Albany Area Information

Located in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley and bordered by the picturesque Willamette River, Albany has the atmosphere of a small town, but it is the 12th largest city in Oregon, and the largest city in Linn County. Albany is credited by historians and architects with having the most varied collection of historic buildings in Oregon. This collection includes styles from the 1840s through the late 1920s and is concentrated in an area of about 100 square blocks. Four historic districts are listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior, which are host to 20 nationally registered historic buildings and over 700 historic homes. Residents enjoy all that Albany offers including its unique downtown, 34 city parks, biking and walking trails, Heritage Mall and a host of professional, recreational and retail shopping opportunities. Linfield College Adult Degree Program and Linn Benton Community College provide many learning opportunities with classes and activities. Albany’s appeal is difficult to match… for businesses, residents and visitors alike.

Community Overview
Location
Albany is located in the heart of the Willamette Valley, with the Willamette River bordering the community. Albany offers easy access to all areas of the state with Interstate-5 bisecting the city and the east/west State Highways 20 and 34 an integral part of the traffic pattern. The City of Portland, the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean are all within a ninety minute drive, putting Albany in an excellent position for economic and recreational opportunities.

Population
With a growing population of approximately 45,600 Albany ranks as Oregon’s 12th-largest city. Tangent (950) and Millersburg (829) also continue to grow. Linn County’s population is approximately 107,400.

Climate
At an elevation of 300 feet, Albany’s year-round climate can be considered temperate. Winter months are generally mild, with an average yearly rainfall of 42 inches. Average temperature during winter months is 58 degrees while summer months are mild with an average temperature of 78 degrees. Humidity is generally low with most rainfall occurring from November through May.

Economy
From agriculture to the manufacturing segment and retail to tourism, Albany is open for business. Rare metals process and manufacturing, grass seed and food agriculture, secondary wood products and food processing comprise the backbone of the local economy.

Albany’s economic hub is located in one of the ten most productive agricultural areas of the world. The production, processing and packaging of locally grown grass seeds, vegetable seeds, beans, corn, peas, strawberries and many other crops contribute significantly to the strength of the area’s economy. Area food processors include unique freeze-drying, meat smoking/drying operations and conventional freezing of vegetables.

Nearby, the Willamette National Forest and private forests have fostered the natural development of a wood products industry. Pulp and paper production and secondary wood manufacturers are major employers in the area.

The area has historically served as the retail and trade hub for the central Willamette Valley. Albany’s revitalized historic downtown core serves as a regional financial, governmental and professional center, while several shopping areas and a regional mall attract retail dollars from throughout Linn and Benton counties.

The Linn County Fair and Expo Center helps make tourism an important contributor to the area’s economic health through various attractions, events and recreational opportunities.

Major Employers & Employees
ATI Allvac Oremet-Wah Chang – Zirconium / Columbium / Titanium Products 1537

Greater Albany Public Schools – Primary & Secondary Education 950
Linn County – County Government 700
Weyerhaeuser Co. – Wood / Paper Products 635

Target Distribution Center – Retail Distribution Center 591

Georgia-Pacific/GP – Resins / Wood / Paper Products / Chemical Resins 530

Linn Benton Community College – Vocational & Higher Education 510

Samaritan Albany General Hospital - Acute Care & Health Center 500

Georgia Pacific Corporation – Paper Products – 437

City of Albany – City Government 391
Oregon Freeze Dry – Freeze Dried Foods & Products 350

Pacific Cast Technologies – Titanium Casting 310

Palm Harbor Homes – Manufactured Housing 275

National Frozen Foods – Frozen Fruits & Vegetables 190 Full time, 360 Seasonal

Transportation

Ground

Interstate-5 runs north and south through Albany, Tangent and Millersburg. East and west, U.S. Highway 20 and Highway 34 connect to Central Oregon and the Pacific Coast.
Rail
Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads provide mainline connections in all directions and Amtrak offers passenger service north and south.
Air
Albany Municipal Airport accommodates general aviation and corporate aircraft. Oregon has two commercial Airports; the Eugene Airport, forty minutes to the south and the Portland International Airport is ninety minutes to the north.
Public Transit
The Albany Transit System and the Linn-Benton Loop offer local busing services. Twenty-four-hour taxi services are available and Dial-a-ride is provided for seniors and the disabled.

