Plaques

The Plaque Program is Currently Not Accepting New Applications but will be doing so soon - if you’d like to be put on the waiting list please email with your name and address to info@historic-albany.org

Albany has a rich collection of historic buildings which Historic Albany Foundation is proud to celebrate through our Plaque program.  Share the history of your home or building by purchasing a custom-made plaque and biography of your building.  Your historic building doesn’t need to be an officially designated landmark or within an historic district to receive a plaque.

Historic Albany Foundation date plaques and building biographies may be purchased for buildings within the city of Albany that retain their original character, are in a good state of preservation, and contribute to the architectural nature of their neighborhood.  Eligibility is based on the Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation. Historic property owners can chose between three options, purchasing just the traditional oval date plaque, the plaque AND a 1-2 page biography of the building, or just the building's biography. 

The 7 x 10" oval plaques can be ordered in bronze or aluminum with the date of construction and first owner or occupant.  The architect or builder is included whenever possible. To produce each plaque, the property is researched using using tax records, deeds, historic maps, and building permits. Property owners are sent a draft of the plaque artwork and must approve the artwork prior to casting. Plaques cannot be shipped and must be picked up from Historic Albany's office at 89 Lexington Avenue in Albany. Building biographies provide a much more in depth view of you property's history, telling the story of your building: who owned it, what they did and how it grew with its owners. To do this, our researchers spend time combing through tax assessment records, deeds, water rents, historic maps, city directories, building permits, and other resources.  This research cannot be conducted online with the click of a button, but requires using the original hard copy documents and manuscripts.  All research is conducted at the Albany County Hall of Records and Albany Public Library.   

Plaque Map

Plaque Examples