This 172 acre park is centrally located in the county and a perfect spot for group picnics. The Great Hunger Memorial “A section of V.E. Macy Park has been renamed so that the history of the Irish who fled to Westchester in the 1840s to escape poverty and famine will never be forgotten".
Point of Interest: The Great Hunger Memorial
Parks attractions include: Picnicking, Playground, "The Great Hunger Memorial"
The Armonk Players is a community theatre group whose intention is to produce high quality theatre for the enjoyment and enrichment of its participants and the local population. We stage two full productions each year and offer four Simply Theatre play reading programs. At these readings, presented free to the public, we invite attendees to discuss the play with the director and actors afterwards over coffee and cake.
All performances are at the Whippoorwill Hall auditorium adjacent to The North Castle Public Library in Armonk, NY. The Armonk Players is sponsored by Friends of the North Castle Public Library, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise money for purchasing "extras" for The North Castle Public Library and to bring cultural and educational events to the community. Press "Blue Button" for The Armonk Players Production Schedule, Audition Notices, Past Productions and more.
The Bedford Historic Courthouse c1787 is located in Bedford Village. The Court House is the oldest Westchester County Government Building and one of only three Court Houses in New York State built before 1800. It is Bedford's historic landmark of the days from 1788 to 1870 when Bedford was a county seat more populous than White Plains. The Court House was restored once in 1889 and again between 1965 and 1970 when its Court Room was returned to its original dignity. The Bedford Museum is housed on the second floor. The Town owns the building and the Historical Society maintains the interior and operates the museums that are open to the public from May to October. Press "Blue Button" for the Bedford Historical Society and more historic properties.
The General Store c1838 is located in Bedford Village. Country store, post office and for many years an antique shop, this small building stood originally on Pound Ridge Road. It was moved to its current site next to the Old Burying Ground in 1890. Purchased by the Bedford Historical Society in 1968, it is currently leased to Travel Trends and G. Henschel, Architects. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
Bedford Historic Hall is located in Bedford Village. Bedford Historic Hall was moved to its present site in 1837 by twenty yoke of oxen. Historical Hall was the impetus for the founding of the Bedford Historical Society. In 1916, a group of citizens purchased the building to preserve it and prevent it from being turned into a tenement. It has been improved and maintained by the Society ever since and is used for private parties, meetings and exhibitions.
Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The Jackson House c1857 is located in Bedford Village. The corner property on Court Road was purchased by the Society in 1946 to protect the adjacent Court House. Built by George W. Jackson, the house was owned in the 1860's and 1870's by the town's livery stable proprietor, Cyrus K. Saunders, who also ran the stage to Bedford Station, now Bedford Hills. In 1998, the original building underwent extensive structural and cosmetic renovations; in 2001, the annex was restored and in 2006, the two interior spaces were reconnected. The building is currently leased to Wendy's Closet, a women's clothing store. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The Bedford Historic Library c1807 is located in Bedford Village. Until 1902, this was the Bedford Academy, one of Westchester's first classical schools. The Corporation of Bedford Academy gave the building to the Historical Society in 1972. It is currently leased for $1 a year to the Bedford Free Library who is responsible for its maintenance. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The Lounsbery Building c1906 is located in Bedford Village. Also of Greek Revival style, the store adjoining the Post Office was put up by Richard P. Lounsbery to replace a nearby one that had been burned down. It was the village A & P for many years. In 1972, it was purchased by the Society who maintains its offices on the second floor. The ground floor is currently leased to the Horse Connection. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The Post Office c1838 is located in Bedford Village. An example of Greek Revival style, the Post Office was originally a harness shop. It has been the village Post Office since around 1900. It first stood next to the Library but was moved in 1930 to make room for the Fire House. It was purchased in 1972 by the Society and enlarged in 1975 so that the Post Office could remain in the village.
Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The School House c1829 is located in Bedford Village. This small stone building on the Green, often called the Stone Jug, was the village school from 1829 to 1912. From 1913 to 1969 it housed the Bedford Museum which was moved to the second floor of the renovated Court House. The School House was then restored to its original use as a 19th century one-room school. It is open to the public from May to October.
Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
The Bedford Historical Society is a non-profit, educational institution committed to preserving our historic Town and original Village Green, to educating students of all ages in Bedford's unique history and to interpreting our collections for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.
In addition to operating and maintaining our historic buildings, we open our two museums to the public from April to December with the help of our devoted volunteers. The Society also sponsors lectures of historical and community interest, educational tours, special exhibits of our collections, and special events that promote an appreciation of our history. We work to preserve and collect our local historic treasures and to provide educational information to those studying local history. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
At the comer of Guard Hill and Succabone Roads stands a tall, handsome brick tower which is a landmark and a source of joy and some amusement to the townspeople. This is the famous Sutton Clock Tower, and this is the story behind it.
In the late 1880s when the Sutton family moved to their country home in Bedford, Mrs. Sutton was homesick for New York City. Among other things, she missed the sound of the city's church bells. Thereupon Mr. Sutton installed in his barn a huge clock, an E. Howard time and strike model with a 550-pound bell. After Mrs. Sutton’s death, the property was sold. The barn was dismantled but the clock and bell were rescued and in 1939 a group of neighbors raised $3000 to build a tower to house the clock. They then donated the tower to the Town of Bedford. Since 1985, the Historical Society has leased the tower and maintains the clock. A small group of neighbors, known as the Clock Winders, takes turns winding the clock, which is accurate to this day as the chimes ring the hours across the surrounding fields and meadows.
Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Bedford Historical Society and its historic properties.
Croton Point Park is a 508 acre park situated on a peninsula on the east shore of the Hudson River. This park offers year-round events and activities, including: camping, hiking, and swimming. Also, home of wine cellars, thought to be the oldest in New York State, and the Croton Point Nature Center which offers a year-round schedule of interpretive programs.
Parks Attractions Boat Launch Cabin Rental, RV Camping, and Tent Camping Cross Country Skiing Fishing Hiking / Walking Historic Wine Cellars Museum Nature Study Pavilions Picnicking Playground Swimming Beach
Van Cortlandt Manor, situated on the banks of the Croton River in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, is a working estate and elegant country house that brings the new nation period vividly to life. The history of the estate is richly documented and the manor house contains primarily original furnishings, which provides an element of authenticity rarely seen in house museums.
A National Historic Landmark, the 18th-century stone manor house is the centerpiece of the property. It features a fine collection of Georgian and Federal period furnishings, many original to Van Cortlandt Manor. Of particular note is an extraordinary kitchen on the ground floor, with original hearth, beehive oven, and extensive collection of cooking equipment and utensils. Also on the grounds is an 18th-century tavern situated on the historic Albany Post Road at the site of a ferry crossing over the Croton River. The tavern showcases an extraordinary collection of vernacular Hudson River Valley furnishings and evokes fascinating tales of travel and transport in the post-revolutionary period. Press "Blue Button" for photos and more information about Van Cortlandt Manor.
Attractions Gardens Guided tours of the house and grounds Stone manor house Tenant farmer's house and tavern
The word is: Great fun for the kids and children of all ages, as costumed guides demonstrate and invite visitors to try blacksmithing, brick making, open-hearth cooking and more from the past.
Oscawana Island Nature Preserve is located at Furnace Dock Road, Off Route 9, Cortlandt 10567. Oscawana is a natural Hudson River waterfront park that is bisected by Furnace Dock Road and the Hudson Division Railroad Line. Oscawana Island lies along the Hudson River. This is an excellent spot for birding and possibly sighting a Bald Eagle in winter. The park also has tidal marshlands frequented by Least Bittern and a newly grown forest that contains a river flowing through the mid-northern section.
To find Oscawana Island: Take Route 9 to the Montrose/Bucannan exit. Furnace Dock Road is just south of the exit on Route 9A. Take Furnace Dock Road 1.1 miles to the parking area. Listen for Least bittern near the parking area. A trail leads to the island. The main trail leads over the railroad tracks to the Hudson River.
During the 1830s New York City was in dire need of a fresh water supply to combat the steady rise of disease and to fight fires. In 1837 a 41 mile aqueduct and dam was designed in order to run water from the Croton River to New York City. Three to four thousand workers, mostly Irish immigrants earning up to $1.00 per day, completed the masonry marvel in just five years.
The Red Monkey Theater Group is located at 22 Main Street #2 in Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522. Founded in 1999, the Red Monkey Theater Group (RMTG) is a non-profit performing arts company dedicated to enriching local communities through the cultivation, creation, and presentation of live theater.
Through innovative staging, original music, and the talent and dedication of accomplished actors, each production offers performers and audience members a chance to share in a live theatrical exploration of powerful themes and provocative questions. Press "Blue Button" for reviews, current and upcoming Productions, and the Red Monkey Theater Group website.
Chester Heights Park located at Oregon Avenue in Eastchester is a five-acre park. Park contains a softball field, a basketball court and a state of the art playground.
Parks attractions include: Ball Fields, Basketball Court, Playground
Cooper Field Park located on Locust Avenue in Eastchester is an open playfield and softball field on four acres in the north end of the Town. A small "tot lot" is also featured.
Parks attractions include: Open Playfield, Softball Field, Tot Lot
Dunwoodie Park located at Dunwoodie Street in Eastchester, is a seven-acre park consisting of Saggese field, an official Pony-Colt baseball field, a basketball court, and a large playfield for soccer, softball, or football.
Park Attractions Baseball field Basketball court Ball fields
Garth Road Park located at Garth Road in Eastchester, includes O'Rourke Field, an official Little League field, climbing apparatus, swings, slides, benches, two basketball courts, checker tables and picnic tables.
Parks attractions include: Basketball Courts, Checker Tables, Picnic Tables, Playground
Haindl Recreation Park is located at Brunham Road and Rescigno Drive. There are two fields that can be used for softball, soccer or football on this four and half-acres of parkland. There are also picnic tables under the trees.
Parks attractions include: Softball, Soccer, & Football Fields, Picnicking
Joyce Road Park located at Joyce Road in Eastchester has a small playfield, climbing apparatus, benches and a sandbox on this two-thirds of an acre. A climbing structure and additional benches have been added.
Labriola Park located at the end of Burnham Road in Eastchester has two Little League size ballfields and one smaller children's ballfield that can be used for softball. Picnic tables are available. Group picnics can be held but must be reserved through the Recreation & Parks office. There is a charge for group picnics.
Parks attractions include: Little Leaque Ballfields, Softball Field, Picnicking, Restrooms,
Leewood Park located on Leewood Drive in Eastchester has six all-weather tennis courts and two paddle tennis courts. Permits for tennis and paddle tennis are available at the Recreation and Parks office. There is also a basketball court, outdoor volleyball courts, an official horseshoe court and tennis backboard. The ballfield and playground were recently renovated and enlarged.
The Westchester Broadway Theatre offers an evening of theatre and dining all under one roof. Take your seats, dine and then get ready for great entertainment. The Westchester Broadway Theatre is the longest running year round professional theatre in the State of New York. It provides you with the best in Broadway entertainment and fine dining. Enjoy a "Broadway Show" this season or try a "One Night Only Event". The Westchester Broadway Theater, also known as The Westchester Dinner Theatre, and is also an Historic Site. Press "Blue Button" for more about The Westchester Broadway (Dinner) Theatre.
The Irvington Town Hall Theater is located at 85 Main Street, Irvington, New York 10533. The Irvington Town Hall Theater was built in 1902 in the Classic Revival Style. Designed by A. J. Manning and patterned after the Ford Theater in Washington, DC, the Theater is a multipurpose concert hall/music theater located on the entire third floor of Town Hall in downtown Irvington, New York. The 432-seat theater features an orchestra, mezzanine, balcony and six charming gold leafed boxes, a proscenium stage and thrust complete with five backstage dressing rooms. Theater patrons sit in intimate ambiance. Gleaming white columns and Ionic capitals set off the warm ivory interior. The walls are wainscoted in warm oak. Victorian chandeliers and sconces were copied from the originals, during the restoration to its original elegance in 1980. A plush red stage curtain and a forty-two foot high skylight complete the setting. Architecturally significant, the Theater is listed on the national Register of Historic Places.
With pleasing proportions and marvelous acoustics, the Theater has been touted as “one of the finest municipal halls in eastern New York State” by Alvah French History of Westchester County, “A jewel of a theater on the Hudson” by Robert Sherman New York Times and “Acoustically superb” by Lou Cevetillo Opera Critic Gannett Newspapers. Press "Blue Button" for the Irvington Town Hall Theater - Children's Theater, Box Office, House Map, and more.
Click to enlarge photo of Matthiessen Park in Irvington.
Matthiessen Park is set along the Hudson River in the village of Irvington-on-Hudson, NY. Relax, wade in the water (small beach front), picnic, look out at the Tappan Zee Bridge, or bring the children to play in the playground.
Matthiessen Park is also the location of Irvington's Riverside Concerts and Movies held in the summer.
Park Attractions Playground Shuffle Board Courts, Horse Shoe Pits, Bocce Court Spray Pool Picnic Tables, Barbecue Pits
The Yorktown Theatre Company, KJK Productions, is a non-profit organization that serves as the major resident theatre program at the Music Hall at Tarrytown. The Yorktown Theatre Company has produced several successful productions which have brought major classic Broadway musicals (including: The Music Man, Phantom, The Sound of Music, Christmas Carol, West Side Story) and live children's theatre to Tarrytown and nearby areas.
Caramoor Center for Music and Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY 10536 in the beautiful Hudson River Valley. Caramoor is a magnificent estate dedicated to the Performing Arts. Throughout the year, Caramoor offers musical experiences to be enjoyed by everyone. Programs include Great Artists in the Music Room, Caramoor Classics, Programs for Families, Caberet, Vocal Gala, Jazz, Festivals, and more.
Caramoor's House Museum has twenty rooms that are open to the public. These rooms are filled with an extraordinary collection of paintings, sculpture, tapestries, stained glass, furniture, cloisonné, and an important jade collection.
Brief History
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who established the estate and built a great house as its centerpiece, filling it with treasures collected on their travels. Walter Rosen was the master planner, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world. Their legendary musical evenings were the seeds of today's International Music Festival that is held annually on the estate.
The Rosens had two children, Walter and Anne. In 1944, during the Second World War, while flying for the RAF, Walter was killed returning from a raid in Germany. His absence from the house was keenly felt and it prompted his parents to act on their previously discussed plans to preserve the artistic and musical heritage of Caramoor. In 1945, the Rosens bequeathed the Caramoor estate as a center for music and art in memory of their son.
In the summer, come early, explore Caramoor's beautiful grounds, take a tour of the House Museum, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover wonderful music in a relaxed setting. With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where you can experience magical summer days and nights. Year round, select from the many venues and programs. Press "Blue Button" for Music Festival, House Museum and Gardens, Upcoming Concerts and more about Caramoor.
The John Jay Homestead State Historic Site is nestled in the rolling Westchester countryside in the town of Bedford. It is the gracious home and farm of John Jay (1745-1829), one of America's principal Founding Fathers. Jay co-authored the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, and the Federalist Papers, which aided ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He served as President of the Continental Congress, U.S. Secretary for Foreign Affairs, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the second governor of New York State. During many years of devoted service to the State and the Nation, he looked forward to the day when he would retire with his wife and children to "the house on my farm in Westchester County".
In 1958 the house and thirty of the original acres were purchased from Eleanor Jay Iselin’s heirs by Westchester County and transferred to the State of New York, which opened it to the public in 1964 as John Jay Homestead State Historic Site. The historic house is open most of the year, and can be seen by a guided tour through twelve beautifully furnished period rooms, restored to an 1820's appearance. Specialized tours and education programs are available by appointment. The historic site now encompasses sixty-two acres, including lovingly-tended formal gardens, magnificent woodland walks, rolling meadows, and a cluster of 19th century farm buildings. An 1820's schoolhouse and an 1830s barn are open for touring.
John Jay: First Chief-Justice of the United States John Jay during the latter part of his life resided in the northern part of Bedford, NY. The annexed sketch of his life is from Blake's Biographical Dictionary: "John Jay, LL.D., first chief-justice of the United States under the constitution of 1789, graduated at Kings, (now Columbia College) in 1764 and in 1768 was admitted to the bar. He was appointed to the first American congress in 1774. Being on the committee with Lee and Livingston to draft an address to the people of Great Britain, he was the writer of the eloquent production. In the congress of 1775, he was on various important committees, performing more service perhaps than any other member except Franklin and John Adams. In May, 1776, he was recalled to assist in forming the government of New York, and in consequence his name is not attached to the Declaration of Independence... Though not a member of the convention, which formed the constitution of the United States, he was present at Annapolis and aided by his advice. He also assisted Madison and Hamilton in writing the Federalist. In the convention of New York he contributed to the adoption of the constitution. He was appointed chief justice by Washington, December 26, 1789. In 1794, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, and succeeded in negotiating the treaty that still goes by his name. Chief-Justice John Jay was governor of the state of New York from 1795 to 1801. The remainder of his life passed in retirement. He died in 1829, aged 84."
Attractions Audio-Visual Programs Bridle Path Demonstrations Educational Services Gardens Gift Shop Group Tours Hiking Historic Site Interpretive Sign Picnic Area Scenic Views Self Guided Tours
Press "Blue Button" for more about John Jay Homestead.
The Katonah Museum of Art celebrates the unique pleasures of the visual arts as a non-collecting facility devoted to changing exhibitions and educational programs. In a building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the Museum originates six major exhibitions annually and offers an extensive range of activities to engage visitors of all ages. Exhibitions present the "best of art" from the past to the present, spanning the spectrum of cultures, media, historical periods, and social issues.
The many artists living in the area represent an important constituency for the Museum. A very active Katonah Museum Artists Association offers lectures, workshops, and other events of special interest to its more than 300 members. The Museum also presents tri-state juried exhibitions, selecting outstanding curators to serve as jurors.
Brief History: The Katonah Museum of Art was founded 50 years ago as The Katonah Gallery, a small volunteer-run institution dedicated to encouraging the enjoyment, appreciation, and study of the visual arts by visitors of all ages. The Gallery, initially located in a small room over the Katonah Village Library, was committed to presenting "the best of art from the past to the present" and, as a "teaching museum," to communicating the special pleasures of the visual arts to its visitors.
By the late 1980's, the need for expanded space became critical. The Museum launched $5 million capital campaign and engaged the distinguished architect, Edward Larrabee Barnes, to design its new home. In 1990, the renamed Katonah Museum of Art moved to its present site and hired its first Executive Director. The Museum's elegant new facility provided space for a more comprehensive treatment of exhibition material, a wider range of participatory art education activities, and a greater variety and frequency of public programs.
As it made this growth-driven expansion, the Katonah Museum of Art reaffirmed its commitment to its mission. It remains a non-collecting institution dedicated to the study, appreciation, and enjoyment of the visual arts. It remains committed to its innovative and challenging range of educational programs, its lively array of public programs, and its uniquely effective use of talented volunteers. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, The Learning Center, Programs and Events, and more about the Katonah Museum of Art.