Medical Services
Samaritan Albany General Hospital (SAGH) and Samaritan Health Physicians are affiliates of Corvallis-based Samaritan Health Services Inc.
SAGH is a 76-bed acute care center that has served Albany area residents since 1924. Services include a trauma level III emergency department, critical and cardiac care unit, physical rehabilitation and hand therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, orthopedic services, cosmetic services, comprehensive imaging services occupational medicine and home health care including hospice. In 2007, SAGH opened a three-story medical and diagnostics building in North Albany which currently boasts a cancer resource center, women’s imaging such as bone density scanning and digital mammography, an open MRI and orthopedic surgeons. In late 2008, there will also be an urgent care clinic, sports rehab clinic and internal medicine/pediatric clinic located within.
Albany-area residents are served by a solid base of family physicians and medical specialists from a wide range of disciplines working out of more than 20 clinics.
Albany Family & Specialty Medicine brings together the best in family medicine with access to allergy, neurology, OBGYN and occupational medicine specialists from the Corvallis Clinic. Albany Family & Specialty Medicine is equipped with 25 exam rooms, a coumadin clinic, and on-site laboratory, radiology and records department. Family physicians care for every member of your family from newborns to seniors.
The community also is served by a fully equipped ambulance service provided by the City of Albany, including Life Flight, an air ambulance service, an independent outpatient dialysis unit and free medical care via InReach Clinic for uninsured families, and Lifeline, a personal response service for homebound individuals.

Education
The Greater Albany Public School District and Santiam Christian Schools are leaders in educational innovation and industry-based learning. Linn-Benton Community College and Linfield College Adult Degree Program offer professional and technical training programs in addition to general education and college transfer courses. Oregon State University located ten miles away in neighboring Corvallis, hosts world-class research programs in forestry, agricultural sciences, veterinary science, oceanography and engineering.


School Information
Number of Schools & Enrollment

Greater Albany Public Schools
The Greater Albany Public School system provides fourteen elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools to Albany residents.

Elementary – 4297 students
Middle – 2049 students
High – 2767 students

Santiam Christian School:

Elementary- 422 students

Middle- 132 students

High- 321 students

Linn Benton Community College:

Full-time: 2,300 students

Part-time: 3,500 students

Non-credit: 4,000 students

Events & Attractions
Whether you are looking for museums, scenic drives, historic sites, wineries, special events and festivals or outdoor recreation, Albany is the place to be.

Veteran’s Day Parade
Albany hosts the largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi. It is organized and run every year by the volunteer efforts of the Veterans Commemoration Association. The parade features veterans from wars past and present, marching units, military vehicles, and marching bands.

Museums

Albany has captured plenty of its history in various museums throughout the area. The Albany Regional Museum is a fun collection of old Albany memorabilia, photos and artifacts. The Boston Mill Society is working to preserve Oregon’s oldest continuously operating water powered mill, the Boston/Thompson mill. The Dentzel American Carousel Museum is home to Albany’s one of a kind, hand-made carousel carvings. The Monteith House, the first frame structure built in Albany in 1849, is one of the most authentically restored homes in Oregon. It is now a house museum, where visitors can see the pioneer kitchen Christine Monteith used to prepare meals or the original piano brought by covered wagon to help make the wilderness a bit more civilized.

Linn County Fair

Local agriculture, crafts, business and industry are showcased during this county-wide event held each July. The fair also showcases top-notch national entertainers, rodeo events and local talent.

Summer Concert Series

The Albany Parks and Recreation Department offers two free summer concert series during July and August in beautiful Monteith Park along the banks of the Willamette River. River Rhythms is in its 26th season and features well-known entertainment from around the world on Thursday evenings. The Monday evening concerts, Mondays at Monteith, are more intimate and feature northwest entertainers.

Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival

Discover the wonders of art and air in Albany during this popular event, featuring more than 45 hot air balloons cascading the city, vintage airplanes and demonstrations, juried artwork and crafts from around the Northwest, a Kid’s Art Experience and live entertainment. This three day event is free.

