Hidden behind the office buildings of Washington Avenue is a pretty boring parking lot, but the location is rich with fascinating history.

At the turn of the 20th century, the whole strip was a residential street made up of homes and carriage houses.

Until it wasn't.

In 1907, a slow-moving landslide forced residents from their homes on Elk Street and a portion of South Swan Street that didn't even have a road.

While the city of Albany was installing a new sewer system, the ground loosened and claimed the entire block.

By 1910, the unusable piece of land was renamed Sheridan Park, but quickly became known as "Landslide Park" and became a hotbed for horse racing.

Not long after, Albany commissioned a new look for the area that never panned out. In 1923, it became an important "what if" footnote in Albany history that gained statewide appeal.

Next time, we'll dig deeper into exactly what that was.