In 1854, the Christian Brothers were invited to Albany by Bishop McCloskey, to open an orphan asylum for boys on Western Avenue. To help support the asylum, the Brothers began a pay school in 1859, in which eighty boys enrolled. This was the beginning of the present Christian Brothers Academy. Stagecoaches carried the boys from downtown to the school’s rural location. After a few years, a separate building on Madison Avenue was secured for CBA. In 1869, CBA was chartered by the University of the State of New York and a brass band was incorporated at the school. Over the next twenty years, the school outgrew its facilities several times. Each time, it relocated to a larger site. In 1882, the school moved to Lydius Street and in 1886, the Brothers purchased the former Normal College at 43 Lodge Street from the State Education Department. Classes were conducted in this building for the next fifty-one years.

The year 1892 saw military training introduced to Christian Brothers Academy, and the Civil War Zouave uniform was adopted for the cadets. Enrollment at Lodge Street followed a pattern of ups and downs. Since the lack of a suitable campus did not help attract students, the building itself became a liability.

In 1935, the Brothers realized that the dilapidated structure, nearly a century old, could no longer support the school's necessary new programs. They began a movement to secure property and funds to erect a new and modern building. Through the interest of influential friends and alumni, city and county officials in 1937 made available to the Brothers a very sizable piece of land in recognition of the cultural and civic training the Academy had given to the boys of Albany for seventy-eight years. Popular response to the fund drive was immediate and generous. Bishop Gibbons and Mayor John Boyd Thatcher II urged all citizens of Albany to contribute to the cause. Also in 1937, CBA was accredited as a military academy by the United States government.

The De La Salle campus, featuring the Georgian Colonial school building, was opened in September, 1939 in time for CBA's eightieth year. The gymnasium building was added in 1942, and the Brothers' Residence in 1951. The old "alm's house" building on the new University Heights campus, popularly called "the Armory", initially housed the Rifle Range in its basement and the upper floors served as an arms room and military classroom. In later years, a Biology laboratory was added to the lower floor. One unique feature of the lab was the inclusion of live animals, which were cared for by the students. Also a mainstay to this building was “the cage”, which served as the locker room for the football and track programs.

Eventually, the De La Salle site was in need of updating and refurbishing. The University Heights Consortium made an attractive offer for the property and plans were made to move CBA to the Town of Colonie. The new campus on Airline Drive has incorporated current technological advancements into its design and structure. Four science labs, a technology center, as well as a Lecture Hall equipped with all the latest media tools, are available to faculty and students. Playing fields located on the 126 acres offer the student body ample opportunity to engage in a wide variety of activities.

Today's CBA offers a college preparatory program for young men in grades 6 through 12. The faculty of Christian Brothers, laymen and women provides a disciplined atmosphere for personal growth. Slightly less than one-half of the boys come from the city of Albany, while some travel upwards of forty miles from their homes to be a part of the CBA program and the CBA tradition.

CBA can be proud of its almost seven thousand living alumni, hundreds of whom are found in the professional fields of medicine, law, and engineering. Hundreds more are leaders in business, commerce, manufacturing, government, education and the clergy. The vast majority of CBA alumni have remained within the Capital District region.