Muscoot Farm is located at 51 Route 100 in Katonah, NY 10536. Muscoot Farm was originally a "Gentleman's Farm" owned by the Hopkins Family and used as their summer estate and dairy farm from 1880 to 1924. In 1924 the family moved to the farm year-round and continued the dairy business until 1967 when Westchester County acquired the property. Today, Muscoot Farm has many of the original buildings, some of which were moved to accommodate the Muscoot Reservoir. Visitors can walk through the Dairy Barn, Milk House, Ice House, BlacksmithShop and several other barns and buildings. Livestock and poultry are breeds typical of an early 20th century gentleman's farm and many represent minor (rare) breeds.
Muscoot Farm is an early-1900's interpretive farm owned and operated by the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Muscoot Farm is open year-round and offers a full schedule of programs for families, as well as tours, farmyard visits and hayrides for groups by reservation. More than seven miles of hiking trails allow visitors to explore some of Muscoot's 777 acres through fields, woodlands and wetlands. Trail maps are available in the Reception Center.
Parks Attractions Guided Farm Walking Tour Hayrides Herb Garden Hiking Trails Young Farmers Program (children grades 3 through 8)
The Emelin Theatre is a non-profit institution dedicated to enriching the lives of Westchester residents with a full range of performing arts programs. Since 1972, established artists with international reputations, young rising stars, community performers, and children have all graced our stage and become a part of the Emelin family.
The Emelin Theatre produces theatre that includes productions for Adults, Children and Musical Events to be enjoyed by all. Season productions may include: Bluegrass, Brazilian Jazz, Cabaret, Children's Theatre, Classical Music, Film Club, Plays, Acting Workshops and more.
The Winery at St. George is located at 1715 East Main Street on Route 6 in Mohegan Lake, NY 10547. St. George is a New York State winery nestled in the scenic Hudson Valley wine region. Our wine making operation, visitor’s center, and tasting room are housed in the historic Old St. George’s Church in beautiful Mohegan Lake. The winery will produce limited edition, high quality wines from grapes grown at Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown Heights. Our mission, our passion, is to advance environmentally sound organic agriculture while sustaining open land initiatives.
Planted on May 9th, 2007, the vineyard will be an integral part of Westchester County’s Conservation and Natural Resource Center. It boasts three grape varietals: Cabernet Franc, Seyval Blanc and Noiret (a Pinot Noir hybrid). We, the winemakers, look forward to years of abundant harvests and converting these fruits of labor into spectacular wines for all to enjoy. Press "Blue Button" for The Winery at St. George website.
Thomas Paine National Historical Association is located at 983 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804. The Thomas Paine National Historical Association, founded January 29, 1884 in New York City, is among the oldest historical associations in the United States. Our mission, to educate the world about the life, times and works of Thomas Paine, is designed to ensure Paine's rightful place in history as the preeminent founder of the United States of America. He was, in fact, the first person to coin this phrase. In the course of his lifetime, Paine was an outstanding political and social influence upon the entire world.
The Thomas Paine Memorial Building is located north of the Paine Monument at the corner of North Avenue and Valley Road in New Rochelle. The construction of this building began May 30,1925 when the great American inventor Thomas A. Edison turned the first spadeful of earth. For years this beautiful old building has housed our library and museum collection. Press "Blue Button" to explore the Thomas Paine National Historical Association website.
The Westchester Chamber Orchestra (WCO) is a fully professional orchestra, quickly becoming known in and outside of Westchester County for its first rate and inspiring performances, world class soloists, innovative programming and its world premiers of meaningful new works it has commissioned.
The Westchester Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1984 by its Artistic Director, Barry Charles Hoffman. For many years the WCO gave its concerts at various sites throughout Westchester County and in 1994 began its association with Iona College in New Rochelle, NY.
At Westchester Chamber Orchestra concerts, great performances of the standard repertoire are blended with lesser known but equally beautiful works. Innovative programming has also included concert themes such as "Music of the British Isles," "Music of the Heart," and "Music of Appalachia and Appalachian Spring," the latter with renown folk artists Jay Unger and Molly Mason. The WCO has presented many world class soloists in its performances. These have included: harpist Barbara Allen, violinists Glenn Dicterow and Yuri Kharenko, violists Karen Dreyfus and Emanuel Vardi, clarinetist Stanley Drucker, oboist Matt Sullivan, bassoonist Lennie Hindell and tenor Robert White. You will be treated to outstanding soloists and inspired performances of some of the greatest works of German composers over the past three centuries; from Gluck to Beethoven to Schumann to Schoenberg. The richness and rewards are here.
The Hammond Museum was designed by Natalie Hays Hammond who borrowed the basic principles and ideas of the Stroll Garden incorporating indigenous plantings with popular and rare Japanese and Chinese specimens. "As people often travel to escape routine problems and obligations, or to escape themselves, so should they find peace in an unhurried journey through a stroll garden."
"To please the eye, there are the textures of stone scrolled with the delicate designs of lichen, the patterns of tree trunks and clusters of foliage, the play of light and shadow, the varying shades of green as well as the seasonal colors of great beauty. To please the ear, there are the songs of native birds, the hum of insects the chorale of frogs and the occasional splash of carp in the lake, the crunch of pebbles underfoot, the whisper of wind through the pines. To please the sense of scent, there are dry pine needles in the sun, the fragrance of flowering shrubs, a breeze through mimosa or the pungency of loam after a night rain."
The museum serves as an East-West cross-cultural center where, through programs and events, exhibits, music and art, Americans and peoples of the East and West can appreciate and share their heritage. The museum also seeks to showcase the talent of artists in the New York Metropolitan area. Collectors in the region are also encouraged to explore the exhibiting at the Hammond.
Points of Interest: Stroll Garden, Birding, Brush Painting, Children's Workshops, Educational Tours, Silk Tree Cafe
Blueberry Pond Theatre Ensemble is the only professional theatre company in Westchester County whose season consists solely of original work, and as such we fill a unique place in the community and indeed in the tri-state area. The company is developing cutting-edge, provocative works in an ensemble process involving actors, directors, and writers.
The Ensemble had its origin in the summer of 2001 at the Croton-on-Hudson estate of Blueberry Pond, the residence of Stephan Summa, a businessman, and Jean-Paul DeVellard, a writer, food critic and playwright. According to Mr. DeVellard, "We knew a group of very talented artists, and my idea was to bring them together as the nucleus of a theatrical ensemble along the lines of the original Actors Studio. We all knew playwrights, actors, directors, that it would take a cooperative effort to bring our dream of original and bold and indeed provocative theater to life. Our commitment is to creative cooperation and support for new and exciting visions which reflect the world in which we live."
Founded in 1950 and dedicated to promoting the awareness and appreciation of dance throughout all the communities of Westchester County, New York, the Westchester Ballet Company has become known for excellence in performance and dance education. As The New York Times recently observed, "the company has flourished since 1986 under the artistic direction of Beth Fritz-Logrea and Jean Logrea."
The Westchester Ballet Company, which celebrated 50 years of dance in the year 2000, is one of the oldest community ballet companies in the United States. In 1950 Iris Merrick, a former student of Michel Fokine and soloist with the English Opera Company, established the Scarborough Children's Ballet Theatre, which officially became known as Westchester Ballet Company in 1954. Over the years Merrick's school developed a fine reputation in the County for artistic discipline and regular professional performances. Under her direction the Company's annual productions of The Nutcracker were staged at the Scarborough School's Beechwood Theatre and at the County Center in White Plains.
The Westchester Ballet Company members may join as student dancers as young as age 8 and progress by audition through the junior company and apprentice levels until they are accepted into the senior company. Training at the Company's school, the Logrea Dance Academy, is rigorous, emphasizing the development of strength and flexibility and the cultivation of artistic expression. Dancers receive instruction in healthy nutrition and safety. Senior company members participate in the nation's most prestigious summer training programs and festivals.
Our annual Nutcracker performance at the Westchester County Center features a cast of over 125 dancers and guest artists, with exquisite choreography, many special effects, and lavish costumes and scenery. Other ballets in the Company's repertoire include Peter and the Wolf, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pas de Quatre, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball, and Aurora's Wedding. Our dancers' dedication, discipline, and artistic expression are acclaimed by audiences of all ages. The Company's Board of Directors works closely with the artistic directors to provide Westchester audiences with professionally produced ballet performances at an affordable price, and to offer financial support to County students who seek professional training.
The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art is located at 1701 Main Street, Peekskill, NY 10566. The Center is dedicated to the development and presentation of exhibitions and interdisciplinary programs that enrich our understanding of contemporary art, its contexts, and its relationship to social issues. HVCCA is also committed to the enrichment of Peekskill, a multicultural community that has recreated itself as a major arts destination. HVCCA operates a 12,000 square foot exhibition space and is the primary sponsor of the Peekskill Project, an annual, city-wide exhibition of site-specific artwork.
Press "Blue Button" for more about Exhibition, Arts-in-Residence, Education and Public Outreach, and Special Projects programs at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art website.
Originally built as a 1025-seat movie palace by Publix Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, the Peekskill Paramount Theatre first opened its doors to the public on June 27, 1930.
The Inaugural program featured an overture by the Paramount Symphony Orchestra, an appearance by the village mayor, and “A Paramount All-Talking Picture”, The Big Pond, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert. Publix Theatres was recognized as a leader in the theatre building industry, and the Peekskill Paramount was constructed as a state-of-the-art facility for the times. The Paramount building is a designated Westchester County Landmark, declared eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Paramount prospered for decades despite the Depression and World War II. However, it was the advent of shopping malls and television that brought on its demise as a movie theatre. Paramount sold the building in 1973. Eventually the building was acquired by the City of Peekskill in 1977 due to a tax default.
The Peekskill Paramount Center for the Performing Arts presented its first series of performances in the spring of 1982. Its mission was to bring cultural and educational programming to the northern Westchester and Putnam County area at affordable prices. Since 1982, what was a grass roots “Save the Paramount” campaign has grown to become a true center for the arts, with live performances, arts-in-education programs, films, and visual art exhibitions, serving over 50,000 people annually.
The purpose of the Peekskil Museum is to collect, preserve, study, and interpret objects and documents pertaining to Peekskill and the surrounding area. The Herrick House is home to the Peekskill Museum, located at 124 Union Avenue, Peekskill, NY 10566, in the business district on the edge of the Artist's District.
The Herrick House is a restored Victorian building that was owned by Dwight S. Herrick, a prominent Peekskill attorney. The Peekskill Museum was presented to the Field Library by Mrs. Ida M. Adams by deed dated January 3, 1944. It is one of Peekskill's most famous Victorian houses. The house was designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and Bigelow. The Herrick House is a fine example of a "well to do" Victorian home - with a spacious staircase, library, parlor and a fireplace with Dutch 'Delft' tiles depicting Biblical scenes.
The house was built between 1873 and 1877, occupied by the Herrick family until approximately 1912. Mr. Herrick's picture, presented to the Museum by Jennie Mabie in 1948, hangs on the wall in the front foyer, ready to greet visitors as Mr. Herrick would have done. The house itself was published in the best architectural journal of it's day, "The American Architect and Building News" on June 2, 1877. More recently, the house has been mentioned by Vincent Scully, a professor of Art History at Yale, in his book "The Single Story". Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Herrick House and the Peekskill Museum.
Deep End Productions is located at The Richard G. Rosenthal JCC, 600 Bear Ridge Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570. The Insights & Revelations Performance Series is a 2007 Best of Westchester winner for Best New Performance Series and is dedicated to presenting world-class, professional artists in an intimate setting. The Series is known for bringing award-winning off-Broadway companies to Westchester, in performances that are always followed by a discussion and champagne/dessert reception with the artists.
Previous presentations have included Symphony Space’s Thalia Follies: A Political Cabaret, Atlantic Theater Company's Port Authority with Brian D'Arcy James and John Gallagher, Jr., The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s The Tempest, and Classic Stage Company’s open rehearsals of The Merchant of Venice with Ron Leibman and Richard III with Michael Cumpsty. Press "Blue Button" for more information about Deep End Productions.
Prospero Winery is located at 134 Marble Avenue, Pleasantville, NY 10570 in Westchester County. Over thirty years ago, a young man left his home in the Abruzzi Region of central Italy. Tony Prospero arrived in New York with a dream of starting a successful family business with his father, Guido, and brother, Pasquale. They set-up a fruit and vegetable market in Pleasantville, New York, situated in the heart of Westchester County.
In 1999, a winery and tasting room were opened on the original site of Prospero's fruit and vegetable market in Pleasantville. The Prospero family produces exceptional wines made from the finest California grapes, and is dedicated to offering its customers high-quality products at exceptional prices. Press "Blue Button" for more information about Prospero Winery in Pleasantville.
Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, is now a historic site of the National Trust. Many believe it is the Hudson Valley's most exceptional house and gardens. Be sure to include this magnificent landmark on any tour of the Historic Hudson Valley.
Completed in 1913 for John D. Rockefeller by architects Delano and Aldrich, Kykuit has been home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. Kykuit commands a breathtaking view of the Hudson River and occupies a landscape of extensive stone terraces, formal gardens, and glorious fountains designed by landscape architect William Welles Bosworth. The gardens include Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's extraordinary collection of 20th-century sculpture. The house itself contains fascinating collections of art, fine furniture, and Chinese ceramics. Horse-drawn vehicles and classic automobiles from the family's collection fill the coach barn.
Tours include an introduction to each part of Kykuit, the main floor of the house, the art galleries, terraced gardens with classical and 20th-century sculpture, and the Coach Barn with antique carriages and classic cars. The sculpture collection, sited throughout the grounds, includes works by Pablo Picasso, Aristide Maillol, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Louise Nevelson, and many others.
Rockefeller State Park Preserve is located in Pocantico Hills in Westchester County. The preserve is 1,233 acres and growing due to additional bequests. The Preserve is an idyllic spot for strolling, jogging, horseback riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. With 180 recorded species of birds and its IBA (Important Bird Area) designation by the National Audubon Society, the Preserve is a must visit area for birders.
In season, licensed anglers enjoy fishing for bass in the 22 acre Swan Lake and for brown trout in the Pocantico River. In addition the beauty of the Preserve inspires many artists and photographers to memorialize its scenic vistas. While in the park, stop in the Preserve's Gallery across from the Visitor Center. Its rotating exhibits feature the art of local artists.
The most notable feature of the Preserve is the system of carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller Sr. and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Designed to complement the landscape, the carriage roads, many of which are handicapped accessible, allow visitors to experience and enjoy the natural wonders of the area. These scenic paths wind through wetlands, woodlands, meadows, and fields and past streams, rivers, and lakes. They traverse wood and stone bridges, including the first triple arch bridge in America.
Trail maps (with distance and grade descriptions) of all the carriage roads and equestrian permits are available at the Preserve Office. Hunting, swimming, biking, snowmobiling, camping, and open fires are strictly prohibited.
Park Attractions Birding - designated an IBA (Important Bird Area) Bridle Path Cross Country Skiing Fishing Hiking Nature Trail Picnic Tables Scenic Views Sledding Snowshoeing
Click to enlarge photo of Union Church in Pocantico.
The Union Church of Pocantico Hills features stained glass windows created by two modern masters: Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Marc Chagall (1887-1985). Commissioned as memorials by members of the Rockefeller family whose estate, Kykuit, is nearby, the windows include the final work of Matisse, completed just two days before his death, and the only cycle of church windows created by Chagall in the United States.
On behalf of his family, Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller commissioned Matisse to create a rose window in memory of his mother Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874-1948), a distinguished patron of the arts, a founder of the Museum of Modern Art, and wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Before his death, Matisse had finished the design and had also selected the colors and exact type of glass to be used in the window. His daughter carried out his instructions, and the window was dedicated on Mother's, Day 1956.
David Rockefeller, representing his brothers and sister, commissioned Chagall in 1963 to design a similar memorial to their father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who had died in 1960. The large window "The Good Samaritan" was installed and dedicated in 1965. Chagall created eight smaller windows in the sanctuary, seven of which are devoted to Old Testament subjects. The eighth window, established as a memorial to Michael Rockefeller (1938-1961) who was lost in New Guinea, has a New Testament theme.
Attractions Stained Glass Windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall
The society maintains a museum/library at 255 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge. The building was erected in 1853 by the Presbyterian Church of Pound Ridge to serve as a lecture room. In 1921, the building was sold to the town of Pound Ridge for use as a Town Hall. The building was leased to the Historical Society in 1982.
The Pound Ridge Theatre Company is located at Conant Hall, 255 Westchester Avenue (Route 137), Pound Ridge Hamlet, NY 10576. Founded by Pound Ridge residents, our company has consistently brought quality drama, comedy, and musical offerings to the entire Northern Westchester area. Our talented performers come from all over the region; they love to work in our unique space at Conant Hall. This intimate former church allows the audience to feel truly part of the show. All seating is at cabaret style tables. Doors open one hour prior to the performance. Conant Hall is air conditioned. Bring your own food and drink to enjoy with your friends before the show.
Past performances include:
2008 - 2009 A Delicate Balance - I Hate Hamlet 2007 - 2008 Wonder of the World · Dinner With Friends 2006 - 2007 Five Women Wearing the Same Dress · Burn This 2005 - 2006 Ordinary People · Sylvia 2004 - 2005 Proof · The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife 2003 - 2004 The Dinner Party · The Diary of Anne Frank
Press "Blue Button" for more information about The Pound Ridge Theatre Company.
The 4,315 acre park makes Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Westchester County’s largest park. The Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is divided in area between both Pound Ridge and Lewisboro. The northern one-third of the park is in Lewisboro and the remaining two-thirds of the park are in Pound Ridge.
With its varied terrain and landscapes and miles of wooded trails, the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation provides a variety of activities in all seasons. There are areas for picnicking, lean-to camping, fishing and cross-country skiing. The park is home to the Trailside Nature Museum, which hosts weekend nature interpretive programs year-round.
Park attractions include: Camping, Cross-Country Skiing, Fishing, Hiking Trails / Walking, Museum, Nature study, Picnicking, Play equipment is available in two areas of the park.
Neuberger Museum of Art is located in Purchase College, at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577. Presenting 12 changing exhibitions annually in addition to ongoing exhibitions from the permanent collections, the Neuberger Museum of Art offers visitors insights into the work of 20th century masters, and mid-career and emerging artists, as well as exposure to the Westchester County's only permanent exhibition of African art. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, Collection, African Art, Events and more about Neuberger Museum of Art.
For more than a quarter century, The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College has provided residents of Westchester County, Fairfield County, and nearby surrounding areas with diverse performing arts programs of the highest caliber. A vast array of stellar performances has graced its stages-from the established to the emerging, from the exquisite to the outrageous, from the traditional to the avant-garde. There are performing arts programs available for every interest and all enrich us by expanding the boundaries of our imaginations.
