The photos on
this page show the NEW Home of the American Italian Heritage
Association. Located at 1227 Central Avenue in Albany, this
building was formerly the Church of Our Lady of Mercy and
has retained some of the original architectural details on
its second floor. On the campus is the former church, the
former Rectory, 3 floors and another 1 story building.
The former rectory and 1 story building are zoned for
commercial space. We currently have two tenants, The
Second Chance Thrift Shop and rental
space is still available. It would be great if we could rent
them to Italian related businesses and with the Museum &
Cultural Center we would have a Italian theme campus,
village etc. These buildings are all nestled within the
beautiful surrounding grounds. (Our Lady of Mercy has built
a new church and rectory about a block away from its former
home).
The building for The National American Italian Heritage
Museum & Cultural Center has 5900 sq ft. On the first floor
our Museum (3900 sq ft) honors and tells
the Italian Immigrant Story and their contributions. We will
also display the contributions of Italian Americans. The
second floor (1900 sq ft)contains the Cultural Center
with a library, hall, Chapel and class rooms for all types
of classes: language, cultural, genealogy, cooking etc. for
all age groups and open to the public.
"No museum is able to support itself with admissions alone.
We will have many fund raisers, have a gift shop, request
yearly donations, give you the opportunity to honor a loved
one (on a plaque, name a room in their memory, their name on
the Immigrant Wall of Honor, in our Book of Memory, etc.) In
our Cultural Center we will offer programs and classes for
children and adults. The Second Chance Thrift Shop is
now a very popular location for those who love to shop for a
bargin. The thrift shop has become a great fund raising
venue for our organization.
The Complex is located about a mile from the Albany city
line. Central Avenue is one of the main avenues of our city
with a great deal of traffic passing our Complex. It is also
on the main bus line and we are also close to the NY State
Thruway and US 90. The location makes it perfect for our
needs."