Traveling U.S. 20 from Mass. to Albany NY

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I love to travel the “blue highways.” Off of the interstate I have the opportunity to explore the country instead of whizzing by at 65 mph. In October I started a series of blogs about traveling along route U.S. 20, the longest road in the country. This week I continue this trip, starting to explore this old route as it crosses New York, from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania.


Blueberry Hill Market Cafe by Alan L. via tripadvisor

Flea Market from the New Lebanon Flea Market Facbook Page


U.S. 20 comes west from the city of Pittsfield MA, and into the town of New Lebanon NY. In the summer this valley is home to weekly flea markets at Meisner’s Auction Service. A great place to stop for lunch or snack is the Blueberry Hill Market Cafe. They serve excellent sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. West of town is the Lebanon Valley Speedway. This half-mile dirt track and drag racing strip offers races all summer long.






The road climbs out of the Lebanon Valley and up to the town of Nassau. Nassau was founded in 1806 as a farming community, and that, along with tourism, remains its primary economic driver. The main street is lined with buildings that date back close to or over 100 years.









From the town of Nassau, U.S. 20 wends its way down through growning suburban towns towards Albany. One of these is Rensselaer, a town on the east bank of the Hudson River. It was founded in 1609, and its history includes being the site of the first recorded Grand Slam Home Run (1881), being a center of the U.S. dye industry and a major producer of Beyer aspirin. Rensselaer was also a major stop and transfer between the Boston & Albany Railroad and the NY Central Railroad, a role it still plays today for Amtrak.


Auto dealer on Route 20

Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station by Benjamin Turon via wikimediacommons 


Crossing the Hudson River, U.S. 20 becomes Madison Ave in the city of Albany, New York’s capital city. It passes under the Empire State Plaza, Nelson Rockefeller’s monument to state government and his own memory. I wrote a blog about it which you can read here.  Madison Ave continues along until it ends at Western Ave. At the junction, where U.S. 20 switches from one to the other is a beautiful building from the 1880’s . 500 Western Ave was built as a joint fire and police station, providing a home to one of Albany’s first steam powered water pumps. While the police station still occupies its half of the building, the fire company moved to a new home in 1988. Its space is now the home of the Steamer No. 10 Theater, named for fire company.





This short trip across the Berkshire mountains of New York offers a wonderful day in the country and a look at the state’s history and government. Next week we will continue west. 

Location: New Lebanon, NY 12125, USA

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