Schenectady

You know your city has suffered some serious blows to its psyche when it has become necessary to point out that it doesn't, um, suck.

Paris doesn't suck? Of course. San Francisco? Ditto.

But I think we all can all concede that Schenectady is not Paris or San Francisco, and we all have heard people participate in the unfortunate local pastime known as Schenectady bashing.

Kelly Marr, who lives and works in Schenectady, heard so much negativity about the city from her co-workers that she felt compelled to counteract it. So she started an Instagram account dedicated to photos of the better side of Schenectady — and proving that the city doesn't, in fact, suck.

No doubt, the online world is an intensely negative place. Post a photo of a rose and some nasty Dan will come along to call you a bone-headed moron who knows nothing about floriculture.

But Marr's page is uplifting. And its positivity might explain why @schenectadydoesntsuck quickly found an audience. It has more than 3,000 followers.

Marr launched the account in April of last year, and at the time she couldn't have imagined the scene that confronted her Thursday night: Fans of her account were gathered for an exhibit of its photographs, taken by Marr and others.

Where did this celebration of Schenectady occur?

Rotterdam Junction.

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Well, whatever. There's no reason Schenectady shouldn't be celebrated outside city limits.

And actually, several of the displayed photographs were of natural wonders and pastoral sites that are near the city but not in it. Many more were of the city — including, of course, Jay and State streets and the reviving downtown.

I asked Marr if she sensed that the perception of Schenectady is changing. The 27-year-old conceded she was too biased about the city to objectively assess that, but added that it should be changing.

"I just love the comeback it's making," said Marr, who grew up in Burnt Hills and remembers the Schenectady of her teen years as a city that barely had a pulse. "There are a lot of good things happening now."

As I left Marr's exhibit at Mabee Farm, I realized that it had been too long since I'd seen Schenectady at night. So I took Interstate 890 into the city, rolling past that iconic General Electric sign and up a newly remade Erie Boulevard.

I took a left into the Stockade, a neighborhood with no local rival for historic beauty. I went up State Street, past Proctors and the bright lights of the new buildings and restaurants. I cut over to Union Street, past the college and the lovely residential boulevards nearby. I hit a few red lights along upper Union, the region's best neighborhood business district, before exiting the city.

My mini-tour proved that Marr has it right. Schenectady certainly does not suck.

OK, I realize the path I traveled would please the Chamber of Commerce. Maybe it didn't provide a fully realistic view of the city.

I know that many of you — former residents, especially — can only see what Schenectady lost during its decades of decline. Maybe it's true that the city will never again be what it was. And yes, there are aspects of Schenectady that are downright depressing.

Blocks of slumping homes. Neighborhoods unaffected by the downtown revival. Crime that too often erupts without warning. Insane property taxes that drive away homeowners.

And what of the coming casino?

The jury is out, though I'm skeptical that it will do much for the city.

But for now, I'm going to follow Marr's lead and stay positive.

We're too hard on our cities around here, casually tossing out epithets like Smallbany or Troylet. The truth is that we have little gems in our hands, but we're often either blind to their charms or are too settled into the easy sterility of cul-de-sac comfort.

I should mention that Marr's page doesn't present an overly idealized, postcard view of the city. Many of its photos highlight Schenectady's gritty, intense spirit or architectural details that might otherwise escape notice.

It also doesn't shy away from photos of the city's problems. But it refuses to accept those problems with a dying city's resignation, instead focusing on the fight to keep Schenectady rising.

Included in the ongoing exhibit, for example, is a shot of a packed Proctors during an anti-poverty conference.

"All of these people are dedicated to fighting Schenectady's poverty problem," the photo caption says, "and that doesn't suck."

cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5442 • @chris_churchill