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College has several theatres which offer the flexibility to present a diverse program of performing arts including: New York Philharmonic, Purchase Symphony Orchestra, Dance Theatre, Talk Cinema, Ballet, live Repertory Theatre, Theatre Arts & Film, Chamber Music and more.
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College offers residencies for such renowned artists as Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Bill Irwin, Penn and Teller, Phillip Glass, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Bill T. Jones and many more. Master Classes by many of The Center's artists, including Garrick Ohlsson, Pinchas Zuckerman, Edward Villella, The Tokyo String Quartet and Marilyn Horne.
The theatres at The Center are: The Concert Hall, The Pepsico Theatre, The Recital Hall, and The Abbott Kaplan Theatre and The Organ Room. This diversity of theatres ensures that each performance is performed in the best venue.
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College offers world-class programming that is conveniently located, affordably priced, with ample parking! The Center also has an Arts-in-Education programs which reach over 15,000 school children each season.
Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo
914-253-2900
The Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens is located at 700 and 735 Anderson Hill Road, PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, NY. The Sculpture Gardens and the Purchase campus of SUNY are across the street from each other. Visit the sculptures and gardens and see works by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, George Segal, Jean Dubuffet, Auguste Rodin, Max Ernst, and more artists.
The sculpture gardens feature 45 sculptures by some of the best-known artists of the 20th century. “Capricorn,” Max Ernst’s largest freestanding sculpture is among the inspiring works. The grounds themselves are 168 acres of green lawns, trees, ponds, fountains, and landscaped gardens with a topiary, well-tended hedges, flower beds and water-lily ponds. These spectacular grounds were conceived as an integration of architecture, landscape, and sculpture. It is a landscape exhibiting superior thought and attention, a thorough knowledge of plants, a respect for what has come before, and a working effort to remain true to a vision.
Attractions Wonderful sculptures and gardens.
Map is available from the security guard at the headquarters entrance. Admission is free.
Jay Heritage Center is located at 210 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580. The Jay Center, a National Historic Landmark, is the boyhood home of New York State’s only native Founding Father, John Jay (1745-1829). Located next to a marshlands preserve with public trails, this sylvan and historic 23 acre park is all that remains of the original 400 acre Jay family estate where America’s first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and author of The Jay Treaty grew up. Located just 35 minutes from Manhattan, the Property has an 8000 year old scenic vista of Long Island Sound over a meadow bordered by sunken stone ha-ha walls, a European garden design feature added by Jay’s eldest son circa 1822. It is also located on the historic Boston Post Road where mile marker “24” out of 230, designated in 1763 by Jay’s colleague, Benjamin Franklin, is set into the perimeter wall.
The centerpiece of this National Historic Landmark is an 1838 Greek Revival mansion with soaring Corinthian columns built by Peter Augustus Jay atop the footprint of his father and grandfather’s original home “The Locusts” reusing original timbers and nails from the same house. Visitors can literally see the layers of history being uncovered here. The PA Jay House is being carefully restored and managed by the not-for-profit organization, the Jay Heritage Center (JHC) for use as an educational facility hosting Programs in American History, Social Justice, Landscape Conservation and Environmental Stewardship. The house is an official project of the Save America’s Treasures Program and at 170 years old, it is the oldest National Historic Landmark in New York State to be using an energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling system.
The Jay site is also listed on Westchester County’s African American Heritage Trail. John Jay is well known for advocating emancipation, serving as President of the Manumission Society and establishing the first African Free School. Press "Blue Button" for tour information, hours, and more about the Jay Heritage Center.
Rye Playland is Metro New York's great family amusement park and entertainment center. Featuring more than 50 rides for children and adults, Playland also offers free entertainment and has a beach, pool, boardwalk and pier on scenic Long Island Sound, lake boating, picnic area, mini golf and indoor ice-skating.
Point of Interest: Rye Playland has the distinction of being America's first totally planned amusement park and prototype for today's successful theme parks. Dedicated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987, Playland has provided family fun since 1928. Often referred to as "Rye Playland", it is America's only government owned and operated amusement park.
The 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow is located at Kingsland Point Park, Route 9, Sleepy Hollow, NY. Long a fixture on the Hudson River, the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow, formerly known as the Tarrytown Lighthouse or the Kingsland Point Lighthouse, is the only Caisson-style lighthouse on the river.
Erected in 1882-1883, the lighthouse provided navigational aid to shipping on the Hudson and warned captains away from the dangerous shoals on the river's eastern shore. It is easily seen from the Tappan Zee Bridge, with the best viewing from Kingsland Point Park, located directly on the Hudson River.
Like all lighthouses on the Hudson, the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow was designed as a "family station," as the keeper and his family lived in the five-story structure year-round. The duties of the keeper were to perform the never-ending chores of maintaining the lighthouse and lamp and to operate the lamp every night as well as during inclement weather.
During its entire 78 years of service, the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow had a nearly perfect record of performance. When the bell mechanism malfunctioned (on several occasions), the keeper rang the bell by hand, at two-minute intervals, often for hours at a time. The constant beacon, a white light for the first eleven years, then a red light, and later a blinking red light, would guide vessels safely through darkness, fog and storms. Press "Blue Button" for information on visiting the Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow.
There are approximately 1,700 interments in the Old Dutch Burying Ground, the majority from the mid 18th century through the late 19th century. The Friends of the Old Dutch Burying Ground does not keep or have access to the records of the church, but we are happy to share information from our own research.
Philipsburg Manor is a historic site of great historical importance. Once the headquarters of a large Hudson Valley manor, the site vividly interprets aspects of the history of colonial New York and the system of racially-based slavery which helped keep the estate running in the 18th century. The visitor center at Philipsburg, located on Rt. 9 in the village of Sleepy Hollow, offers a wide range of services and changing exhibitions, and also serves as the visitor center for Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate.
Philipsburg Manor is a late 17th/early 18th-century milling, farming, and trading complex owned by an Anglo-Dutch family of merchants. Philipsburg Manor was tenanted by farmers of diverse European backgrounds, and operated by enslaved Africans. In 1693, Frederick Philipse, a carpenter who rose to become the richest man in the colony of New York, was granted a charter for 52,000 acres along the Hudson River by William and Mary of England. Historically, the site is of particular interest because of the size of the enslaved community and the highly developed nature of this 18th-century commercial property.
Featuring a stone manor house filled with a handsome collection of 17th-and 18th-century period furnishings, this famous house also includes a working water-powered gristmill and millpond, an 18th-century barn, a slave garden, and a reconstructed tenant farm house. The grounds are home to historic breeds of cattle, sheep, and chickens.
Points of Interest: Philipsburg Manor is a living history museum. Guides in 18th-century costume conduct tours of the site and numerous special events are held throughout the year. One of many fun things to do with children in the Hudson River Valley.
Attractions include: The Greenhouse Cafe, Picnic grounds, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery located next to Philipsburg Manor, Tours of Kykuit that originate at the Philipsburg Manor Visitor Tourist Center.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery surrounds the Old Dutch Burying Ground and Old Dutch Church, but neither is affiliated with the cemetery. Washington Irving himself is laid to rest at the south end of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery overlooking the grounds of the Old Dutch Church. Press "Blue Button" to explore Sleepy Hollow Cemetery website.
Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial is a magnificent 234 acre property consisting of woodlands, open grass meadow and formal gardens with flower and shrub specimens from all over the world. Lasdon is also the site of the Chinese Friendship Pavilion and four inspirational memorials and a museum honoring Westchester veterans.
Parks attractions include: Botanical Specimans, Chinese Friendship Pavilion, Formal Gardens, Open Grass Meadow
Just 25 miles north of New York City, lies a historic medieval castle, overlooking the majestic Hudson River. The Castle on the Hudson, situated on 11 hilltop acres, was originally called Carrollcliffe and later Axe Castle. It was built in two stages between 1897 and 1910 by General Carroll, the son of a Civil War General. The grounds are enclosed by a stone wall and support a veritable arboretum of evergreens and rare varieties of trees, grasslands and flowers.
The Castle has changed very little in its first century. Much of the original interior woodwork and furnishings, which were built by a team of carpenters brought from Germany, still remain intact. Designed for graceful living and entertaining, the Castle has been renovated into a luxury hotel. In 1981, the town of Tarrytown designated the Castle a historic landmark, protecting the outside structure from ever being changed.
The Equus restaurant and General's bar, open to the public, occupy elegantly appointed rooms and an enclosed veranda with splendid views of the Hudson River and the New York City skyline. Press "Blue Button" for menus, photos, and more about The Castle on the Hudson.
Friends of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Inc., located in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was established in 1997 to encourage public participation in protecting the Preserve's wildlife and habitat, sustaining its historical and archeological features, and maintaining its unique system of carriage roads.
Click to enlarge photo of Lyndhurst from rear grounds.
Circa 1838. Lyndhurst, a historic site of the National Trust, is a preeminent architectural landmark. It resides on a 67-acre park representing 19th century architecture, decorative arts, and landscape. Overlooking the Hudson River in Tarrytown, NY, Lyndhurst is one of America's finest Gothic Revival mansions. The architectural brilliance of the residence is complemented by a park-like landscape and a comprehensive collection of original decorative arts. Its noteworthy occupants included: former New York City mayor William Paulding, merchant George Merritt, and the railroad magnate and Wall Street tycoon Jay Gould.
In the late 1830s, William Paulding acquired property high above the Hudson River overlooking the Tappan Zee. Lyndhurst was first conceived in the minds of architects A. J. Davis and William Paulding who constructed the country villa in 1838 and called it "Knoll". In 1864 Lyndhurst was acquired by George Merritt who hired Davis to more than double its size. In 1870, they also built one of the largest private greenhouses in the world.
In 1880, Jay Gould purchased the estate and renamed it Lyndhurst. The 1870 greenhouse that burned was replaced in the Gothic Revival style. The Goulds redecorated the house and embellished the spectacular art gallery with works by Corot, Courbet, Bouguereau, and others.
The important "gardenesque" landscape is the work of Ferdinand Mangold, a master gardener who worked at Lyndhurst for forty years. Many of the landscape features created by Mangold, his predecessors, and successors, are preserved. The spectacular specimen trees are of special interest.
The romantic Gothic Revival design immediately drew attention to the building. Critics called it "Paulding's Folly" because its fanciful turrets and asymmetrical outline were unlike most homes constructed in the post-colonial era. Fascination with the property continued for decades and, as ideas of wealth and status changed with the growing nation, so did the estate, reflecting the tastes and interests of wealthy New York.
Point of Interest: Lyndhurst is adjacent to Washington Irving's Sunnyside. The ability to walk between these two historic sites has a special appeal. At present, visitors may walk along the publicly maintained Croton Aqueduct Trail from Lyndhurst to West Sunnyside Lane. A pathway connecting Lyndhurst and Sunnyside along the riverfront will shortly be open. If you are a tourist or local resident exploring the Hudson River Valley, be sure to include this landmark in your list of sights.
Circa 1835. Historic site of the National Trust and architectural landmark. Meticulously restored picturesque home of renowned author Washington Irving, America's first successful, internationally known author. Washington Irving's writings include numerous works of fiction, history and biography.
Washington Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783 (1783 - 1859) as the youngest of 11 children. His father was a wealthy merchant, and his mother, an English woman, was the granddaughter of a clergyman. Early in his life Irving developed a passion for books. He studied law privately but practiced only briefly. From 1804 to 1806 he travelled widely in Europe. After returning to the United States, Irving was admitted to the New York bar in 1806.
Washington Irving was a short story writer, essayist, poet, travel book writer, biographer, and columnist. He is best known for the short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle". Washington Irving also held diplomatic posts in Great Britain and Spain.
Sunnyside is one of the most famous historic landmarks in the Hudson Valley. This important house and landscape enjoys a quiet and unspoiled riverside setting in Tarrytown, New York. Sunnyside is adjacent to Lyndhurst, a historic landmark of distinction open to the public, to which it is possible to walk via the Croton Aqueduct Trail.
Sunnyside and its Romantic landscape are presented to visitors by guides dressed in the costume of the mid-Victorian period. You may take a guided tour of the house and grounds, or purchase a grounds-only ticket for a self-guided experience.
Point of Interest: For children, Sunnyside offers "Irving's Traveling Totes" that come stuffed with five to seven engaging family activities, a brief guide, a Talk Back card for feedback related to the activities, and a blank book for visitor responses. Visitors can learn about Washington Irving by reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow picture book and It Looks Like Spilt Milk, which, though not written by Irving, celebrates the life of the imagination, something Irving aspired to do. Children can play the Sunnyside Matching Card game and join in for a Scavenger Hunt. Dominoes, a 19th-century game, rounds out the experience. If you are a tourist or local resident exploring the Hudson River Valley, be sure to include this landmark in your list of places to see.
Attractions include: Seasonal Café, Sunnyside Tours, Museum Shop, Picnic Grounds.
Main Street Playground located at Main Street and Marbledale Road in Tuckahoe is within the municipality of Eastchester. Main Street Playground is a three-acre park located in and maintained by Tuckahoe. It has two full basketball courts with lights, a climber, swings and benches.
Parks attractions include: Basketball Courts, Playground
Parkway Oval is a 14-acre park located at Consulate Drive in Tuckahoe in the municipality of Eastchester. It has a baseball and softball field, soccer fields, all-purpose playfield and a full basketball court, a playground area with swings, climber and benches. This park is adjacent to a jogging and bicycle path along the scenic Bronx River.
The Westchester Children’s Museum will be a vibrant new learning center that will nurture curiosity, enhance knowledge, and ignite imagination in our children as they explore the history, arts, environment, and cultural diversity of their local and global communities.
Imagine a unique learning space – colorful, clean, with “a sense of space, light and air…” Filled with creative hands-on exhibitions and public programs. The Westchester Children's Museum will be an institution of distinction for our children, one that is fun and educational, and which reflects the true needs and interests of this community, from children and teenagers, to parents and caregivers, to teachers and educators. Drawing from the dramatic history, extensive cultural diversity, flourishing environments and ecosystems, and the rich literary and artistic traditions of Westchester, the exhibitions and programs of the Museum will be state of the art and:
Highly innovative, dynamic, engaging, fun and enriching
Appeal to audiences of different generations, backgrounds, emotional, physical, and learning abilities
Present visitors with the opportunity for hands-on interaction
Stimulate repeat visitation with changing exhibits, performances, and public programs
Press "Blue Button" for Westchester Museum Events and more information about The Westchester Children’s Museum.
Westchester Arts Council, the county’s link between the arts, business, and culture, was established in 1965 as a private, not-for-profit program organization. It is the County’s designated arts council and the largest of its kind in New York State. In partnership with Westchester County Government, municipal governments, and business and community leaders, the Arts Council works to weave the arts into the fabric of Westchester life, strengthen the county’s cultural institutions, and enrich the quality of life for all of Westchester’s residents.
The Arts Council’s underlying belief is that the arts are for everyone, whether in a school or in a concert hall. The Arts Council partners with over 100 arts groups and more than 150 artists to bring the arts into schools, senior centers, daycare sites, after-school programs, and mental health facilities.
Westchester Arts Council is supported by Westchester County Government, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Westchester Delegation of the New York State Legislature, and by foundations, corporations, and individuals.
The Westchester Philharmonic was created by Paul Lustig Dunkel and a group of area citizens and business leaders who recognized that some of the world’s best classical musicians, who played nightly in such New York City venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, were playing only minutes away from Westchester County. Why not have the finest professional musical artists performing regularly right here in Westchester County?
Established as the New Orchestra of Westchester in 1983 and, a few years later, renamed the Westchester Philharmonic, the orchestra was created to enhance the quality of life in the community and provide educational opportunities for local schoolchildren. The founders of the orchestra didn’t simply create a first-class local symphony orchestra. They founded a fully professional orchestra that in its first 21 seasons would grow to become one of the most influential cultural institutions in the region with a broad reach well beyond its immediate geography.
The Westchester Philharmonic’s opening concert in 1983 featured White Plains native Garrick Ohlsson as guest artist. Already an established star on international concert stages, his participation set a high standard of artistry that continues into the organization’s current season. Guests of the Philharmonic in recent years, include Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Frederica von Stade, André Watts, and Joshua Bell.
Kids discover the nuts and bolts, or flats and sharps of musical composition in innovative programs developed in collaboration with the Westchester Library System. Youngsters in classrooms across the region are treated to the orchestra’s award-winning Education Program, which reaches over 7,000 elementary school students in over 50 schools. The Philharmonic’s Special Audiences Project reaches out to over 3,000 at-risk youth.
For 23 seasons the audience that first wanted the Westchester Philharmonic has supported and nurtured it. They’ve brought new audiences with them - family, friends, and newcomers to the region. With their support, the Westchester Philharmonic continues to make the musical arts accessible to the community, to provide the highest quality educational programming in the classroom, and to enhance the quality of life in the region through innovative professional performances and by showcasing the finest new artistry in the concert hall.
The Hudson River Museum is located at 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701. The Hudson River Museum collects 19th and 20th century American art and cultural, social and historical material related to the Museum's historic Mansion and the wider Westchester County and Hudson River Valley region. Though the Museum's collecting focus has evolved over its 84-year history, the trustees and staff have always been concerned with the institution's value and relevance to the surrounding region and its residents. The majority of the collections have been donated by Museum members and other local residents.
The Museum's collections have evolved from the original holdings of the Yonkers Museum, which was founded at City Hall in 1919 and relocated to the Yonkers Museum of Arts and Science in 1924. In 1937, H. Armour Smith, an avid collector of fine art, Americana and documentary materials, became director. Smith advocated changing the Museum's name to The Hudson River Museum to acknowledge that its collections documenting the Hudson River Valley were of primary importance to the Museum's goals. In 1956, the transfer of the stuffed elephant Tip, a popular display since 1929, to the Elephant Hotel in Somers, New York, was indicative of the changes that had occurred in the Museum's perception of its mission.
By 1948, the collection had grown to include a small group of 19th and 20th century fine arts, paintings, sculptures, and graphic works, as well as Victorian furniture, decorative arts and costumes, and materials documenting local history. In 1969, the New Wing added approximately 15,000 square feet of gallery space. Whereas previously much of the museum in the Mansion had been devoted to permanent displays, the new galleries were used for changing exhibitions of art, history and science. At the same time, the Mansion's first floor was partially restored, with four furnished period rooms and two small galleries for displaying decorative and historical materials from the collection.
Today, the Museum's collections reflect its mission to provide for development, preservation, and display of 19th and 20th century American art and history. The staff regularly organizes special collection exhibits and loan exhibits in which the permanent collections can play a role. Paintings, furniture and decorative arts are also always on view in the six period rooms in Glenview Mansion and its second floor hall and Lifflander Galleries. Press "Blue Button" for more information about The Hudson River Museum.
