would pay off the bonds until 2004. It was Rockefeller's only viable option, and he agreed. Due to the clout Corning gained from the situation, he gained agreement for construction of the State Museum, a convention center, and a restaurant, as part of these plans; these were projects which Rockefeller had originally vetoed. The county gained $35 million in fees and the city received $13 million for lost tax revenue. Another major project of the 1960s and 1970s was Interstate 787 and the South Mall Arterial, part of massive highway building across the country in this period. Construction began in the early 1960s. As happened in other places, the highway project had the adverse effect of cutting off the city from the Hudson River, which was the basis of its settlement. Corning has been called shortsighted for his failure to use the waterfront as an attraction for the city. He could have used his influence to change the location of I-787, which cuts the city off from "its whole raison d'être". Much of the original highway plan was never constructed, however: Rockefeller had wanted the South Mall Arterial to pass through the Empire State Plaza. The project would have required an underground trumpet interchange below Washington Park, connecting to the (eventually cancelled) Mid-Crosstown Arterial. To this day, evidence of the original plan is still visible. In 1967 the hamlet of Karlsfeld became the last annexation to be added to the city limits, having come from Bethlehem. After Corning died in 1983, Thomas Whalen assumed the mayorship and was reelected twice. He gained federal dollars earmarked for restoring historic structures. What Corning had saved from destruction, Whalen refurbished. In addition, the Mayor's Office of Special Events was created in an effort to increase the number of festivals and artistic events in the city, including a year-long Dongan Charter tricentennial celebration in 1986. Whalen is credited for an "unparalleled cycle of commercial investment and development" in Albany due to his "aggressive business development programs". Prior to the recession of the 1990s, Albany was home to two Fortune 500 companies: KeyBank and Fleet Bank; both have since moved or merged with other banks. After the death of Corning and the retirement of Congressman Sam Stratton, the political climate changed in Albany. There was more pressure on officeholders and voters regularly changed allegiances in the 1980s. Local media began following the drama surrounding county