Bi-Mart Willamette River Festival

Explore a combination of activities at our beautiful riverfront. Enjoy tasty treats from the Western States Regional BBQ Cook Off, shop downtown sidewalk sales and visit the Saturday Farmer’s Market - another great no-cost event for residents and visitors alike.

Christmas Storybook Land

Stop and visit Santa at the North Pole while strolling through an enchanted forest of scenes from favorite childhood books and Christmas stories. Created by local volunteers.

Historic Home Tours

Step back in time and inspect the interiors of some of Albany’s finest historical homes, churches and gardens. Twice a year, the Albany Historic Interior Tour Committee invites you to tour several of Albany’s historic homes, Churches and museums. The Summer Tour of Homes is always on the last Saturday of July, from 11 am to 5 pm.
The Christmas Parlor Tour is the second Sunday in December, from 2 to 7 pm.

Tour the parlors of several historic homes beautifully decorated and experience the sights and sounds of the Victorian holiday. Ticket prices for both events include refreshments, live entertainment and trolley & horse-drawn wagon rides.

Recreation & Culture
The recreational opportunities available in and around Albany are limited only by your imagination.

Fishing & Hunting
With the Oregon coast just an hour away and bountiful streams nearby, anglers can choose from outstanding ocean or freshwater fishing. Hunting for black tail deer, elk, grouse, pheasant, quail and duck keep hunters out in the countryside a large part of
the year.

Parks

The Albany Parks and Recreation Department operates 34 parks, open spaces, and trails (covering more than 735 acres),as well as a senior center, a preschool, a skate park, indoor and outdoor pools and a 12,000 seat outdoor amphitheater. Picnicking, swimming, boating and a wide variety of activities can be enjoyed in these beautiful settings as well as the many parks and recreational areas operated by Linn and Benton County. Albany Parks and Recreation also provides a wide array of public events and recreation programs to meet the needs of residents and visitors alike.

Sports

The Albany Parks and Recreation Department sponsors a wide variety of recreation programs and special events for people of all ages, from organized sports to classes and special outings. A very active Boys and Girls Club and the Mid-Willamette Valley YMCA also offer excellent sporting opportunities.
For those people looking for major college athletic events, there are sporting events at Linn-Benton Community College and two nearby PAC-10 colleges: Oregon State University in Corvallis and the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Golf Courses
The Golf Club of Oregon: 18 holes – Public
Spring Hill Country Club: 18 holes – Private

Theater
Linn Benton Community College’s Russell Tripp Performance Center seats more than 400 and hosts an array of community and student productions. The Albany Civic Theater (ACT) presents outstanding performances that appeal to all types of audiences.

Dance
Albany Parks and Recreation provides ballroom dance, jazz and other aerobic programs. Private dance studios offer tap, ballet and jazz dancing lessons.

Antiques

Indulge in historic Albany and visit our local antique shops or stop by during Antiques and Art in the Streets held each September in historic downtown.


Albany’s History

For approximately 5,000 years, Albany and the Willamette Valley were inhabited and hunted by Kalapuya Indians. The donation Land Claim Act of the 1800’s granted acreage to each white male citizen who was at least 18 years of age. Hiram Smead and Abner Hackleman staked their claims at the confluence of the Calapooia and Willamette Rivers. The new town was christened in honor of the Monteith’s hometown of Albany, New York. In 1849, the Monteith’s built for their own use Albany’s first frame house, which still stands today as a museum.

In 1850, Abner Hackleman’s son Abram laid out 70 acres on the east side of Albany for future development. That year Albany’s first post office was opened, and a year later a church group was established. In 1851, Albany was designated as the county seat and the town school was established. A two-story octagon courthouse was built in 1853 on land donated by the Monteith’s where today, the current courthouse sits.

The current Albany Democrat Herald started as the town’s first newspaper, the Oregon Democrat. It was founded by Delazon Smith, who became one of Oregon’s first U.S. Senators.

The steamboat "Multnomah" came to town via the Willamette in 1852, the stage in 1860 and the locomotive in 1871 (by 1921, 28 passenger trains left daily in five different directions), dubbing Albany as "Hub City". The highways and airport were constructed in the first half of the 1900s.