On November 28, 1776, the same year that 56 Americans signed the Declaration of Independence, well over 200 colonial New Yorkers placed their signatures on a "Declaration of Dependence". These signers were Loyalists, citizens who remained faithful to their sovereign, George III, King of Great Britain. Prominent among the signatures was that of Frederick Philipse III, Lord of the vast Manor of Philipsburg and resident of the elegant mansion known today as Philipse Manor Hall.
Frederick Philipse III and his family lived in luxury, well supported by rents from the many tenant farms on his property. Times were changing, however, and while others rebelled against Great Britain, Frederick III defended the Crown. His Loyalist beliefs were so strong that General George Washington ordered him arrested in 1776. Philipse and his family later fled to British occupied New York City and then to England, where the last "Lord of the Manor", broken in spirit and health, died in 1786. His land and his mansion were confiscated by the New York State Legislature and sold at public auction.
In 1868, after passing through the hands of many owners, the house became Yonkers Village Hall and, in 1872, the first City Hall. By the 20th century, city growth threatened the Manor Hall’s future until it was acquired by New York State in 1908. Today, Philipse Manor Hall serves as a museum of history, art and architecture, as well as host to community organizations, meetings, educational programs and special events. Highlights of the Hall include its 18th century, high style Georgian architecture, a 1750s papier mache Rococo ceiling, and an impressive collection of presidential portraits, including the six Presidents from New York State.
Attractions Collection of Presidential Portraits Educational Services Georgian Architecture, 18th century high style Group Tours Guided Tours Interpretive Sign
The Taghkanic Chorale is the oldest (42 years) choral group in Northern Westcheter, with concerts in Ossining and Valhalla, Taghkanic Chorale rehearses on Tuesday nights from 7:30 to 10:00 pm at the Yorktown Church of the Nazarene in Yorktown Heights, NY. The Taghkanic Chorale is a non-profit, non-sectarian, community-based volunteer chorus. It serves talented singers and enthusiastic concert goers from Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, and Orange counties, and the mid-Hudson Valley.
The Taghkanic Chorale, a leading cultural organization in New York's Hudson Valley, serve enthusiastic singers and concert goers who appreciate the friendliness of the group, the high caliber of its musical direction and the professionalism of the Chorale's performances. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Taghkanic Chorale.
Elk Hill Winery is located at 225 Prim Lane, Berne, NY 12023 Albany in the historic Hudson River Region of New York. Elk Hill is a no nonsense winery, lovingly and painstakingly built by the Primiano Family. Our winery is nestled in the Heldeberg Mountains, within twenty minutes driving time from Albany. Tours of the winery are available during each festival. Wine tasting is encouraged. We enjoy having visitors and warmly welcome all wine lovers. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Elk Hill Winery.
Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site is located at 32 Catherine Street, Albany, NY 12202 in the Upper Hudson River Valley. Schuyler Mansion was home to Philip J. Schuyler, the renowned Revolutionary War general, US Senator, and business entrepreneur. He and his wife, Catharine Van Rensselaer, descended from affluent and powerful Dutch families. Together they raised eight children in this home. The Georgian structure, reflecting Schuyler's English tastes - was built on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Originally situated on an 80-acre tract of land, the grounds once included an orchard, a formal garden, and a working farm. Throughout the Schuyler family occupancy from 1763-1804, the mansion was the site of military strategizing, political hobnobbing, elegant social affairs, and an active family life.
Today, visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the mansion as well as an orientation exhibition in the Visitor Center focusing on Philip Schuyler's life. Temporary exhibitions and public programs are scheduled year-round. Tours for school and adult groups, as well as outreach programs, are available by reservation. Press "Blue Button" for attractions and more information about Schuyler Mansion.
Clermont State Historic Site is located at One Clermont Avenue, Germantown, NY 12526 in Columbia County in the Hudson River Valley. Clermont State Historic Site was the Hudson River seat of New York's politically and socially prominent Livingston Family. Seven successive generations of the family left their imprint on the site's architecture, room interiors, and landscape. Robert R. Livingston, Jr. was Clermont's most notable resident. His accomplishments include: drafting the Declaration of Independence, serving as first U.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs, administering the oath of office to George Washington, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, and developing steamboat technology with Robert Fulton. Today, Clermont appears much as it did in the early 20th century . . . Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, Clermont is an anchor in the 1990 Hudson River National Landmark District.
Clermont hosts a variety of annual events throughout the year. The spring Sheep and Wool Showcase is based on historical model farming events at Clermont, where groundbreaking work in agriculture and sheep breeding occurred. What better place to celebrate Independence Day than the former home of a drafter of the Declaration of Independence. Families will enjoy a variety of music, performances, and viewing of local fireworks displays. The summer fun continues in August as Clermont celebrates its ties to the steamboat industry on Steamboat Day, a family event in which children can craft their own scrimshaw ornament and watch a theatrical performance on an actual steamboat. Since Clermont was home to the many Livingston dogs, the estate continues to welcome "a man's best friend" every October to participate in contests, demonstrations, makeovers, and exhibits in Every Dog Has Its Day. Christmas at Clermont kicks off the winter season with guided tours, candlelight receptions and children's activities. Press "Blue Button" for attractions and more about Clermont State Historic Site.
American Revolution / War of Independence Because of the Livingston family's prominent role in support of independence, Clermont was burned by British troops under the command of General John Vaughan during a foray up the Hudson River in the autumn of 1777. Margaret Beekman Livingston, who managed the estate during most of the war years, rebuilt the family home between 1779 and 1782.
The Hudson-Chatham Winery is located at 1900 State Route 66, Ghent, New York, 12075. Hudson-Chatham Winery is the dream of Carlo and Dominique DeVito, both publishing professionals who have long shared a love of wine. This exciting new winery, which specializes in small hand-made batches of wine, is dedicated to the richness of the Hudson River Valley, particularly its wine, agriculture, literature, art, history, and many other attractions that make it a rich and special region. The Hudson-Chatham Winery, located between the historic towns of Hudson and Chatham, is the first winery in Columbia County.
As well as creating fine artisanal wines, the DeVito family (including two dogs), and many valued friends, have worked hard restoring the winery's grounds and its prestigious circa 1780 farmhouse. The winery will feature hand-crafted wines, cheese and desserts, and will include vineyards tours and a gazebo with scenic views. A visit to the Hudson-Chatham Winery will inspire all your senses. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the new Hudson-Chatham Winery.
Olana is located at 5720 Route 9-G, Hudson, NY 12534 in Columbia County in the Hudson River Valley. Olana is a masterpiece created by Frederic Edwin Church (1826 - 1900), one of the most renowned American artists of the Hudson River School. The stone, brick, and polychrome stenciled Persian-style villa is the best known element of Olana. Church designed "the castle" as the family home for his wife and four children, as well as a multidimensional work of art. Church's architectural approach paralleled the way he planned his artwork - first pencil sketches, followed by more finished colored sketches, then creation. The exotically furnished interior remains as it was during Church's lifetime, decorated with an eclectic mixture reflecting Church's aesthetic sense, objects from Church's extensive travels, and paintings by the artist and his friends. Notable is the intricate stenciling on both the exterior of the building and the interior rooms. Each decorative stencil was created by Church, its design inspired by his travels to the Middle East and illustrations from books in his extensive library. The site also has the last of Church's studios, built as an addition to his home in 1888-1890.
Olana encompasses the house, the farm and the entire 250-acre estate owned by Frederic Church. The picturesque landscape, with panoramic vistas of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, like the house, was designed by Church. Over a 40-year period he transformed 250 acres of treeless farm fields into an artistic composition encompassing a lake, park, farm, extensive road system, and gardens. Visitors throughout the year enjoy guided and self-guided tours of the Church-inspired landscape. Press "Blue Button" for attractions and more information about Olana.
Cascade Mountain Winery & Restaurant is located at 835 Cascade Mountain Road, Amenia NY 12501 in the Hudson Valley. Cascade Mountain was founded in the spring of 1972 by the Wetmore family who pioneered the production of premium table wines on the eastern side of the Hudson River. Bill, along with his wife Margaret and their three children Charles, Michael and Joan, planted the vineyard in 1972, built the winery in 1977, and opened the restaurant in 1985.
Today, Cascade Mountain is a thriving business which features a full line of award-winning table wines and a highly rated restaurant. Customers come from all over the world to enjoy a few pleasant hours on top of the Berkshire foothills accompanied by some of the best food and wine to be found in the Hudson River Valley. Press "Blue Button" for more information about Cascade Mountain Winery & Restaurant.
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College offers an architecturally bold and dynamic environment for innovative artistic presentation in the Hudson Valley. The center provides audiences with a world-class complex that inspires risk-taking performances and provocative programs in orchestral, chamber, and jazz music and theater, dance, and opera by American and international artists.
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, situated on the east bank of the Hudson River in the beautiful Hudson Valley, about 90 miles north of New York City and 220 miles southwest of Boston. It is surrounded by several Hudson Valley estates, including Montgomery Place, Clermont, Olana, Mills Mansion, the Vanderbilt Estate, and the Roosevelt Home and Museum, all of which are open to the public. Other nearby attractions include the Culinary Institute of America, Cary Arboretum, Innisfree Garden, country auctions, wineries, pick-your-own vegetable and fruit farms, nature sanctuaries, and historic river ports. Special events during the Bard Music Festival include daily tours of the Hudson River houses and riverboat excursions.
Press "Blue Button" for Events Calendar, Summerscape, Bard Music Festival, Theater Program, Dance Program, and more about The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
"The lover of the expressive in nature, or the beautiful in art, will find here innumerable subjects for study. The natural scenery in many portions approaches the character of grandeur, and the foreground of rich woods and lawns, stretching out on all sides of the mountain, completes a home landscape of dignified and elegant seclusion, rarely surpassed in any country" by Andrew Jackson Downing
Montgomery Place, a serene reflection of nearly 200 years of continuous family stewardship, is best known as an architectural landmark designed by Alexander Jackson Davis and a landscape influenced by the great Andrew Jackson Downing. But the totality of the estate - house furnishings, gardens, woodlands, orchards, and hamlet make it a unique American treasure.
A National Historic Landmark, Montgomery Place is an extraordinary 434-acre Hudson River estate with magnificent views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. It is located on historic River Road in the hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, just north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
Montgomery Place was established by Janet Livingston Montgomery, widow of Revolutionary War hero General Richard Montgomery. She built the Federal-style house in 1804-05 and established a prosperous commercial nursery on the property. During the first half of the 19th century, her descendants created one of the most beautiful estates in the nation. The era's preeminent designers, architect Alexander Jackson Davis and landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing, assisted them in their endeavor. In 1850, Downing wrote that Montgomery Place is "...nowhere surpassed in America in point of location, natural beauty, or landscape gardening charms." In the 1930s, the generation living there created a 20th-century horticultural showcase, one that continues to flourish today.
Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries is located at 3 Beekman Street in Beacon, NY 12508.
In May 2003, Dia opened Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, a museum to house its renowned but rarely seen permanent collection comprised of major works of art from the 1960s to the present. Located on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, Dia:Beacon occupies a nearly 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory.
The Beacon museum’s expansive galleries have been specifically designed for the display of the artworks to which Dia is committed, many of which, because of their character or scale, could not be easily accommodated by more conventional museums.
Works installed at the museum range from Andy Warhol's 1978 Shadows (a single work comprising multiple canvases); to three of Richard Serra's monumental sculptures in the Torqued Ellipses; "monuments" for V. Tatlin, a series of fluorescent light works by Dan Flavin; several mixed-media installations by Joseph Beuys and Agnes Martin’s 1999 paintings Innocent Love, among others. Each artist’s work is displayed in a dedicated gallery or galleries: in many cases these presentations were created in collaboration with the artists themselves.
The Building and Site Built in 1929 by Nabisco (National Biscuit Company), the historic steel, concrete, and glass factory building, designed by Nabisco’s staff architect Louis N. Wirshing, Jr., is a model of early-twentieth-century industrial architecture. Press "Blue Button" for visitor information and more about Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries.
Clinton Vineyards is located at 450 Schultzville Road, Clinton Corners NY 12514 in Dutchess County. Clinton Vineyards and Winery, located in the Hudson Valley is the premium producer of Seyval Blanc, white table wine, champagnes and dessert wines from grapes grown on the estate.
Imagine yourself walking among orderly, luxuriant rows of trellised vines laden with grapes with a backdrop of beautiful rolling hills. Then stop in a charming tasting room to sample premium white wines, méthode champenoise sparkling wines and luscious dessert wines, with sexy names like Romance, Embrace, and Desire. Meet the proprietor and winemaker and taste delicious food made from the bounty of local farms. These pleasures await you at Clinton Vineyards in Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley. You'll feel welcome in this setting, one of the most beautiful in Dutchess County complete with historic barns, a pond, lovely gardens and exquisite landscape.
Close to New York City, Albany and Danbury, Clinton Vineyards is open for tours and tastings. Press "Blue Button" for more about Clinton Vineyards' wines and winery.
Follow our Dutchess Wine Trail past the Vineyards, orchards and farms that provide the bounty of this beautiful valley. Along the way, you will sample wines that have gained international recognition while you tour the wine cellars and chat with the owners and winemakers. The Dutchess Wine Trail takes you to Alison Wines & Vineyards, Clinton Vineyards and Millbrook Vineyards, all within a half hour of each other. Complete list and descriptions of wineries.
En route, you'll pass by thoroughbred horse farms, dairies, orchards, woodlands, lakes and trout streams that will transport you to an earlier, simpler time. In addition, there are the Gardens of Wethersfield and Innisfree, as well as the fabled mansions of the Hudson River. Enjoy the many fine restaurants, country inns, bed & breakfasts and antique shops along the Dutchess Wine Trail.
At the wineries, you will be sampling a medley of European wine varieties vinified as sparkling wines, dry to semi-dry table wines and late harvest dessert wines that have won their share of Gold Medals in both National and International Competitions as well as the praise of wine critics across the country. Visit our wineries and sample our wines, each a taste of seasons past: The snows of winter, April showers, summer sunshine and crisp fall nights. It's all there in the bottle, waiting for you. Press "Blue Button" for more about The Dutchess Wine Trail.
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery is located in Millbrook, New York 12545 in Dutchess County. Millbrook Vineyards & Winery was the first vineyard in the Hudson River Region of New York dedicated exclusively to the production of vinifera grapes. Millbrook Vineyards & Winery’s 30 acres of vines include plantings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and an Italian varietal called Tocai Friulano. Dyson began planting vines at the Millbrook site in 1983. The southwest facing slopes and the gravelly soil proved excellent for viticulture.
Millbrook Winery officially opened for tours and tastings in 1988, and today produces 8,000 - 10,000 cases of wine a year, specializing in Chardonnay, Tocai Friulano, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. The winery has earned recognition for these wines in such prestigious publications as The Wine Spectator, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Hudson Valley Magazine, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Encyclopedia of Wine, and Bon Appetit.
Essential to the Millbrook Wine Experience is an informative and enriching tour of the Winery, which will leave you with an insider's view of the entire winemaking process, from careful tending of the vineyards to our Winemaker's art of vinification. Tours are complimentary and conducted every day. Millbrook Vineyards & Winery is open year-round, seven days a week with the exception of some holidays. Press "Blue Button" for more about Millbrook Vineyards & Winery.
Oak Summit Vineyard is located at 372 Oak Summit Road, Millbrook, NY 12545 in the Hudson Valley. We make the greatest Pinot Noir in the true Burgundian manner. Great wine can only be made from great grapes. Therefore we grow only healthy, luscious grapes without any herbicides. Thereafter we vinify only clean, pure Pinot Noir without any additives.
Our 6 acres of vines are planted in Dutchess Cardigan, a somewhat gravelly loam of great depth. The natural pH is 6.3, and the soil is rich in nutrients and well balanced in minerals, without the need for artificial amendments. Our Pinot Noir vines are all traditional Dijon clones grafted on American rootstock. They are hand planted and hand trained onto a VSP trellis system.
Oak Summit's PINOT NOIR has received an amazing array of awards including 3 Gold Medals, a Silver and a Bronze from the Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association's 2005 Grand Competition at the Culinary Institute of America. And also, the prestigious CORNELL CUP for the best wine in the Hudson Valley AVA. And, among others, the DCEDC Agriculture Awards for 2005 and the Silver Medal from The American Wine Society's 21st Annual Competition. Press "Blue Button" to see photos of Vineyards, Tasting Room, Sunset View over the lake, and more about Oak Summit Vineyard.
The Hudson Valley Philharmonic features among the finest classically trained musicians in the area. This regional orchestra has set the standard for classical music in the Greater Hudson Valley for over forty years.
The Bardavon 1869 Opera House is a leading performance venue that presents touring artists of the highest quality in theater, dance, music, opera, and other performance genres. The Bardavon also strives to foster the development and presentation of new works. Each season the Bardavon's diverse offerings include Mainstage shows, Hudson Valley Philharmonic concerts, educational Daytime Performances, School Residencies as well as Community Service events. This variety ensures that the Bardavon is accessible to all who seek entertaining and inspiring live performances.
Since its construction in 1869 as the Collingwood Opera House, the Bardavon has taken a piece of each era in its long lifetime with it into the future. They have defined the Bardavon's distinctive position in the history of a community, a nation, an art form. Transformed from a 19th Century performance hall and gathering place into a movie palace in 1923, the theatre was retrieved from demolition in 1976 to become the leading performing arts and cinema venue of the Hudson Valley region that it is today. The stage has seen the great performers from all these eras: Mark Twain, Sarah Bernhardt, John Philip Sousa, the Barrymores, Martha Graham, Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Tommy Dorsey and more recently Dizzy Gillespie, Ballet Hispanico, Patti Smith, Pinchas Zukerman, Greg Allman, James Earl Jones, Harry Belafonte and many, many more.
Press "Blue Button" for Tickets, and more about Bardavon and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.
The vernacular stone house now known as Clinton House State Historic Site was built in 1765. The house was actively utilized from 1777 - 1783 when Poughkeepsie was the capital of New York State and several branches of state government convened in town. After a fire in 1783, General George Washington's New Windsor Cantonment ordered carpenters to rebuild this important structure. In addition to repairs, the house was enlarged and the present stairway was constructed at this time.
Clinton House State Historic Site has foundations which are two feet thick. The walls are constructed of rough fieldstone, while the gabled ends are made of wood. It is named in tribute to George Clinton, first governor of New York State, who resided in Poughkeepsie for twenty-one years.
