivers of the horse-drawn garbage wagons to go home, which they did quickly and without complaint. Shortly thereafter, the residents of the town voted to incorporate as the City of Ocean View.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1880s2 items · 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps…Commons
1890–1939Nothing in the archives yet
1940s22 items · Construction of Key System bridge, 19…Commons
1950–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
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Finish Albany’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Albany

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By decade

Albany, decade by decade

1890s–
1930s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
1940s22 items
Construction of Key System bridge, 1942CommonsConstruction of Key System bridge, 19421942Facade of regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCFacade of regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany…1942Legend on regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCLegend on regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany…1942Legend on regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCLegend on regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany…1942Albany, California. Testing various dehydrated products for their palatabilityLOCAlbany, California. Testing various dehydrated products for…1942Preparing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCPreparing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural re…1942Weighing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCWeighing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural res…1942Weighing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCWeighing cabbage for dehydration. Regional agricultural res…1942Tunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCTunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural research lab…1942Taking sample of precooked cabbage. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCTaking sample of precooked cabbage. Regional agricultural r…1942Cabbage coming from blanching chamber. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCCabbage coming from blanching chamber. Regional agricultura…1942Emptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCEmptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional a…1942Emptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCEmptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional a…1942Emptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCEmptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional a…1942Emptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCEmptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper. Western regional a…1942Washing cabbage which will be dehydrated. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCWashing cabbage which will be dehydrated. Regional agricult…1942Washing cabbage which will by dehydrated. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCWashing cabbage which will by dehydrated. Regional agricult…1942Charging the tunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCCharging the tunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural…1942Charging the tunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCCharging the tunnel dehydrater at the regional agricultural…1942Preparing samples for vitamin C determination. Regional agricultural research laboratoryLOCPreparing samples for vitamin C determination. Regional agr…1942Emptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper, Western Regional Agricultural Research LaboratoryLOCEmptying dehydrated cabbage into hopper, Western Regional A…1942Seal on floor at entrance to the regional agricultural research laboratory. Albany, CaliforniaLOCSeal on floor at entrance to the regional agricultural rese…1942
1950s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - California - Alameda County - Albany - ED 1-71 - ED 1-80 (1880) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (3) and the Library of Congress (21). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Albany

California · CA
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01