STATE STREET is the name of the former Albany and Schenectady Turnpike in Schenectady County and is also New York State Route 5. At the eastern end of Schenectady’s downtown (Nott Terrace), the perfectly straight 1803 turnpike joins the former King’s Road, the original main road between Albany and Schenectady, dating from 1661. This has been the principal shopping street in “The Electric City” since the nineteenth century.

(Gone) Jay Jewelers

Jay Jewelers, a long-established business in the city, boasts a neon and incandescent sign on its roof.

Look for the Uneeda Biscuit ghost sign on the west face of Mexican Radio, the business that now occupies this block. And for many excellent views of downtown Schenectady during its post-WWII heyday, see A Baby Boomer’s History of Schenectady.

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