WMHT's Remembering Downtown: Schenectady (December 1, 2002)

The second installment of "Remembering Downtown," a special that aired on Albany, NY's PBS station, WMHT (channel 17), which is licensed to Schenectady. This segment specifically covers said city.
Bob Cudmore goes around Schenectady and interviews Times Union writer Marv Cermak, Linda Tolokonski who works at old-fashioned department store Rudnick's (which now mainly sells uniforms), Hershel Graubart of his namesake jewelry store, and Richard DiCristofaro of Wedgewood Barber Shop. Also, a lookback at the Carl Company department store chain, with an old-fashioned jingle! Carl's went defunct in the 80s; they had many locations including some of the 518's first suburban shopping malls.
Schenectady's highlights also include Jay Street and Proctor's Theater. Proctor's was the city's equivalent of the Palace, though I would argue Proctor's is more upscale. It actually closed in the 70s, but thanks to some city residents and management, it reopened and now holds some of the 518's finest Broadway productions and movie showings. I myself did film camps there during the summer when I was in high school. Jay Street, meanwhile, was and is a premiere shopping spot; hard to believe but cars used to drive down there, both ways! Schenectady now, at least in my eyes, has cleaned up its act. It looks much more upscale, with the new Rivers Casino facility on the Mohawk, and some more apartments and shopping areas alongside State Street. Some of it was being constructed while this special aired.
Schenectady is most famously the longtime home of General Electric. They do touch on that a bit in the video. GE was responsible for launching WRGB, and its experimental status made it the first TV station in the world, in 1928. Eventually, GE's plant grew, and workers moved elsewhere. For example, GE's appliance division now has 9 facilities according to its website; among them in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Meanwhile, GE has an aviation division in North Carolina.
Bob Cudmore also worked in Schenectady. He was a longtime radio host on WGY, which signed on in 1922 and was co-owned with GE and WRGB throughout the years. He hosted a call-in show called "Contact," which he later brought to TV in 1994 when WTEN expanded its morning newscast. It didn't work out well. Again, Cudmore has a face for radio, not TV.
(C) 2002 WMHT Educational Telecommunications. No copyright infringement intended. For educational and historical purposes only. We do not profit off this video.