In this episode come along and visit the most famous fortress in North America, Fort Ticonderoga! This upstate NY fort in the Adirondacks nestled between Lake Champlain and Lake George played a crucial role in two conflicts. We will cover the importance of the fort in both the Seven Years War and the American Revolution and later on how the ruins of the fort were restored and turned into a public museum largely thanks to a movement known as Romanticism. So strap on your boots, gas up the car, and lets get out and see some history! https://fortticonderoga.org/

This month I have something a little different for you. Instead of one specific site or town of historic significance to visit, we are exploring a theme. The theme is of course Christmas in New York! In this episode you will discover how crucial New York was in the formation of the Christmas holiday icons, imagery, and traditions we know and love today. We will run into our old friend Washington Irving and join him in his meetings with Charles Dickens. We'll do a deep dive into the origins of Santa Claus as we know him today beginning back in antiquity then moving forward in time to the Hudson Valley Dutch. We'll learn how Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Victorian Britain influenced our Christmas and just how spooky some Christmas traditions were. For sites to visit we are all over the place in this episode including Rockefeller Center, https://www.rockefellercenter.com/ Radio City Music Hall, https://www.msg.com/radio-city-music-hall Staatsburg https://millsfriends.org/mansion/ The Old Dutch Church in Kingston NY, https://olddutchchurch.org/ Sunnyside, https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/washington-irvings-sunnyside/ Germania of Poughkeepsie, https://germaniapok.com/ and others. Join me on this incredible journey through centuries and across continents to find out the origin story of New York Christmas!

In this episode of Empire State History, we travel to the capitol of New York Albany. We will meet the original inhabitants of the Albany area the Mohawks and Mohicans. We'll also learn about the Dutch, English and later American colonists, the Revolution, and the 19th century period of economic growth in Albany. Finally, we will visit the Capitol building and the Plaza. The sites we will visit are the Schuyler Mansion https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/schuyler-mansion-state-historic-site, The New York State Museum https://nysm.nysed.gov/visit, The Egg https://theegg.org/, The New York State Capitol Building https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/capitol, and the Albany Institute of History and Art https://www.albanyinstitute.org/. My food recommendations this episode are Tanpopo Ramen https://tanpopoalbany.com/, and Banh Mi 47 http://banhmi47.com/.