In upstate New York, right near the state capital Albany, Schenectady has a long heritage of commerce and industry dating back to Dutch traders, and later when the Erie Canal and the city's strategic location at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers made it a thriving trade port. Evidence of this early prosperity abounds in the Stockade Historic District, the oldest residential neighborhood in the United States. Walking the streets is like stepping back in time with whole blocks of original Dutch and English building of the 17th and 18th centuries fully intact and lovingly preserved. Sidewalks take you past historical placards identifying key highlights of the neighborhood's significance.
Former industrial sites in the area, some of which were contaminated brown fields, decayed and were abandoned like the 60-acre former American Locomotive Company plant overlooking the Mohawk River. After much lobbying and community support, the derelict property was selected as 1 of 4 locations by New York State as an ideal site for a commercial casino to generate revenue. A $480 million partnership of private & public funds remediated and repurposed this prime location into several projects including the lively and elegant Rivers Casino and Resort.
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