Arbor Hill Historic District–Ten Broeck Triangle
Open space within the district include a few vacant lots and parking lots. Most are planned however, such as Van Rensselaer Park, the neighboring space around the church known as St. Joseph's park, and the large parcel at the district's northeast corner where the Ten Broeck Mansion and its gardens (and formerly carriage house) are located. Mature trees are abundant throughout. Topographically the district rises almost a hundred feet (30 m) from its eastern and southern edges to level terrain along North Swan between Second and Third. This reflects the ravines that existed there when Albany was first settled, later partially filled in to facilitate development, now the neighborhood of Sheridan Hollow, which separates Arbor Hill and the district from downtown Albany.
Arbor Hill Historic District–Ten Broeck Triangle
The northward expansion of the city envisioned by the elder van Rensselaer finally came to pass after 1825, when the Erie Canal was opened. Many new arrivals to the city, drawn by the canal and its economic opportunities, needed places to live and work. They looked north, along Broadway and North Pearl. Some found the mansion neighborhood and the blocks to its west to their liking, enough that city directories of the period show a few residents and businessmen listing "Arbor Hill" as their address. During the 1830s, they built some of the first houses in the district after the mansion. A few from this period, such as 10 Ten Broeck Place and 31 Second Street, survive. Similarly, the mixed-use Greek Revival buildings around the intersection of Second and South Swan were built in the early 1840s.