Upper Union Street
Small, established residential pocket north of Washington Park — Tudor homes, mature trees, and one small hotel-adjacent stay option.
Tudor and brick homes along a quiet residential street in Upper Union
Why people stay in Upper Union Street
Upper Union Street is a small residential neighborhood in the far northwest of Albany city, generally the streets north of Western Avenue and west of Manning Boulevard. It overlaps with the edges of Pine Hills and Whitehall. What defines it are the houses — 1920s and 1930s Tudors, Colonial Revivals, brick center-halls with slate roofs, deep lawns. It looks like a suburb inside the city.
For a visitor, Upper Union is a quiet-and-safe alternative to Pine Hills, without student activity but also without commerce. There's essentially nothing to walk to except the residential streets themselves and a few small businesses along Whitehall Road. Suits families with a car, older travelers, medical visitors staying near Albany Medical Center or St. Peter's Hospital. Skip it if you want to walk to restaurants at night — you don’t have that here.
Very limited traditional inventory — a small inn or two along Western Avenue and short-term rentals in the residential blocks, $105-155 a night. Best streets for rentals are Whitehall Road east of Manning, Berkshire Boulevard, and the Krank Park adjacent blocks. Avoid rentals right on Western Avenue itself — traffic noise is significant, though price is lower.
What to see
Hotels in Upper Union Street
Getting around Upper Union Street
CDTA bus 10 along Madison Avenue and bus 138 along Central Avenue both put you downtown in 20 minutes for $1.50. From the airport, cab is $22 or a 15-minute drive. From Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak, Uber is $20. This neighborhood really assumes you have a car — public transit works but requires walks to the main avenues. Free residential parking is easy.
Questions about Upper Union Street
It's a 10-minute drive or 20-minute bus ride to Albany Med and St. Peter's Hospital. Many medical visitors and out-of-town patients stay in this area for the combination of quiet blocks, easy parking and hospital access.
Upper Union is quieter, more suburban in feel, less student presence, and further from downtown. Pine Hills has commerce (pizza places, coffee shops, the Madison Ave strip) and college activity. Upper Union has none of that but has bigger houses and mature trees.