Albany is credited by historians and architects with having the most varied collection of historic buildings in Oregon. Albany’s historic collection includes everything from the colorful Queen Annes, the "painted ladies" of historic homes to the Craftsman Bungalows that feature a variety of natural materials. It is also home to museums, antique shops and over 700 historic buildings. This collection includes styles from the 1840s through the late 1920s and is concentrated within an area of approximately one hundred square blocks. Four Albany Historic Districts are listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

PHONE GUIDE

(All numbers have a 541 area code, unless otherwise noted)

Albany City Hall
333 Broadalbin SW 917-7500
City Council meetings are held the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:15 PM. in the council chambers at City Hall.

City of Albany
Albany Public Library (main) 917-7580
Animal Control 967-3925
Albany Transit 917-7667
City Hall 917-7500
Fire Dept. Information 917-7700
Linn-Benton Loop Bus 917-7667
Mayor/City Manager 917-7501
Municipal Court 917-7740
Parks & Recreation 917-7777
Planning/Zoning 917-7550
Police Dept. Information 917-7680
Public Works 917-7676
Senior Center 917-7760

South Albany Community Pool 967-4521
Swanson Cool Pool 917-7751

Benton County Courthouse

120 NW 4th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

766-6828

Benton County Offices

Assessor 766-6855

Building/Planning Dept. 766-6819

Board of Commissioners 766-6800

County Clerk 766-6890

District Attorney766-6815

Extension Service 766-6750

Health Department 766-6835

Benton County Fair & Expo 766-6521

Parks Department 766-6871

Property Tax 766-6970

Sheriff’s Dept. 766-6858

Veterans Service 758-1595

Voters Registration 766-6756

Linn County Courthouse
300 Fourth Ave. SW

Albany, OR 97321
967-3802

Linn County Offices
Assessor 967-3808
Building /Planning Dept. 967-3816
Board of Commissioners 967-3825
County Clerk 967-3831
District Attorney 967-3836
Extension Service 967-3871
Health Department 967-3866
Linn County Fair & Expo 926-4314
Parks Department 967-3917
Property Tax 967-3808
Sheriff’s Dept. 967-3911
Veterans Service 967-3882
Voter Registration 967-3831

Education
Greater Albany Public Schools Administration 967-4501
Linfield Adult Degree Program 917-4846
Linn Benton Community College 917-4999

LBCC Health Occupations and Workforce Education 917-4923
Oregon State University 737-1000
Santiam Christian School 745-5524

Pre-School

Sundborn Children's House-A Montessori School 926-9668
YMCA 926-4488

Utilities

Garbage Service
Allied Waste of Albany-Lebanon 928-2551

Gas & Electricity
NW Natural 926-4253
Pacific Power 888-221-7070

Internet Service Provider

Peak Internet 754-7325

Comcast 757- 1011

Qwest 800-244-1111

Phone Service

Eschelon Telecom, Inc. 503-485-8206

Qwest Communications
Home 1-800-244-1111
Business 1-800-603-6000

Albany Family & Specialty Medicine 967-8221

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center 768-5111
Samaritan Albany General Hospital 812-4000
Physicians Referral Network 800-863-5241

State of Oregon
Attorney General Consumer Protection Hotline 1-877-877-9392

Better Business Bureau 503-212-3022
Courts 967-3848
Department of Motor Vehicles 967-2014
Employment Dept. 967-2171

Governor’s Office 503-378-4582
Highway Department 967-2139

Linn County Commissioner 967-3825
Oregon State Police 926-2026
State Capitol 503-926-1388

Federal Government
IRS 1-800-829-1040
Post Office 967-1927
Social Security Administration 1-800-772-1213

Voter Information

Benton County 766-6756

Linn County 967-3831

Emergency Numbers
Ambulance, Fire, Police
(local & state), Sheriff 911

Business/Community Organizations
Albany Area Chamber of Commerce 926-1517
(business and community information available)
Albany Downtown Association 928-2469
Albany Millersburg Economic Development Corp. 926-1519
Albany Visitors Association 928-0911