24th Annual Troy Victorian Stroll

Today was spent wandering the streets of Troy, NY to take part in the city's Victorian Stroll. It was a gorgeous day with a clear sky, temperature in the 40s, and the wind coming off the Hudson River was manageable. The streets were crowded and you could imagine yourself being there as they once were in Victorian times when Troy was a robust center of commerce. In the 1800s, the city of Troy had more millionaires than Chicago!

All of the merchants opened their stores and some had musicians tucked away inside and singing. There were plenty of folks dressed in period costume that added to the authenticity. The streets were cordoned off so that performers such as jugglers and stilt walkers could entertain the throngs of visitors with plenty of space instead of crowded on the sidewalks. And a vintage firetruck gave children and their parents a quick free ride around town.

[Live models in a shop window.]

[This model train set is located in the lobby of the real building shown here. Troy Savings Bank occupies the bottom floor and the Troy Music Hall with world-renowned acoustics is above.]

[Troy is the Home of Uncle Sam. This symbol of America became famous in the 1800s and he is buried in a local cemetery.]

[2nd Street facing North. Downtown Troy is making a resurgence.]

[I spotted this giant ad painted on the brick alley wall of a building that faces 4th Street. The store it advertises is long gone. Notice the telephone number has letters as its first two digits from when that was common. 'A' is on the 2 and 'S' is on the 7. As a kid, some referred to our phone number starting with BR (for BRidge) which was also 2 and 7.]