Downtown Discovered!
On Saturday, January 24, about 100 people invaded downtown starting from the Carnegie Library to search for twenty architectural details and free-standing items along 1st and 2nd Avenues and the connecting streets between Lyons and Calapooia.
The searchers were taking part in the Downtown Discovery event sponsored jointly by the Albany Public Library Foundation and the Albany Regional Museum. At the Carnegie, searchers picked up two sheets bearing twenty small photos and a map of the area where the items could be found. They were to mark on the map where each was discovered.
In addition, at the Carnegie starting point, Richard Engeman laid out a colorful display of books from the library about the history and architecture of Albany.
The searchers ended their searches with hot cider, cookies, carousel tickets and special tokens distributed at the Albany Regional Museum. There was also a large, master map showing where each item resides.
All reported a great deal of success in finding the items and, more importantly, they reported they had a good time. Most were surprised by the number of interesting details and items – like the happy elephant – in the downtown area
While the success rate was high, many agreed that the hardest thing to find was the 1893 date hidden in plain sight along a side street.