Alison Wines & Vineyards is located at 231 Pitcher Lane, Red Hook, NY 12571 in Dutchess County. Alison Wines & Vineyards began in 1999 because Winemaker Richard Lewit dreamed of combining his numerous, but seemingly disparate, interests and loves including: the outdoors; New York’s Hudson Valley; biology and chemistry; wine and food. A native of Westchester and a graduate of nearby Bard College with a chemistry degree, Richard was working in New York City as a newspaper reporter when he realized that winemaking in the Hudson Valley combined what he wanted.
A few years later, after apprenticing at nearby Millbrook Vineyards and also with Oregon's renowned Ponzi family, Richard was ready to start his own winery. With six vintages completed, an impressive number of medals, and another vintage ready for the bottle, that dream is a reality. Fully established with a reputation for high-quality, affordable wines that are delicious and food friendly, Alison Wines is expanding with popular strawberry and blueberry dessert-style fruit wines as well as great-tasting apple wines.
We are proud to be a New York State farm winery in our favorite place, the Hudson Valley. We take care that our wines reflect the special climate and growing conditions found in New York. Happily, this produces just the sort of wines that we love: complex enough to enjoy over and over, accessible enough to sip alone, and versatile enough to complement any meal. For us wine is about everyday enjoyment with food, with family, and with friends. We hope you find the same enjoyment with our wines that we do. Press "Blue Button" for more about Alison Wines & Vineyards.
Breezy Hill Orchard & Cider Mills is located at 828 Centre Road, Staatsburg, NY 12580. Press "Blue Button" to browse our recipe section, check out our photo gallery or take a tour of Breezy Hill Orchard & Cider Mills.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site is located at Old Post Road, Staatsburg, NY 12580. Staatsburgh State was the elegant country home of Ogden Mills and his wife Ruth Livingston Mills. Sitting atop a grassy hill overlooking the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, their house is a fine example of a great estate built by America's financial and industrial leaders during the Gilded Age (1876 - 1917). Also known as the American Renaissance, this period in American history was marked by America's rapid economic growth and emergence as a world power.
Darius Ogden Mills, father of Ogden Mills, established the family fortune by investing in banks, railroads and mines. Ogden Mills, like his father, was a noted financier and philanthropist. In 1882 he married Ruth Livingston, whose family had been prominent landowners in the Hudson Valley since the 17th century. In 1890, Ruth Livingston Mills inherited her childhood home and property which had once belonged to her great-grandfather, Morgan Lewis, the third governor of New York State. In the 1890s Mr. & Mrs. Mills commissioned the prestigious New York City architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White to remodel and enlarge their home. Work began in 1895 and when completed in 1896, the house had been transformed from a 25-room Greek Revival style home into a Beaux-Arts mansion of 65 rooms and 14 bathrooms. Although the interior was lavishly decorated, mostly in the styles of 17th and 18th-century France, many architectural features of the earlier Livingston home such as the trims, moldings and many of the fireplaces had been preserved. This melding of grandeur and heritage is characteristic of the American Renaissance period.
Owning five homes, the Mills family resided in their Staatsburg home primarily in the fall and entertained as many as 80 guests at a time. The home and surrounding property was passed to their son, Ogden Livingston Mills in 1929. After his death in 1937 his sister Gladys Mills Phipps inherited the property and in 1938 donated the house and 192 acres of the estate to the State of New York as a memorial to her parents. Today the elegant mansion, restored to its turn-of-the-century appearance, is open for tours and the house and grounds offer special events throughout the year.
In the 1940’s a group of amateur musicians began playing together in Greenwich, CT. In 1958, several concerts under the baton of Kenneth Wendrich led to the founding of the Greenwich Philharmonia, now known as The Greenwich Symphony Orchestra.
In 1975 David Gilbert was named Music Director and Conductor. Associate Conductor Patricia Handy, who presents the Pre-Concert Lectures and conducts the GSO’s highly acclaimed Youth Concert series, joined in 1979. The Greenwich Philharmonia was renamed the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra in its 25th anniversary season, 1982 to 1983, and the Auxiliary became the Symphony Guild. That season marked the GSO’s first dual concert with the Greenwich Choral Society, and the establishment of the endowment fund, which was greatly enhanced by a gala benefit concert starring Victor Borge. Over the years, the GSO has featured such outstanding soloists as Emanuel Ax, Barry Douglas, Pamela Frank, John O’Conor, Peter Serkin, and Dawn Upshaw.
The Greenwich Symphony Guild is embarking on its thirty-sixth year of service to the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. Members of the Guild are devoted to classical music and the orchestra, and they actively participate in audience development, community outreach and fund raising for the many activities and programs of the Symphony.
Young People's Concerts are specially designed to introduce Greenwich school children to the music of the great masters and the symphony orchestra. Attending the programs are all children in grades two through seven of all public and private schools in Greenwich. These students are prepared for knowledgeable listening by their schools; music teachers, with the aid of CDs and creative classroom assignments prepared by the Greenwich Symphony Board’s Young People’s Concert Committee.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children is located at Mathews Park, 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850 in Fairfield County. Our educational philosophy at Stepping Stones is based on the knowledge that children learn best through direct hands-on interaction with their environment. Stepping Stones strives to provide a safe, nurturing environment that stimulates a child's natural curiosity and supports their innate desire to learn.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children, named one of America's top 50 children's museums, features interactive exhibits, educational programs and fun for the whole family. With four main galleries, a toddler's-only gallery and more than 80 hands-on activities, Stepping Stones offers visitors ages 10 and under plenty to explore and discover.
At Stepping Stones, children can climb a kapok tree and learn about tropical rainforests and conservation, report the weather from a real weather station, fly a simulated helicopter, or take a journey through the water cycle. With new exhibit experiences and programs introduced all year long, each visit is truly unique. Press "Blue Button" to learn more about the wonderful activities available at Stepping Stone Museum.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located at 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877. Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is one of those great "what-if" places where the permission to imagine things differently is the everyday modus operandi. Challenging, questioning, and beckoning visitors with innovative programming linked to groundbreaking art on view, The Aldrich offers programs and events that cater to just about everyone. From children, students, families, and community organizations, to artists, collectors, and galleries, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's programs and events are a resource to experience the new, meet the artists, gain a behind-the-scenes perspective, and speak directly with our curators and educators about the art on view. Press "Blue Button" for Exhibitions, Events, Education, and more about Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
The Ridgefield Playhouse is dedicated to serving Ridgefield, Connecticut and nearby communities in the Performing Arts. Designed in 1938, the auditorium in "the old high school" was once the center of Ridgefield's cultural life. During World War II, residents had the privilege of twice hearing the legendary Arturo Toscanini conduct here. In its new life, The Ridgefield Playhouse has been designed to embrace its former role and more. In an age of multiplexes and stadiums, what a pleasure to be in an impeccably renovated, historic theater with near-perfect acoustics!
Since our opening, enthusiastic, sold-out audiences have enjoyed Peter Yarrow, Marcel Marceau, Barbara Cook, Moscow Boys Choir, Joan Baez, and The Bacon Brothers. Film-goers have seen a range of movies from Oscar-winners such as Traffic and Chocolat to family fare to our international film series. Community events such as the Ridgefield High School Orchestra Concert and the Annual Town Meeting found a new home at The Playhouse.
While we can all agree with Shakespeare that "the play's the thing," we also know that this beautiful theater adds a great deal to the experience of a performance or movie. In an age of multiplexes and stadiums, what a pleasure to be in an impeccably renovated, historic theater with near-perfect acoustics!
Notable Beginnings, Legendary Performances Designed in 1938, the auditorium in "the old high school" was at one time the center of Ridgefield's cultural life. In its heyday, before being abandoned in 1972, it was home to school performances as well as community events and town meetings. During World War II, residents had the privilege of twice hearing the legendary Arturo Toscanini conduct here.
In its new life, The Ridgefield Playhouse has been designed to embrace its former role and more. The interior preserves the hall's excellent acoustics that make it an ideal venue for musical performance and live theater. At the same time, retractable draperies cover the walls enabling the "deadening" effect needed to show movies. Thanks to a generous legacy from Patricia Schuster, founder of the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet, the stage was built to have the resilience necessary for dance performances. Parts of the old stage rigging have been preserved and supplemented to enable use of the stage's large fly space. Stage lights and a state-of-the-art sound system have been installed.
Echoing the importance of the town of Ridgefield in the theater's life is a hand-painted mural covering the lobby walls with familiar scenes of historic Ridgefield. The mural, a gift from a Ridgefield couple, was created by a local artist. Other murals enliven the interior of the performance area as well as the entryway to The Playhouse; all were gifts of Playhouse supporters. Press "Blue Button" to explore the Ridgefield Playhouse."
The Ridgefield Theater Barn is located at 37 Halpin Lane, Ridgefield, CT 06877. In 1965 a handful of Ridgefield residents banded together to form a small theater group dedicated to providing Community Theater. This not-for-profit organization grew into the Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts, Inc. Housed in a rustic converted dairy barn leased from the town of Ridgefield; the Workshop continues to produce an ongoing series of comedies, dramas, and musicals. We maintain a production schedule of four shows per year, with performers chosen through open auditions. The cast and crew of every show run the gamut from raw amateurs to seasoned professionals.
The Ridgefield Theater Barn is excited about its upcoming season with cabaret seating at candlelit tables, we offer superior entertainment, so BYO refreshments and join us.
Stamford Center for the Arts (SCA), a not-for-profit arts organization, is dedicated to serving as the region's premier center for the performing arts. SCA operates the exquisitely restored historic Palace Theatre and the state-of-the-art Rich Forum, both within four blocks of each other in downtown Stamford, Connecticut.
Each season, Stamford Center for the Arts creates, presents and promotes the highest quality entertainment, education and outreach programs that include the best in live theatre, concerts, comedy and dance entertainment from throughout the world.
The Palace Theatre, a 1580-seat Thomas Lamb designed vaudeville house, was acclaimed as "Connecticut's Most Magnificent" when it opened in 1927. The Palace was restored and re-opened in 1983 for live theatre, concerts and art exhibitions in the Sackler Gallery.
Rich Forum, which opened in 1992, is an arts and communications center. Rich Forum includes the 757-seat Truglia (proscenium) Theatre; the Leonhardt Studio (black box theatre); the Mercede Promenade; and the front-of-the-house upper level that includes the elegant Rossi Salon and the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Gallery.
Both the Rich Forum and Palace Theatre seasons include performances by Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra, Stamford Symphony Orchestra, New England Lyric Operetta, Ballet School of Stamford, Young Artist Philharmonic, Lumina String Quartet, Zig Zag Ballet, The Perry Players, as well as stage productions specifically for young audiences.
Since its inaugural season (1992-93), Rich Forum most recently presented such productions as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dinner with Friends, Thunder Knocking on the Door, ART, The Threepenny Opera, and SCA's Fringe Festival. The Palace Theatre and Rich Forum attracted such diverse and luminous events and performers as Lily Tomlin, Peter, Paul & Mary, Tom Jones, B.B. King, Carrot Top, Harry Belafonte, Drummers of West Africa, Vienna Choir Boys, Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Late Nite Catechism, George Winston, It's A Wonderful Life, The Big Apple Circus, Annie, Liza Minnelli, Itzhak Perlman, Johnny Mathis, Michael Feinstein, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Ray Romano, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Judy Collins, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and more.
In 1996, Stamford Center for the Arts established a month-long festival, Celebrate! Black History, which has evolved into a year-round African-American Cultural Series featuring numerous and varied events, many of which are free for local and statewide youths, adults and families.
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located at 39 Scofield Town Road at High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT in Fairfield County. The Stamford Museum & Nature Center has miles of beautiful walking trails. These trails cover much of the 118-acre property, offering short hikes along Poorhouse Creek to more challenging excursions along the High Ridge Trail. A walk through any trail may afford glimpses of wood duck pairs, painted turtles sunning on rocks, or even a pileated woodpecker. Spectacular glacial erratic boulders are strewn throughout the trail system. An enthusiastic hiker will find a number of different walks to suit a particular mood or season, like finding a secluded bridge on a bird-watching morning, or discovering a cave where coyotes have slept. The trails wind through a mature forest of American beech, oaks, black birch, and other native plant species.
Playground Did you ever wonder what the world is like from an animal's point of view? Scamper through the giant hollow log into Nature's Playground and find out. This exciting new playground in the woods at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center is nestled into a rocky hillside and is part of the Overbrook Natural Science Complex. Kids (or adults) can scale a spider's web to a tree house with a lookout, then wind their way down a tubular slide or zoom down the otter slide.
They can jump on a bouncing bug, try to walk across a moving bridge or climb into a hawk's nest to survey their territory. Wiggle like a worm across two huge maple leaves, and crawl through an ant's nest. Dig for fossils in the huge sand pit. They also can become the captain and crew of the boat that's anchored here.
Nature Trails Our trails connect with the 88 acre-Bartlett Arboretum on the north end of the Museum's property.
New England Working Farm Heckscher Farm is open between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for "Down on the Farm" programs. Explore our traditional working farm and discover the sounds, smells, and textures that evoke memories and reveal the nature of farmlife. Observe staff conduct the daily chores that maintain this active, productive farm. Heckscher Farm is a living resource for learning. Children and families make personal connections to a not-so-distant past when farming was a major way of life in the region. Through observation, exploration, and participation, visitors can immerse themselves in the experiences of farming.
Education We are an Educational Institution. The Museum's 10-acre farm provides educational and recreational activities. At the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, we offer year-round classes in art and nature for toddlers through adults. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.
Attractions include: Hiking / Walking Playground Nature Trails Working Farm
The Stamford Symphony Orchestra is widely acknowledged to be the finest in Connecticut. It consists solely and entirely of professional union musicians from New York City and the surrounding areas, including Fairfield County and Westchester County. In addition to the SSO, these outstanding musicians currently play with: The American Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York City Ballet Orchestra, New York City Opera Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra.
A typical Stamford Symphony Orchestra season features: five pairs of Classical Concerts, three Pops Concerts, a student concert designed for elementary students, and a Family Concert Series.
The Stamford Symphony is the resident orchestra at the Stamford Center for the Arts' newly renovated, 1586-seat Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre is in downtown Stamford in the heart of Fairfield County.
In 1980, Music Director Roger Nierenberg ascended our podium. Maestro Nierenberg's commitment to the SSO and the community has resulted in the expansion of the classical subscription series, the creation of new music and education programs, and the recognition of the Stamford Symphony Orchestra as a musical treasure by the local community, and "a major cultural force" by the New York Times.
In 2003, Maestro Nierenberg announced he would step down as Music Director. Eckart Preu was named Music Director of the Stamford Symphony Orchestra in June 2005. Maestro Preu is a superb musician, an energetic community leader, and an artistic visionary.
Historical Note: The Stamford Symphony Orchestra was first organized in 1919. It ceased operations temporarily after World War II, when many of the orchestra's European musicians returned to their homelands. The orchestra was revived in 1967, and with Skitch Henderson's appointment as Music Director in 1974, the Stamford Symphony became the fully professional orchestra it is today.
Whitney Museum Of American Art
203-358-7641
With a branch in Stamford, the Whitney Museum has joined forces with Champion International Corporation to make fine works of contemporary American art easily accessible to those coming from Connecticut or Westchester. The Whitney Museum at Champion presents five exhibitions annually, including works from Whitney's permanent collection, as well as traveling exhibitions of American art. The Museum also sponsors great family activities.
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is a Second Empire architectural style lighthouse located in the Hudson River between Hudson and Athens, New York.
In the late 1880’s, hazards created by the Middle Ground Flats opposite the City of Hudson made navigation of the Hudson river at that point extremely risky for the busy shipping route. After much petitioning to the Congress of the United States, a survey was completed and an appropriation of $35,000.00 was approved by Congress in 1872 to build the Hudson City Lighthouse now known as the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse.
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is one-hundred and thirty three years old. Steps and measures need to be taken to preserve any house wherever it is located. The unique location of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, in the middle of the Hudson River, makes monumental demands on its owners for the house's preservation. The age of the house, the currents, the tides, the wakes of passing boats, the rushing spring flood waters, and the ice flows in 133 year winters have, and continue to compromise the foundation of the historic structure. At this time it is a priority that the foundation be repaired. Press "Blue Button" for photos, history, and more about the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse.
Windham Vineyard & Winery is located at County Route 10, Windham, NY 12496. Windham Vineyard is the highest elevation vineyard and winery in the Northeast. Come visit a picture perfect mountaintop vineyard and micro-winery. We produce small batches of hand crafted wines for every taste. We grow some very unusual grape varieties in our vineyards that make exceptionally delicious and unique wines. Press "Blue Button" for details of our all inclusive mountaintop wine breaks, current opening hours, and vineyards.
Early Dutch settlers were attracted to the area now known as "Historic River Towns" of Westchester. Visit the charming many towns overlooking the Hudson River and walk through areas both rich in history and beautiful to explore. Tourists and Weschester residents will enjoy wonderful sites including: Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park, The Old Dutch Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow, Lasdon Park Arboretum & Veterans Memorial consisting of woodlands, grass meadows, formal gardens or the beautiful Lyndhurst National Trust Historic Landmark.
Bring your family and experience the wonder of the Hudson River Valley with special programs and events geared especially for children.
Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, New York, may be the most popular site in the Hudson Valley for children. This working 17th century farm and trading center features demonstrations of early farm techniques with oxen, cows, and sheep. A working water-powered grist-mill is fascinating for children of all ages. Demonstrations of spinning and open-hearth cooking in the tenant farmer's house are scheduled frequently.
New York's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) helps communities identify, evaluate, preserve, and revitalize their historic, archeological, and cultural resources. The SHPO administers programs authorized by both the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the New York State Historic Preservation Act of 1980.
History of Lighthouses
At night, in the fog, or in a storm, lighthouses act as guideposts for ships. Lighthouses warn sailors so they don't hit land or other obstructions in the water. They are built on harbors, islands, and beaches. Many years ago, people set fires at the edge of the water to warn boats of dangerous rocks and shores. The Egyptians are the first people known to have built lighthouses to guide ships. Lighthouses were also constructed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, and the Romans. The first lighthouse in England was the Eddystone Rock Lighthouse built on a steep rock in 1698. The first lighthouse in America, lit in 1716, was the Boston Lighthouse on Brewser Island in Boston Harbor.
Early lighthouses used wick lamps as a source of light; the light beam could only travel a few miles. In 1822 the first modern lighthouse lens was invented by a Frenchman named Augustin Fesnel. Fresnel discovered how to increase light by using prisms. In 1841, the Fresnel lens was installed for the first time in a lighthouse.
Lighthouses were operated by keepers who had to make sure that the lights were burning and fog bells were ringing at night, in fog, storms, or any condition that limited visual acuity. The lighthouse keeper often rang bells and even shot cannons as a warning to ships. A keeper's house was either built into a lighthouse or constructed separately close to the lighthouse. Today most lighthouses have lights that run automatically using electricity.
