"There's a lot of redevelopment going on," said Jill Delaney, the President and CEO of Discover of Albany, about Quackenbush Square. "This is the start of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative neighborhood, so this is part of that, and you're seeing some of that construction now. So I'm sure that if you were to ask Mayor Sheehan it's probably part of that big picture redevelopment that she has."

Taking over the space where the exhibit and planetarium is will be the American Heritage Museum. The visitors center will remain on the other side of that, and they're hoping to revitalize the space.

"We currently offer walking tours, and we will continue to do that and add new programs, and we will restructure some of our school programs as well," said Quandt. "So that maybe we do some walking tours and some architecture programs, and we'll find ways to still share the history of the city."

The USS Albany Exhibit will remain open to visitors.