Latham is a hamlet in Upstate New York, north of Albany, along U.S. Route 9. It is located in the Town of Colonie. The latitude of Latham's center is 42.746N. The longitude is 73.759W.
Latham's terrain is mostly a hilly mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, with some ponds, creeks and swamps, including several protected water courses and New York State Wetlands. Streams east of Old Loudon Road and U.S. Route 9 generally drain into the Hudson River; West of Old Loudon Road and U.S. Route 9, the hamlet's watercourses drain into the Mohawk River.
While Colonie's hamlets do not have specifically demarcated borders, Latham is generally considered to include: the areas adjacent to U.S. Route 9, Interstate 87, and New York State Route 2, Route 7 and Route 155; between the City of Watervliet to the east; Albany International Airport, the Colonie hamlet of Verdoy and the Town of Niskayuna (in Schenectady County) to the west; the Colonie hamlet of Boght Corners and the City of Cohoes to the north; and the Colonie hamlets of Newtonville and Loudonville to the South.
Latham and its surroundings were settled by the Dutch in the early 17th Century. The area was known at different times in it history as Yearsley's (c. 1829), Van Vranken's (c. 1851), Town House Corners (c. 1866) and Latham's Corners, named after hotel owner William G. Latham. The "corner" in question is now the intersection of Troy-Schenectady Road and Old Loudon Road, near the location of the former Fannie's Restaurant.
Latham's most conspicuous features are its red-and-white checkered water towers, the larger of which bears the hamlet's name, and Latham Circle, a once-notorious traffic circle located near the site of the original Latham's Corners. The circle was recently modified to be more like a modern roundabout, greatly improving its safety. Trees were once planted within the center of the roundabout, which plunges sharply down to an underpass, but the trees quickly withered and died.
Today, Latham Circle is home to the Circle Diner (a modern recreation of the classic chrome diners of the 1950s) and Roxy Cleaners, which possesses authentic 1950s neon styling, as well as a small strip mall, a bank and Latham Circle Mall. Nearby, the derelict Latham School stands abandoned, its students long since transferred to newer facilities within the North Colonie Central Schools District in the 1960s.
Latham Circle Mall was one of America's earliest indoor shopping malls. While this retail destination remains open to this day, it has been in physical and financial decline for well over a decade, primarily since the opening of the sprawling Crossgates Mall in nearby Guilderland, as well as the nearby Latham Farms big box store complex.
Latham is also home to Hoffman's Playland, a small, regional amusement park offering simple rides and games for children, including an operating miniature scale train; it is a relic of the "roadside vernacular" from days when Route 9 was the major north-south route through the region. The Playland is part of the larger Hoffman's complex which at various times has included an old-fashioned ice cream and soda fountain, a miniature golf course, a driving green and a carwash. Recently, the miniature golf course has been upgraded, and plans have been announced to demolish the driving range to build a new integrated development of apartments and businesses.
Other sites of historic or geologic interest in Latham include several small historic cemeteries now surrounded by retail or residential developments, and a sequence of slate and shale cliffs and canyons behind Shaker High School (from which nearby Blue Creek Elementary School takes it name) and between Haswell Road and New York State Route 2. Some of these sites are now on private property, and require owners' or town clearance for access.
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