Lighthouses have played an important role in the history of the Hudson River. The Stony Point Lighthouse was built as early as 1826. Fourteen lighthouses were built along the Hudson River, including two at the Rondout Creek in Kingston and a post light with a fog bell at Danskammer Point. There were also numerous other post lights up and down the river. Today only seven lighthouses remain.
The (now known as) American Folk Art Museum was founded in 1961, in retrospect an odd moment for such a focused venture. It was well after the early decades of the twentieth century and the Modernist and Colonial Revival movements that found in American folk art the cultural validation they were seeking. And it was also years before the bicentennial celebration of 1976, when a renewed pride in America’s heritage gave rise to a boom in the marketplace as well as the serious study of material culture, filtered for the first time through the lens of multicultural patterns.
The collectors who founded the American Folk Art Museum subscribed enthusiastically to the notion of a homogenous national heritage, and this was reflected in the art they collected and, consequently, in the gifts they gave to the museum. The collection was launched in 1962 with the gift, appropriately enough, of a gate in the form of an American flag that celebrated the nation’s centennial. In the forty years since, the museum’s collection has continued to grow and evolve and now includes artworks from the seventeenth century through the present. New thoughts about the makeup of American society have expanded collecting goals, but as the “American Anthem” exhibition makes all too clear, the museum still has a long way to go toward remedying a balance weighted heavily in favor of the field’s early interests and directions. In other words, the opening of the new American Folk Art Museum does not suggest that the museum’s collection is “complete” or that things will not continue to change. Like American folk art itself, it merely marks a moment in time, with all its concomitant forces, for us to say this is where we are now, but the journey continues.
The American Folk Art Museum's exhibit "American Anthem” is an unabashed song of praise to the nation, for the simple reason that American folk art is essentially patriotic, whether celebrating national events, decrying the nation’s dark days, or describing personal moments. Refuge, freedom, ingenuity, land of opportunity, these are phrases identified with the mythology of America, and they are ideas indelibly imbedded in America’s vernacular arts.
The American Museum of Natural History was established in 1869 in a world very different from todays. Even by the late 19th century, we did not have a firm knowledge of many of Earth's land regions and oceans, the diversity of cultures outside of western societies, and the essential history and organization of life on Earth. Darwin's revolutionary Origin of Species had been published only ten years before. It would be 30 more years before the structure of the atom would be revealed and the laws of heredity disclosed, 40 years before Einstein would share his theories of relativity, and 132 years before the entire three billion nucleotides of the human genome would be mapped.
Over this period of spectacular scientific achievement, the American Museum of Natural History has played a leading role in exploration, discovery, and theoretical advances in the natural sciences. Central to these efforts has been the accumulation of one of the world's great Museum collections. The Museum was a leader in forging new theories on the way we look at cultures, biological organisms, and indeed the very evolution of life. Today, science at the American Museum of Natural History thrives and expands on these earlier accomplishments.
Science areas to explore at the American Museum of Natural History include: The Institute for Comparative Genomics, The Division of Physical Sciences and a new Astrophysics Research Program, The C. V. Starr Natural Science Building, The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Anthropology and Cultural Studies, Paleontological Exploration, Vertebrate Zoology, Exploring the Vast Diversity of the Invertebrates, Digitization of the Library Collections.
The above are only a sample of the initiatives currently underway at the Museum that is intended to define the institution's leadership in 21st-century science. This is a time of unprecedented disclosure of the secrets of the gene, the biota, and the history and workings of the earth, the planets, and the universe. Technologies in computation, imaging, genomics, and comparative biology that is now readily adopted in Museum science seemed more like alchemy only a few years ago. Traditional assumptions about the history and interactions of humankind are broadly disarmed by the changing modern world of cultural interrelationships. And now, as never before, the kind of science fostered by the Museum is needed to define effective stewardship for Earth's eroding natural environments. In these exciting and challenging times, the Museum will continue to seize extraordinary opportunities to transform our scientific vision into meaningful results, a strategy that has served the Museum throughout its history.
Press the "Blue Button" to enter the astounding world available to explore at The American Museum Of Natural History.
The mission of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) is to be the preeminent national institution advancing the study and appreciation of coins, medals and related objects of all cultures as historical and artistic documents, by maintaining the foremost numismatic collection and library, by supporting scholarly research and publications, and by sponsoring educational and interpretive programs for diverse audiences.
On June 18, 2004, The American Numismatic Society officially opened its new headquarters at 96 Fulton Street in lower Manhattan. The ANS contains America's most comprehensive collection of coins, medals and paper currency from every part of the globe. The 35,000 square foot former bank building also encompasses the world's largest numismatic library. The library embraces two full floors. There are educational and research facilities now available to international scholars, students and the general public who are interested in studying coins, medals and other treasures in the Society's superb collection.
One of the first alternative spaces in New York City, Artists Space was founded in 1972 to support contemporary artists working in the visual arts, including video, electronic media, performance, architecture and design. The mission of Artists Space is to encourage experimentation, diversity and dialogue in contemporary arts practice, provide an exhibition space for new art and artists, and foster an appreciation for the vital role that artists play in our community.
The Asia Society is an international organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and deepening understanding among the peoples of Asia and the United States. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, the Society reaches audiences around the world through its headquarters in New York and regional centers in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne and Shanghai.
The Asia Society Museum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization. The Society provides a forum for building awareness of the more than thirty countries broadly defined as the Asia-Pacific region, the area from Japan to Iran, and from Central Asia to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Through art exhibitions and performances, films, lectures, seminars and conferences, publications and assistance to the media, and materials and programs for students and teachers, the Asia Society Museum presents the uniqueness and diversity of Asia.
The Chelsea Art Museum (CAM) is committed to an exploration of “art within a context.” This approach favors a program of exhibitions which reflect contemporary human experience across a broad spectrum of cultural, social, environmental and geographical contexts. CAM’s exhibitions, each supported by a rich series of related cultural events and educational programs, seek to support in both its artists and audiences a sense of creativity, community and cultural exchange. Co-founder and president, Dorothea Keeser, describes CAM’s curatorial vision as, “a commitment to art as a living entity which reacts and interacts with us and changes the way one continues to live one’s daily life ”.
In collaboration with a network of museums and visual arts institutions both national and international, The Chelsea Art Museum seeks to present important, but relatively unexplored dimensions of 20th and 21st Century art, particularly focusing on artists that have been less exposed in the United States than in their home countries. The museum, a 30,000 sq. foot renovated historic building in the heart of Chelsea, is located opposite the piers which served as entry for the arrival and assimilation of foreign cultures into New York. This location provides a powerful symbol of the museum’s mission: to be a meeting point, a destination for exhibitions and works from Europe, the Americas and Asia and returning CAM generated exhibitions to those partners both overseas and within the United States.
The Chelsea Art Museum also serves as the home of the Jean Miotte Foundation which is dedicated to archiving, preserving, presenting and making available for exhibitions the work of Jean Miotte. Rotating selections of Miotte’s work are shown on a regular basis, as are selections from the permanent collection which includes rare holdings of such artists as Pol Bury, Mimmo Rotella, and J.P. Riopelle.
The permanent collection of the Chelsea Art Museum includes many European abstract artists often labeled as Informel, including Corpora, Lakner, Kirkeby, Millares, Miotte, Santomaso, Schumacher, Stöhrer, Thieler, Vedova. The collection also holds American abstract artists Francis, LaNoue, Mitchell, Motherwell, Riopelle; a large body of works by the Affichiste Mimmo Rotella; and works by Jean Arp, Olivier Debré, Jean Fautrier, and Ellen Levy. Sculptors in the collection include Bernar Venet, Pol Bury, Kanter, Jeff Beer, Johannsen and Zadkine. The collection also has an important selection of rare books and works on paper.
For over thirty years, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan has been an exciting destination for children to discover new ideas and stretch the imagination. Each year, 350,000 museum visitors participate in a school field trip, a family visit, a professional development session or an outreach program.
Exhibitions at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan are created and built by a team of education specialists and designers and tour both nationally and internationally. Based on the idea that students learn by doing, each theme-based exhibition uses hands-on activities, interactive components and larger than life environments to encourage students to explore in new ways and make learning fun.
Engaging, hands-on programs at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan make learning fun. Key observation, analytical and problem solving skills are developed through applied learning using directed experiments, exhibition exploration, open-ended art projects and more. Activities support learning in the areas of science, math, language and the creative arts, and our interdisciplinary approach to themes appeals to students with a variety of learning styles. Programs conform to New York State and City learning standards, are adapted to each grade level and can be tailored to classes with special needs
Founded in 1926, the China Institute in America is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution that promotes the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of traditional and contemporary Chinese civilization, culture and heritage and provides the cultural and historical context for understanding contemporary China. China Institute offers programs, activities, courses and seminars on the visual and performing arts, culture, history, music, philosophy, language and literature. They are appropriate for people of all ages and backgrounds, as well as children’s programming, business and current affairs programs and professional development programs for teachers.
The China Institute Gallery has presented over 90 exhibitions, encompassing all areas of Chinese art. With its renowned reputation for high quality exhibitions, scholarly catalogs and interpretive programming, China Institute Gallery has become a unique resource for the general public, scholars, students and connoisseurs to learn about Chinese art and culture.
The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The Museum believes that design shapes our objects, environments, and communications, making them more desirable, functional, and accessible. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum celebrates the nature of design and explores its impact on the quality of our lives.
The Dahesh Museum of Art is the only institution in the United States devoted to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting works by Europe's academically trained artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Dahesh serves a diverse audience by placing these artists in the broader context of 19th-century visual culture, and by offering a fresh appraisal of the role academies played in reinvigorating the classical ideals of beauty, humanism, and skill.
Every exhibition presented at the Museum sets out to explore, often for the first time, some important feature of academic art and the institutions that nourished it in 19th-century and early 20th-century Europe. Utilizing loans from distinguished international collections, both private and public, previous exhibitions here have examined, among other topics, the training of artists; the world of the Salon with its competitions and juries; the 19th-century fascination with the Orient, reciprocated from Cairo to Paris; the influence of photography, travel, and archeological discoveries of the classical past; and the reproduction of artworks for an international market.
The Dahesh Museum of Art collection contains paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and books by the most popular artists of 19th-century and early 20th-century Europe. Artists such as Barye, Benouville, Bouguereau, Bonheur, Cabanel, Gérôme, Leighton, Picou, Troyon, and Vernet explored the subjects preferred by their fellow academicians, and by the growing middle-class audience who visited the annual Salons in Europe’s major cities. Sumptuous landscapes, exotic "Oriental" scenes, closely observed animals, grandiloquent images from history and myth, and intimate scenes of everyday life form the core of the Museum’s collection. Works by masters acclaimed today, and also by artists known only in their day, are viewed side-by-side, as they were 150 years ago.
When Puerto Rican educators, artists and community activists founded El Museo del Barrio in 1969, they envisioned an educational institution that would reflect the richness of their culture. Thirty years later, as New York City's only Latino museum dedicated to Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American art, El Museo del Barrio retains its strong community roots as a place of cultural pride and self-discovery, yet projects itself nationally through exciting exhibitions and programs.
From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island, a small Island in New York Harbor. Ellis Island is located in the upper bay just off the New Jersey coast, within the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and is one of the country's most popular historic sites. In 2001, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service, unveiled the American Family Immigration History Center. This exciting family research facility at Ellis Island provides visitors with advanced computer and multimedia technology, printed materials, and professional assistance for investigating immigration history, family documentation, and genealogical exploration.
The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is located in the Main Building of the former immigration station complex and tells the moving tales of the 12 million immigrants who entered America through the golden door of Ellis Island. Today, the descendants of those immigrants account for almost half of the American people.
One of your ancestors - a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent, risked everything to come to this country. Their courage and determination provided the freedom, opportunities and lifestyle we all too often take for granted. Press "Blue Button" to enter The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation Visit "The American Immigrant Wall of Honor". You can "Search the Wall", "Link to your Heritage", "Honor Your Grandparents" and 'Search for your Family Records!
The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) celebrates fashion and textiles as profoundly human expressions of creativity, knowledge, and identity. Founded in 1967 to support the educational programs of the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Museum at FIT is today one of only a handful of museums in the world devoted to the art of fashion.
Best known for its innovative, award-winning exhibitions, the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology also has one of the world's most important collections of fashion and textiles, which it collects, conserves, documents, exhibits, and interprets for the purposes of education and inspiration.
The collections continue to grow as pieces are donated or purchased. New acquisitions are considered when they are either exceptional examples or fill a gap in the collections. Today the FIT's Museum collections have a dual function: as design laboratories used by students and professionals and as repositories where historically important objects can be safely preserved and exhibited for the education and aesthetic pleasure of present and future generations
The Frick Collection is one of New York City's most beloved cultural treasures. A visit to The Frick Collection evokes the splendor and tranquility of a time gone by and at the same time testifies to how great art collections can still inspire viewers today. Housed in the New York mansion built by Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), are masterpieces of Western painting, sculpture, and decorative art, displayed in a serene and intimate setting. Each of sixteen galleries offers a unique presentation of works of art arranged for the most part without regard to period or national origin, in the same spirit as Mr. Frick enjoyed the art he loved before he bequeathed it to the public.
The Frick Collection was founded by Henry Clay Frick, the Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist. At his death, Mr. Frick bequeathed his New York residence and the most outstanding of his many art works to establish a public gallery for the purpose of “encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts.” Chief among his bequests, which also included sculpture, drawings, prints, and decorative arts such as furniture, porcelains, enamels, rugs and silver, were one hundred thirty-one paintings. Forty-seven additional paintings have been acquired over the years by the Trustees from an endowment provided by the founder and through gifts and bequests. As of the end of 1995 The Frick Collection housed a permanent collection of more than 1,100 works of art from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century.
The art of The Frick Collection includes superb examples of Old Masters, English eighteenth-century portraits, Dutch seventeenth-century works of art, Italian Renaissance paintings, Renaissance bronzes, Limoge enamels, Chinese porcelains, and French eighteenth-century furniture. Artists represented in the Collection include Rembrandt van Rijn, Giovanni Bellini, El Greco, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Francois Boucher, Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Joseph Mallord William Turner, James McNeill Whistler, Francesco Laurana, Jean-Antoine Houdon, and Severo Calzetta da Ravenna.
The Frick Collection, although small, has played a very significant role in collecting and connoisseurship in the United States. The types of paintings collected by Mr. Frick deeply affected the taste of Americans in the decades after his death, first and foremost, that of Andrew Mellon, his close friend, and other collectors who gave to The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., founded by Mellon. Later, the example of The Frick Collection helped determine the nature of museums such as the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. It was, and continues to be, the model for many other collectors and institutions, whether or not they achieve the standards of collecting or the atmosphere of The Frick Collection as we know it today.
Press "Blue Button" for the official website of The Frick Collection & Frick Art Reference Library. You can select magnificent works of art and "zoom" into the work, seeing each detail of a "masterpiece". This website is wonderful and visiting the Frick offers a unique and special experience.
The new Hayden Planetarium is unlike any other such facility in the world. In the top half of the Hayden Sphere, the most technologically advanced Space Theater in existence will use advanced visual technology (including a customized, one-of-a-kind Zeiss Star Projector) to create shows of unparalleled sophistication, realism, and excitement. With this high-definition system, the Hayden Planetarium is the largest and most powerful virtual reality simulator in the world.
The bottom half of the Hayden Sphere houses the Big Bang, where visitors will be transported to the beginning of time and space, experiencing a dramatic, multisensory re-creation of the first moments of the universe. From here, visitors continue on an awe-inspiring journey that chronicles the evolution of the universe by following the Harriet and Robert Heilbrunn Cosmic Pathway, a sloping walkway that takes them through 13 billion years of cosmic evolution.
See the breathtaking Passport to the Universe at the Hayden Planetarium, that reveals the wonders of our universe in a way never before possible in a planetarium. No longer dependent on a single, multi-lens projector, the presentation is driven by computers and processors that treat the audiences to realistic close-up views of star fields and planets, taking them on an exhilarating flight through a virtual re-creation of our universe, into the Orion Nebula, out of our galaxy, and deep into intergalactic space. After reaching the edges of our known universe, the tour takes a "virtual shortcut" back to Earth, in a free fall, headlong through a black hole.
The Intrepid Sea-Air Museum displays one of the most successful ships in US History, now a national historic landmark, and one of the most unique attractions in New York City. In 1943, the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier was commissioned for service in World War II and went on to serve as a primary recovery vessel for NASA and then in Vietnam. Today the museum features a range of interactive exhibits and events that make Intrepid a snapshot of heroism, education, and excitement.
The hangar deck houses three of the legendary aircraft types which originally flew from the Intrepid during World War II: an original TBM Avenger torpedo bomber, and replicas of an F6F Hellcat fighter and an SB2C Helldiver dive bomber.
On the flight deck and portside aircraft elevator, America’s modern military cutting edge is represented by a Navy F-14 Tomcat, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Marine Corps aV-8C Harrier, and an A-12 Blackbird spy plane formerly in service with the CIA. During your visit, you’ll also find international air power on display with a British F-1 Scimitar, a French Entendard IV-M and a Polish MiG-21.
The Intrepid Sea-Air Museum's helicopter collection includes two Vietnam-era UH-1 Hueys, a Marine Corps AH-1J Sea Cobra, and a fully restored Army AH-1G Cobra gunship. Press "Blue Button" to browse through the "Intrepid Sea-Air Museum" website, and then plan your visit!
Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, Fort Washington Park is located at 178th Street & Hudson River, New York, NY. The Jeffrey's Hook lighthouse, erected in 1880 and moved to its current site in 1921, has become widely known as the children's literary landmark, The Little Red Lighthouse.
The story of the lighthouse was popularized by the children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, by Hildegarde H. Swift. In this fictional account of Jeffrey's Hook lighthouse, the structure was presented as a symbol of the significance of a small thing in a big world. After the proposed removal of the lighthouse in 1951, the lighthouse became a celebrated "child's landmark," representing importance and permanence, The children cried out to "save the lighthouse" and so it was to be.
The Jeffrey's Hook lighthouse, which formerly had stood as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, from 1880-1917, was reconstructed in 1921 by the United States Bureau of Lighthouses as part of a project to improve the navigational aids on the Hudson River.
Visit the Lighthouse Scheduled tours offered spring through fall by the New York City Urban Park Rangers. Press "Blue Button" for tour information and more about the Little Red Lighthouse.
The Jewish Institute of Religion Museum presents an array of cultural and educational programs, organized in conjunction with exhibitions, which disseminate Jewish history, culture, contemporary creativity, and foster interfaith and multicultural understanding. The Museum welcomes students and instructors from a broad spectrum of Jewish, public, and parochial schools, who benefit from customized docent-led tours of the Museum, as well as opportunities to meet with HUC-JIR faculty and students, attend student recitals, and visit the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Petrie Synagogue and Klau Library.
