My Childhood Neighborhood is Disappearing.... In Colonie, New York

I am 60 years old and have seen stores and restaurants come and go.  I've seen malls knocked down and big box stores built in their place.  During an extended visit to Capital District, I visited my childhood neighborhood.  I lived near Central Avenue, a major commercial area, in Colonie between Lisha Kill Road and New Karner Road (Route 155).

Much has changed....

Everyone in Colonie ate at Veeder's Restaurant at one time throughout the 1960s, '70s and the '80s. After the restaurant closed, the building housed The Lighting Place for at least 15 years.






This family restaurant is being
remade into Cannon Funeral
Home.

The former Blu Bell Motel

has been expanded & is

now the Best Value Inn.

This motel and the Sky Lane Motel, up the street house people who are in transition.  Some are convicted sex offenders.  

Midway Fire Department's

firehouse has been razed

& a new one is under

construction.

Hiro's Japanese Restaurant

is for sale.

This restaurant was one of

my favorites for decades.

Mr. and Mrs. Hartman lived here for many years.  They enjoyed gardening and were very proud of the plants and flours they grew in their greenhouse.

The Skylane Motel is being

razed.

The building had deteriorated

to the point that it was not

habitable for the tenants

who lived here.

The owner, Alex Patel, agreed to pay to have the building leveled in exchange for forgiveness of a $750,000.00 fine and jail time.

A brand new Aldi Food Market

stands on the site of the

Tick Tock Tavern.

The tavern was taken down sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s and sat empty for many years.

The Appliance Giant Store

& KMart have been razed

for a major construction

project.

This large building will become

a CarMax dealership.