This isn't our past Mansions Tour (which we'll be offering in September). This is a completely new tour developed by Tour Guide veteran, Tony Opalka and Derek Baranski. This will show you a new side of the Mansions Neighborhood you haven't seen before!

Explore the eclectic, historic, Mansion Neighborhood in this guided tour for August.

Join Albany City Historian, Tony Opalka and tour guide Derek Baranski on a 90-minute tour as they present HAF's newest Walkabout Wednesday neighborhood tour: the Mansion Neighborhood Part II. This tour will cover portions of the Mansion Historic District not covered in previous HAF Walkabout Wednesday tours!

The first suburban pocket outside of the City, the area was originally parceled off into large estates during the late 18th century/early 19th century. As the city began to grow, the Mansion Neighborhood boomed, creating the stunning, relatively intact housing stock you will see on this tour. Styles of architecture speak to the fashions of the time: Federal, Greek, Italianate, Gothic, Romanesque, and Queen Anne.

The tour will also touch on how the Mansion Neighborhood has been an important home for many different immigrant and migrant groups from the 1850s to the present day - throughout its history, it has been home to Irish, German Jewish, Russian, Italian, Black communities, and it continues to be a home for refugee populations. All of these stories are intertwined with the 500 buildings that make up this distinctive area.

After the creation of the Empire State Plaza (1962-1978) which saw neighboring areas razed and populations displaced, the Mansion Neighborhood Association fought against the odds and managed to prosper. Join us to explore some of the stories and buildings they helped to save.

MEETING POINT - OUTSIDE BETTY BOOP DINER (115 Philip St, Albany, NY 12202)