A recent exhibition "WALDSEE-1944" is an exhibition that commemorates the annihilation of Hungarian Jewry during the summer of 1944, when Jews deported by the Nazis to their deaths at Auschwitz were required to write deceptive postcards from "Waldsee" to their families, reassuring them that all was well. Seventy international artists have created their own visual symbolism, in the form of the postcard, to commemorate the Hungarian Holocaust. Among the artists are William Kentridge, Judy Chicago, Tobi Kahn, Archie Rand, Ida Appelbrog, Hanan Harchol, Margalit Mannor, Lynn Avedenka, Ruth Weisberg, Leonard Meiselman, Natan Nuchi, Richard McBee, Donald Woodman, and Mark Podwal.
In 2004, The Jewish Museum celebrates its Centennial year, marking the gift, in 1904, of 26 Jewish ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary by Judge Mayer Sulzberger. Over the past 100 years, the Museum has assumed its role as a major cultural institution for New York City and the world. The Jewish Museum is an art museum exploring Jewish culture. It is both a source of inspiration and knowledge for an audience of visitors of all cultural backgrounds, and a special touchstone of identity for a diverse population of Jewish people. As we begin the Museum's second century, we invite you to a "virtual" exploration of an institution in which past and present meet to pose questions and foster dialogue about the future.
In 1944, Frieda Schiff Warburg, widow of the prominent businessman and philanthropist, Felix Warburg, donated the family mansion on Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street for use as The Jewish Museum. Located along New York's prestigious Museum Mile, this elegant landmark structure, in the style of a French Gothic chateau, has been our home since 1947. In 1993 an ambitious expansion and renovation project doubled the gallery space, added a glorious permanent exhibition, created classrooms and an auditorium for educational programs, and improved public amenities, including a café.
Through more than 28,000 objects including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media, The Jewish Museum's collection demonstrates Jewish identity and its evolution through visual art. It is one of the largest, most extensive collections of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
Café Weissman, located at The Jewish Museum, is proud to offer innovative kosher cuisine prepared by Foremost Glatt Kosher Caterers serving an exquisite selection of delicious salads, pasta dishes, desserts, and beverages.
We at Madame Tussauds are proud of our 200 year heritage. We've become world experts in entertainment and we will never cease striving to improve our art. We are always moving forward, and making the most of modern advancements. We understand that our customer is the heart of our attraction. Without a happy heart, our attraction will never be truly great. With this in mind, we will always take care of our customers, to ensure that their needs are met, and above all, to ensure that they are having the best time possible at our celebrated institution.
What will you remember most about your trip to NYC? Will you remember when you struck a pose and dazzled the paparazzi, when you sang live at the American Idol Experience, when you forecasted the weather with Al Roker, or perhaps when you made Jennifer Lopez blush? In a city with millions of things to see and do, there is only one place where over 200 of the world's top celebrities provide you with an interactive experience of a lifetime. For a trip to remember, visit Madame Tussauds, New York City's House of Wax Museum.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a collection of museums, each deserving of many repeated visits. It is a vast storehouse of knowledge, where works of art are held for reference as well as for display; its collections are meant to be consulted as one chooses from a long menu. Indeed, the strength of the Met is that all under one roof it provides an almost infinite number of options for many rich and rewarding visits. The Met is a universal museum: every category of art in every known medium from every part of the world is represented here and thus available for contemplation or study, and not in isolation but in comparison with other times, other cultures, and other media.
The Metropolitan Museum's permanent collection consists of more than two million works of art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens, businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day, who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people.
The Metropolitan Museum's painting collection began in 1870, when three private European collections, 174 paintings in all, came to the Met. A variety of excellent Dutch and Flemish paintings, including works by such artists as Hals and Van Dyck, was supplemented with works by such great European artists as Poussin, Tiepolo, and Guardi.
The collections continued to grow for the rest of the 19th century. But it is the 20th century that has seen the Met's rise to the position of one of the world's great art centers. Some highlights: a work by Renoir entered the Met as early as 1907. The Met has become one of the world's great repositories of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. In 1910 the Metropolitan was the first public institution to accept works of art by Matisse. By 1979 the Museum owned five of the fewer than 40 known Vermeers. The Department of Greek and Roman Art now oversees thousands of objects, including one of the finest collections in glass and silver in the world. The American Wing holds the most comprehensive collection of American art, sculpture, and decorative arts in the world. The Egyptian art collection is the finest outside Cairo. The Islamic art collection is without peer.
In 1880, the Metropolitan Museum moved to its current site in Central Park. The original Gothic-Revival-style building has been greatly expanded in size since then, and the various additions now completely surround the original structure.
Among the additions to the Met are: the Robert Lehman Wing (1975), which houses an extraordinary collection of Old Masters, as well as Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art; the installation in The Sackler Wing of the Temple of Dendur (1978), an Egyptian monument (ca. 15 B.C.) that was given to the United States by Egypt; The American Wing (1980), whose magnificent collection also includes 24 period rooms offering an unparalleled view of American art history and domestic life; The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing (1982) for the display of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing (1987), which houses modern art; and the Henry R. Kravis Wing, devoted to European sculpture and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 20th century.
The Metropolitan Museum continues to refine and reorganize the collections in its existing spaces. In June 1998, the Arts of Korea gallery opened to the public, completing a major suite of galleries – a "museum within the Museum". In October 1999 the Ancient Near Eastern Galleries reopened. And a complete renovation and reinstallation of the Greek and Roman Galleries is underway: the first phase, The Robert and Renée Belfer Court for early Greek art, opened in June 1996; the New Greek Galleries premiered in April 1999; and in April 2000 the Cypriot Galleries open to the public.
Important Feature: The Met's collection and special exhibitions are accessible to all. A number of additional programs and resources are designed specifically for visitors with disabilities. Get further information about accessibility, Sign Language interpretation, touch tours, and more.
Press "Blue Button" to see the Web site of The Metropolitan Museum of Art offering unprecedented access to six of the Museum's historic American period rooms, through state-of-the-art Virtual Reality technology that allows online visitors to "tour" the rooms through all-inclusive, three dimensional views.
For nearly half a century, the Museum of Arts & Design has served as the country’s premier institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in media such as clay, glass, wood, metal, and fiber. The Museum celebrates materials and processes that are today embraced by practitioners in the fields of craft, art and design, as well as architecture, fashion, interior design, technology, performing arts, and art and design-driven industries. The institution’s name reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the Museum’s permanent collection and exhibition programming as it explores objects that are created at the crossroads of craft, art, and design.
In June 2002, the Museum of Arts & Design was selected by The New York Economic Development Corporation (EDC), on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg, to redevelop Two Columbus Circle with the goal of bringing a vibrant cultural resource to the area. “I am delighted that Two Columbus Circle will be re-born as a museum and a distinguished work of architecture that will serve as a demonstration of the vitality of New York and the pivotal role that the arts play in the economic, social, and educational life of the city.” Mayor Bloomberg
Opening in 2008, the new Museum of Arts & Design will more than triple its space to 54,000 square feet from 17,000 square feet in its present location. The Museum’s exhibition space will increase fourfold. For the first time since its founding in 1956, the Museum will be able to present and expand its permanent collection of art objects, including ceramics, fiber, glass, metal, paper, wood, mixed media, and design–one of the most distinguished collections of its kind in the world. MAD will also double its gallery space for the display of special exhibitions organized by the Museum and other national and international arts institutions.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust - honors those who died by celebrating their lives, cherishing the civilization that they built, their achievements and faith, their joys and hopes, and the vibrant Jewish community that is their legacy today. In the Museum's core exhibition, personal objects, photographs, and original films illustrate the story of Jewish heritage in the twentieth century.
The 30,000-square-foot Museum on the waterfront at 36 Battery Place in Manhattan's Battery Park City, with its six-sided shape and tiered roof symbolic of the six points of the Star of David and the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, has proved a powerful attraction as one of New York City's newest cultural destinations. The Museum of Jewish Heritage goes beyond recounting the horrors of the Holocaust. Its mission is to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the broad tapestry of Jewish life over the past century, before, during, and after the Holocaust.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust - a testament to the endurance of a people, teaches essential and unforgettable lessons about the danger of intolerance. The Museum, like the history of the Jewish people, is a combination of celebration and sorrow, triumph and tragedy. Every object, every display, and every voice is a demonstration of the legacy of courage in the face of adversity that sustained the Jewish people through one of the worst periods in human history.
Each year, the Museum observes Yom HaShoah with a candle-lighting ceremony that brings together Holocaust survivors and high-school students throughout the New York area in a moving demonstration of the power of passing memories from one generation to the next. Hearing the history directly from those who lived it has an impact on students that is far stronger than any book, film, or lecture. As the years pass, it becomes still more important for succeeding generations to hear first-person accounts of this incredible tragedy.
Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world. The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity, and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library, archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications of preeminent intellectual merit.
The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary art, while being accessible to a public that ranges from scholars to young children. The ultimate purpose of the Museum declared at its founding was to acquire the best modern works of art. While quality remains the primary criterion, the Museum acknowledges and pursues a broader educational purpose: to build a collection which is more than an assemblage of masterworks, which provides a uniquely comprehensive survey of the unfolding modern movement in all visual media.
The Museum of the City of New York was founded in 1923. Its first home was Gracie Mansion. The Museum opened the doors of its new building at 1220 Fifth Avenue in 1932. The Museum of the City of New York embraces the past, present, and future of New York City and celebrates the city’s cultural diversity. It does so through its rich collections, a lively schedule of exhibitions, and an array of programs for adults and children. The Museum is dedicated to fostering an understanding of New York’s evolution from its origins as a settlement of a few hundred Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans to its present status of one of the world’s largest and most important cities.
The Museum of the City of New York's name says it all. With our unique mandate, to engage visitors in exploring the past, present, and future of the five boroughs of New York City and to explore the city's astonishing cultural diversity, we have the opportunity to present a wide variety of exhibitions, public programs, and publications, all investigating what gives New York its singular character. In this year alone, we have presented exhibitions on our own neighborhood of East Harlem, on the oldest community of Jews in North America, on the community-centered values of labor radicalism in the Bronx, on the glamour of "New York style," and on the rich legacy of black theater. Our city's constantly changing built environment was explored through exhibitions of photographs of the subways and through investigations of new design and new architecture. Public programs investigated everything from school reform to solutions to traffic congestion to the future of women in the New York workforce.
Please join us as The Museum of the City of New York continues to explore what makes New York New York.
Visitors to the National Academy Museum find it one of New York City's special treasures. The Academy is an honorary association of professional artists that maintains a museum and an art school. A requirement of membership, which is by election only, is the contribution of a representative example of each artist's work. Since its founding in 1825, the Academy has amassed a rich collection of American paintings, sculpture, prints, and architectural representations forming a permanent collection of over 8000 works of nineteenth through twenty-first century art. The museum presents exhibitions from its permanent collection as well as organizing major exhibitions, such as Surrealism U.S.A., which traveled to the Phoenix Art Museum. Located in a beautiful Beaux-Arts townhouse on Fifth Avenue, the National Academy is one of the eight museums that comprise Museum Mile.
The National Academy Museum houses one of the largest public collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art in the country. It comprises over five thousand works in almost every artistic style of the past two centuries, from the linear portraiture of the Federal period and the naturalistic landscapes of the Hudson River School to studies of light and atmosphere that inform Tonalism and American Impressionism; from the gritty realism of the Ashcan movement to the modernist movements of Fauvism, abstraction, and photo and magic realism. Masterworks in these and other styles have come into the National Academy Museum's collection mainly as gifts from newly elected National Academicians in compliance with membership requirements; thereby continually enriching the collection.
The National Sports Museum is the first world-class, interactive sports museum dedicated to the celebration of all sports and their significance in our lives and culture. As the "nation's definitive museum of sports," The National Sports Museum is the place for domestic and international visitors to experience the thrill and history of sports throughout the ages and throughout the world. The National Sports Museum will be located a few blocks from the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island ferry and the World Trade Center Memorial Site.
The National Sports Museum will provide an experience unlike any in New York City, the nation or the world. As a family-oriented attraction, the NSM's exhibits will engage people of all ages through an interactive and celebratory environment. The NSM will include permanent and rotating exhibits, a 360-degree immersion theater, special event spaces, an extensive retail area, and a sports-themed café.
The National Sports Museum's "Immersion Theatre" - During a spectacular 8-minute film presentation, National Sports Museum visitors will occupy the center of the theater space, surrounded by a multi-layered 360-degree video projection system. The film begins with images of empty stadiums and arenas, then proceeds through time-lapse photography to show those venues fill with fans.
Then the games begin: first serves thunder off rackets, drives explode from metal woods, footballs soar from the punter's foot and basketballs tip to one side. The intensity builds as the games proceed and visitors are taken through half-times and time-outs, building to a pulsating final sequence, showing fans celebrating after a thrilling win. Throughout the film, on a Jumbotron, athletes, fans, owners and coaches at all levels of sports talk about each stage of "the game" as it is shown. Press "Blue Button" for more information on the exciting National Sports Museum.
Founded in 1977, the New Museum of Contemporary Art is the premier contemporary art museum in New York City and among the most important internationally. Each year, the Museum presents six major exhibitions, and five Media Lounge shows. The program of dynamic solo exhibitions and landmark group shows defines key moments in the development of contemporary art, reflects the global nature of art today, and spans a vast array of cultural activities and media. The Museum is guided by the conviction that contemporary art is a vital social force that extends beyond the art world and into the broader culture. Our purpose is to engage diverse audiences ranging from arts professionals to those less familiar with contemporary art.
In 2005, the New Museum of Contemporary Art will begin construction of a new home at 235 Bowery at Prince Street. This 60,000 square foot facility will greatly expand the Museum's exhibitions and programs, and will be the first art museum constructed in Downtown New York's modern history.
The New York City Police Museum, as we know it today, was created in 1929 when the Recruit Training School was relocated to what was to become the Police Headquarters Annex at 400 Broome Street. The academy was then known as the "Police College". An entire floor of the college was dedicated as a museum, although still focusing on criminal methods and crime.
The Police Museum started to focus more on the history of the department and policing in New York with the appointment of its first curator, Detective Alfred Young who supplemented the displays of the museum with his own, extensive collection of police memorabilia. Detective Young is also credited with designing the current Medal of Honor. By March 2002, the museum opened at its permanent home at 100 Old Slip, the site of the old First Precinct stationhouse, a building that itself reflects the rich history of the NYPD.
Our building at 100 Old Slip was built in 1909-11 and designed by the notable architectural firm of Hunt & Hunt. This building was constructed as the new home for the First Precinct. It was considered a model police facility when built and chiefs of police throughout the country visited the new stationhouse looking to copy some of its features in their own new buildings. This building replaced another stationhouse built on the exact same spot in 1884, in fact the new stationhouse used the same foundation as the building it replaced. The 1884 stationhouse was constructed on the site of the former Franklin Market. It was built in the Neo-Italian Renaissance style. Its visual power was created by a rhythmic series of tall arches, heavy rusticated walls and restrained ornamentation. The building's distinctive profile with its dominating cornice is reminiscent of the Palazzo Riccardi in Florence and is now the home of The New York City Police Museum.
The following opening paragraph is taken from "The Address of 'The New-York Historical Society' delivered to the public on February 12th, 1805 and September 18, 1809: "Having formed an association, for the purpose of discovering, procuring, and preserving whatever may relate to the natural, civil, literary, and ecclesiastical history of our country, and particularly of the State of New-York, we solicit the aid of the liberal, patriotic, and learned, to promote the objects of our institution."
Today, The New-York Historical Society offers a world of information such as the wealth of significant objects housed in the Luce Center, their power to fascinate, evoke the past, and convey the physical reality of history complements the special exhibitions, library resources, and public programs that are also available to visitors. By presenting such treasures in a format at once transparent, adaptable, and accessible, the New-York Historical Society is charting an important new path in the museum community.
Press the "Blue Button" to explore the New York Historical Society & Museum website.
Paley Center For Media, The
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The Paley Center for Media is located at 25 West 52 Street, New York, NY 10019 and is located in Beverly Hills, CA. The Paley Center for Media leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public. Drawing upon its curatorial expertise, an international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the media community, the Paley Center examines the intersections between media and society. The general public can access the collection and participate in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, the innovations, the personalities, and the leaders who are shaping media. Through the global programs of its Media Council and International Council, the Paley Center also serves as a neutral setting where media professionals can engage in discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape. Previously known as The Museum of Television & Radio, the Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry.
At The Paley Center for Media, you have the opportunity to access an international collection of more than 140,000 programs covering almost 100 years of television and radio history, including news, public affairs programs and documentaries, performing arts programs, children's programming, sports, comedy and variety shows, and commercial advertising. Programming from some seventy countries is represented in the collection.
In our library you choose a program from the collection. Then you go to watch or listen to it at a console individually - or with up to four people at a family console.
You can also drop in to a screening in one of the Paley Center's theaters. Each day we screen a wide variety of programming from our collection, from David Bowie in performance or a look at the work of Jim Henson or the short films of Saturday Night Live. In our theaters you enjoy the communal experience of watching television together. All of the programming is also available for you to watch or listen to at an individual console through the library.
Throughout the year we offer numerous public programs in the Media as Lens subscription series that bring together writers, directors, producers, actors, critics, journalists, and artists from many disciplines to discuss everything from the creative process behind television and radio to the current trends in media and popular culture, to global political situations. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the The Paley Center for Media.
The mission of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is to promote the understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, and other manifestations of modern and contemporary visual culture; to collect, preserve, and research art objects; and to make them accessible to scholars and an increasingly diverse audience through its network of museums, programs, educational initiatives, and publications.
In June 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright received a letter from Hilla Rebay, the art advisor to Solomon R. Guggenheim, asking the architect to design a new building to house Guggenheim's four-year-old Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The project evolved into a complex struggle pitting the architect against his clients, city officials, the art world, and public opinion. Both Guggenheim and Wright would die before the building's 1959 completion. The resultant achievement, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, testifies not only to Wright's architectural genius, but to the adventurous spirit that characterized its founders.
The Guggenheim collection "online" premiered in April 2001 with a selection of works of art from the New York museum's holdings. Currently representing 169 artists, the collection online encompasses both the classic and the new—from the Guggenheim's earliest work, an 1867 landscape by Camille Pissarro, through more recent acquisitions, a 1998–99 sculpture by Robert Gober—striking a balance that reflects the dynamic tenor of the institution as a whole. Each work may be viewed at small, medium, or large resolution, and is accompanied by insightful commentary.
The Studio Museum in Harlem is a contemporary art museum that focuses on the work of artists of African descent locally, nationally and globally, as well as work that has been inspired and influenced by African-American culture, through its exhibitions, Artists-in-Residence program, education and public programming, permanent collection, archival and research facilities. The Studio Museum in Harlem is committed to serving as a unique resource in its local community and in national and international arenas by making art works and exhibitions concrete and personal for each viewer and providing a context within which to address the contemporary and historical issues presented through art created by artists of African descent.
