The following excerpt about the Hudson-Fulton 1909 Celebration about an event that took place 300 years previously is from an interesting article in the May 17, 2009 edition of the Times Union.
ALBANY — At 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 1909, 2,000 elementary school students from across the city dressed in red, white and blue capes and caps to form a “human flag” on the steps of the state Capitol.
Acres of bunting decorated the Capitol behind the tightly packed rows of children as they stood still as statues for a photographer.
And that was a relatively minor moment in the epic Hudson-Fulton celebration marking the tricentennial of Henry Hudson‘s sail up the river that now bears his name.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the shores of the Hudson River from New York City to Troy for dozens of parades, flotillas and a variety of events between Sept. 25 and Oct. 11 in 1909.
“Essentially, it was a World’s Fair without the fairground, spread along 150 miles of riverfront,” said Stuart Lehman, a state Capitol historian and education coordinator for the state Office of General Services.
Thanks to Pat Morrow for pointing this article out to me.