The Studio Museum in Harlem has a long tradition of presenting programs that address prevalent issues in contemporary art by artists of African descent. Through the Department of Education and Public Programs, we offer a range of activities and programs that engage a diverse cross-section of artists of various disciplines, writers, scholars and critics who share diverse perspectives with our audiences.
Programs include: Architectural Walking Tours, Artists-In-Residence Open Studios, Books & Authors, Director's Dialogues, Hoofers' House, Inside/Out Gallery Tour, Poetry @ SMH, Sunday Salon, The Fine Art Of Collecting, Vital Expressions in American Art: Performance @ SMH.
In the Winter 2001, The Studio Museum in Harlem launched a new initiative Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History and Community, a intergenerational program that uses SMH's James VanDerZee Collection/Archives as the point of entry for people of all ages to share experiences and perspectives on community, identity, history and culture. Expanding the Walls was conceived to allow SMH to develop vital relationships with three distinct populations--youth, families, and senior citizens, as well as the cultural institutions and community based organizations that provide services to these groups.
Over the past decade museums around the nation have undertaken special initiatives to strengthen community relationships. Providing access to the arts, addressing the needs of under-served populations and using museum collections creatively to reflect the identity and interests of community have been the driving forces behind new programs. In developing programs that best meet the needs of their varied constituencies, the museum field has made it a priority to address communities who are often marginalized within the traditional paradigm of museum education. While the field has invested a great deal of time and resources in redefining the role of the museum in communities, many of these efforts have not been sustained and or the programs were intended to function as one-time exposure activities.
The Studio Museum in Harlem has over the last three decades successfully served as a resource for scholars, educators and more traditional museum visitors. In its geographic community-Harlem-however it has been perceived as exclusive and elitist. Its programs, while reflecting the standards of the museum field, have not always addressed the interests of its immediate community.
Expanding the Walls is a program that has been conceived to challenge habitual museum education practices by creating an environment where there is a clear exchange of information and an interactive pedagogical process between community and the institution, and between different generations. At the core of this new initiative is a program through which youth are trained to use photography and the visual arts in general to facilitate discussions of larger social issues in the context of exhibitions presented at The Studio Museum in Harlem. Press "Blue Button" for more information on "Expanding the Walls" and the many exciting events at The Studio Museum in Harlem.
The Cloisters is located in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park. The Cloisters, which celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 1998, is named for the portions of five medieval French cloisters: Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville; that were incorporated into the modern museum building. The result is not a copy of any particular medieval structure but an ensemble of spaces, rooms, and gardens that provide a harmonious and evocative setting in which visitors can experience the rich tradition of medieval artistic production. Just as cloisters provided sheltered access from one building to another within a monastery, here they act as passageways from gallery to gallery. They provide as inviting a place for rest, contemplation, and conversation as they did for their original monastic population.
The collection at The Cloisters is complemented by more than six thousand objects exhibited in several galleries on the first floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main building on Fifth Avenue. Renowned for its architectural sculpture, The Cloisters also rewards visitors with exquisite illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and tapestries.
Much of the sculpture at The Cloisters was acquired by George Grey Barnard (1863–1938), a prominent American sculptor and avid collector of medieval art. While working in rural France before World War I, Barnard supplemented his income by locating and selling medieval sculpture and architectural fragments that had made their way into the hands of local landowners over several centuries of political and religious upheaval. He kept many pieces for himself and, upon returning to the United States, opened to the public a churchlike brick structure on Fort Washington Avenue filled with his collection - the first installation of medieval art of its kind in America.
Through the generosity of the philanthropist and collector John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960), the museum and all of its contents were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1925. By 1927, it was clear that a new and larger building would be needed to display the collection in a more scholarly fashion. In addition to financing the conversion of 66.5 acres of land just north of Barnard's museum into a public park, inside which the new museum building would be located, and donating seven hundred acres of additional land to the state of New Jersey across the Hudson River to ensure that the view from The Cloisters remain unsullied, Rockefeller contributed medieval works of art from his own collection (including the celebrated set of seven South Netherlandish tapestries depicting "The Hunt of the Unicorn") and established an endowment for operations and future acquisitions.
Press "Blue Button" to see highlights from the collection housed at The Cloisters and presented online.
The Whitney Museum houses one of the world's foremost collections of twentieth-century American art. The Permanent Collection of some 12,000 works encompasses paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, drawings, prints, and photographs, and is still growing. The Museum was founded in 1931 with a core group of 700 art objects, many of them from the personal collection of founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; others were purchased by Mrs. Whitney at the time of the opening to provide a more thorough overview of American art in the early decades of the century. Mrs. Whitney favored the art of the revolutionary artists derisively called the Ashcan School, among them John Sloan, George Luks, and Everett Shinn, as well as realists such as Edward Hopper and American Scene painters John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton. Her initial gift, however, also comprised many important works by early modernists: Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, and others. Virtually all the works collected by the Museum for the next twenty years came through the generosity of Mrs. Whitney.
Founded in 1973, Yeshiva University Museum’s changing exhibits have celebrated the culturally diverse intellectual and artistic achievements of 3,000 years of Jewish experience. The Museum provides a window into Jewish culture around the world and throughout history through its acclaimed multi-disciplinary exhibitions and award-winning publications. By educating audiences of all ages with dynamic interpretations of Jewish life, past and present, along with wide-ranging cultural offerings and programs, Yeshiva University Museum attracts young and old, Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
Yeshiva University Museum presents exhibitions with an interdisciplinary focus that reflect the diversity of the Museum’s collection of more than 8,000 artifacts. As a resource for scholarly research, Yeshiva University Museum’s exhibitions provide unique opportunities for artists, historians, collectors, and ethnographers to examine, compare, and research objects, ideas, and techniques. Its contemporary art shows offer the public the opportunity to survey art being created by living Jewish artists throughout the world.
Features Include: Four Galleries, Exhibition Arcade, Multilingual Tours in English, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, & Yiddish, Outdoor Sculpture Garden, Docent Lounge, Children’s Workshop, 250 Seat Auditorium, Kosher Café.
The Bronx Zoo is the flagship zoo of the largest network of metropolitan zoos in the country. The Bronx Zoo is the heart of the Wildlife Conservation Society and our work to save wildlife and wild places around the globe. With award-winning, cutting-edge exhibits featuring over 4,000 animals, there is no other zoo in the world that offers the diversity, superb viewing, and world-renowned expertise that assures a rewarding experience and the knowledge that visitors can make a difference in the world around them.
Whether you're nose-to-nose with Western lowland gorillas in our famous Congo Gorilla Forest , spotting snow leopards in our naturalistic Himalayan Highlands Habitat, or experiencing almost an acre of an indoor Asian rain forest, you're always within roaring distance of the world's most amazing wildlife. In the end, you'll know that your admission fees went to a conservation organization that has more expert researchers in the field than any other. Together, we make a difference.
Godwin-Ternbach Museum is located at Klapper Hall 405, Queens College, Flushing NY 11367. The Godwin-Ternbach Museum is the only museum in Queens with art from ancient to modern times as well as the only museum within the City University of New York, and houses more than 3,500 works of art. These include Egyptian, Greek, and Asian antiquities, and pre-Columbian, African, and Pacific culture artifacts. Roman and Islamic glass, Renaissance and Baroque sculpture and decorative arts, as well as paintings and drawings by masters of all periods highlight the collection.
The Godwin-Ternbach Museum, officially established in 1981, had its genesis in the Queens College Art Collection. Drawing on its extensive and varied works, loans of artworks from other collections, and the rich educational resources of Queens College, the museum offers a dynamic schedule of changing exhibitions and programs. Through its outreach, art education programs as well as publications, lectures, music, films, and workshops are made available to individuals of all ages.
Press "Blue Button" to explore the Godwin-Ternbach Museum. For more information about the exhibition or lectures series, call 718-997-4747. Admission to the exhibition and lecture series is free.
Founded in 1959, the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum is a center for nature, with a focus on environmental education and a mission to develop responsible caretakers of the natural world. Over the years it has developed quality educational programs for students and the public that focus on the unique ecology of the Hudson Highlands and promote knowledge and appreciation of our natural world.
Outdoor Discovery Center The Outdoor Discover Center is located at 100 Muser Drive (entrance to the center is on Muser Drive across from 174 Angola Road) in Cornwall, NY.
Wildlife Education Center See the Living Hudson Exhibit; a multi-sensory experience full of the flora and fauna native to the Hudson Estuary. Follow the journey as water trickles down a highland creek into a wetland pond. The pond empties into a freshwater stream which then joins the Hudson River Estuary.
Press Blue Button to learn more about upcoming events, featured programs, and to Meet the Animal of the week.
The D&H Canal Park and the Neversink Valley Area Museum are located in Cuddebackville, Orange County, NY along the banks of the Neversink River. The Neversink Valley Area Museum preserves and documents the history of the peoples and industry of the Neversink and Shawangunk valleys of New York's Catskill region.
The Neversink Valley Area Museum occupies historic canal-era buildings in the D&H Canal Park right on the Neversink River.
For the Kids The Neversink Valley Area Museum has a number of activities that are especially suited to kids and their families.
The County Park, our home, has lots of grass and a playground.
Children love our Narrated Boat Rides along the D&H Canal (Sundays: 30 minute boat rides, boat seats 12 people, rides are $5.00).
Discover the beauty of the Neversink Valley This lovely region of Orange County is home to the Neversink, the Minisink, the amazing D&H Canal, a rich archaeological history and a network of small museums and historical societies devoted to presenting it all to you. Join us at the Neversink Valley Area Museum and our sister institutions for a tour of the natural beauty and rich history of our little corner of New York State. Press Blue Button for Kids & Family, events, and more about Neversink Valley Area Museum
Fort Montgomery State Historic Site is located in Fort Montgomery, New York 10922 in the historic Hudson River Valley.
Information Source The history of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton during the American Revolutionary War; a War of Independence between the Americans and England, is sourced from interpretive signs at the Fort Montgomery Visitor Center and on the Fort Montgomery historic trails.
Click to enlarge sign about Fort Montgomery in the American Revolution.
The interpretive sign reads: Welcome to Fort Montgomery "You are standing near the western end of Fort Montgomery: a Revolutionary War fort built to defend the Hudson Highlands and protect American control of the Hudson River. On October 6, 1777, the British captured Fort Montgomery and destroyed it in the days that followed.
"Trails from this parking area lead to two of the fort's redoubts. The trail that passes beneath the highway will take you to the Fort Montgomery visitor center and Fort Montgomery's remains where interpretive signs will help you understand the history of the fort and the battle."
Today, Fort Montgomery is an archeological site and a historic ruin.
Fort Montgomery was the scene of a fierce battle for control of the Hudson River during the American Revolutionary War; the Hudson was considered strategic by both the Americans and the British during the American War for Independence.
Building Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton "Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress realized that the Hudson River was critical to the American cause. If the British controlled the river, they could divide the rebellious colonies. Therefore, the Americans began work on Fort Montgomery in March 1776. . .
" . . . When the Americans discovered that the land on the opposite side of the Popolopen Creek was higher and would threaten Fort Montgomery if held by the enemy, they began constructing a second fort there, called Fort Clinton. They connected the two forts by a pontoon bridge. . .
"Fort Montgomery was a bustling community of hundreds of people. Soldiers, laborers, merchants, families, servants, and slaves lived at or visited the fort. Ships and boats arriving and departing added to the atmosphere of a small city.
"Supplies were often hard to obtain, morale was often low, and discipline was a chronic problem. Nevertheless, Forts Montgomery and Clinton were largely complete by October 1777, when the British attacked them."
Fort Clinton "Originally, the commissioners in charge of the work were confident that no overland attack on the fort was possible, but misgivings led them to begin extending the fortifications inland. They began fortifying several pieces of high ground that became Fort Montgomery's three redoubts. The realization that a higher piece of ground just across the Popolopen Creek threatened Fort Montgomery led to the construction of Fort Clinton."
Click to enlarge sign about the Battle of Fort Montgomery in the American Revolution.
The interpretive sign reads: Battle of Fort Montgomery "To aid Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's British army stalled at Saratoga, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton sailed from New York with 3,000 British, German, and Loyalist soldiers and a flotilla of warships. On the morning of October 6, 1777, Clinton landed 2,100 of his men on the west side of the Hudson River near Stony Point. This force followed a narrow trail through the mountains, where they ran into a party of 30 men sent from Fort Clinton to detect the British advance. After beating the Americans back, Sir Henry Clinton sent 900 men around Bear Mountain to attack Fort Montgomery. The rest would wait to attack Fort Clinton until the first group had reached Fort Montgomery.
"In the afternoon, the British began an assault on both forts, which were defended by no more than 700 men. At Fort Montgomery, the Americans kept the British at bay as the two sides exchanged musket fire. When the Americans refused to surrender, the British stormed both forts. Taking advantage of the growing dark and the smoky haze from the battle, many of the Americans escaped, but as many as 275 were taken as prisoners to New York City where they remained for much of the war.
"Following the battle, the British destroyed Fort Montgomery, garrisoned Fort Clinton, and burned New York's capital at Kingston. Then, receiving orders to join Sir William Howe's army near Philadelphia, Clinton's men destroyed Fort Clinton and sailed back down the Hudson. Although captured and destroyed, the forts had presented enough of an obstacle to keep the British forces in New York from aiding Burgoyne's army. The following year, in 1778, the American began rebuilding their defenses, this time at West Point."
Click to enlarge photo of the Wounded Patriot at the Battle of Fort Montgomery.
Men in the photo represent two American patriots: Private, Ulster County Militia, and Private, 5th New York Regiment. The militiaman, in civilian clothing, is armed with a British musket. He assists his wounded comrade carrying a French musket from the 1750s.
The American Revolution - 1777: History of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton The following historical accounts record the Battles of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton from different historical perspectives:
The War of the Revolution, by Christopher Ward, Volume II (Macmillan, 1952)
"An opaque fog lay close to the surface of the Hudson River on the morning of October 5, 1777. The awakening bugles of General Israel Putnam’s Continentals at Peekskill on the eastern shore of the river seemed muted by the white and misty blanket. The slow-rising sun burned irregular holes in it, however, and through these the General’s sentinels, who had been posted south of his encampment during most of the summer, saw something that banished their accustomed boredom. There were barges and galleys downriver—many of them—and above the low lying haze rose the towering masts of British frigates. From downriver, too, came the muffled sounds of alarm guns. The long-dreaded invasion of enemy troops from occupied New York had begun.
The elderly Yankee Israel Putnam was busy at once. An oarsman, rowing desperately, bore messages across the wide stream to Fort Montgomery, an unfinished cluster of earthworks then under the command of the thirty-eight-year-old governor of the new state of New York, Brigadier General George Clinton. At this bastion, nearly a hundred and fifty feet above the spot where the Popolopen Creek joins the Hudson, the Governor received Putnam’s letter. Immediately he sent a summary of its contents to his older brother, General James Clinton, then in command of Fort Clinton, a smaller stronghold on the steep south bank of the narrow creek.
In the meantime, the British under Sir Henry Clinton (a distant cousin of the American generals of the same surname) were disembarking at Verplanck’s Point on the east bank of the Hudson, not far below Putnam’s headquarters. The grating of their boats in the shallows of the river, the sharp voices of their officers ordering immediate formations, came strangely through the thick fog to the ears of Putnam’s scouts, informing them only that the invaders were in considerable numbers . . .
. . . Perhaps the Battle of Fort Montgomery would have been utterly neglected had not two young American soldiers chosen to visit the site on a sunny spring day of the following year. Historians do not usually end their chapters on such footnotes as these men provided, but their reports have so documented the narrative that they deserve place here. One of them, a young chaplain named Timothy Dwight (later president of Yale College), wrote in his journal that while he was climbing from a river barge to the place where the battle had been fought, the stench of dead bodies caused him great distress.
We found, at a small distance from Fort Montgomery, a pond of a moderate size, in which we saw the bodies of several men, who had been killed in the assault upon the fort. They were thrown into this pond, the preceding autumn, by the British … Some of them were covered at this time; but at a depth so small as to leave them distinctly visible. Others had an arm, a leg, or a part of the body, above the surface. The clothes which they wore when they were killed, were still on them, and proved that they were militia; being the ordinary dress of farmers. Their faces were bloated and monstrous; and their postures were uncouth, distorted and to the highest degree afflictive . . ."
Battles Of The Revolutionary War: 1775-1781 by W.J. Wood (Dec 23, 2003)
"On October 6th, 300 Continental soldiers of the 5th New York regiment, 100 artillerymen of Lamb's Artillery, and some 300 Levies and militiamen defended the unfinished Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton against a combined force of roughly 2,100 Loyalists, Hessians, and British regulars led by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton attacked Forts Montgomery and Clinton from the landward side (which was only partially completed) with support from cannon fire from British ships on the Hudson River. The land columns attacking from west of the fort consisted of the New York Volunteers, the Loyal American Regiment, Emmerich's Chasseurs, the 57th and the 52nd Regiments of Foot.
The Americans had emplaced an iron chain and a boom across the Hudson River, protected by four warships, to impede the British flotilla.
Lt. Col. Mungo Campbell and several British regulars approach the fort with a flag of truce indicating that they wish to avoid `further effusion of blood.' Clinton sends Lt. Col. William S. Livingston to meet the enemy. The British officer requests that the patriots surrender. They are promised that no harm would come to them. Livingston, in turn, invites Campbell to surrender and promises him and his men good treatment. Fuming at this audacity, the British resume the fight. British ships working against an ebb tide attack the forts and American vessels. A steady volley ensues with each side receiving a share of the bombardment. British officers Campbell and Vaughan close in on all sides of the twin forts. Leading his men into battle, Campbell is killed in a violent attack on the North Redoubt of Fort Montgomery. Vaughan's horse is shot from under him as he rides into battle at Fort Clinton.
After a fierce battle lasting until dark, the British pushed the courageous Americans from the forts at the points of their bayonets. The defenders are overpowered by sheer numbers and the British gain possession of Forts Montgomery and Clinton. American casualties numbered about 350 killed, wounded and captured, while the British paid a price of at least 190 killed and wounded. Those who were not killed or did not escape are shipped to the infamous Sugar House Prisons in New York City and then onto British "hell ships" (prison ships) in the harbor. A "return," or report of prisoners, is sent to communities in the Highlands to inform families of their loved ones' capture. It is up to the families to send provisions lest the prisoners starve. Countless patriots perish on the prison ships.
U.S. Army battle map, The Battle of Fort Montgomery, 5-6 October 1777 U.S. Army battle map, The Battle of Fort Montgomery, The British Attack, Dusk, 6 October 1777 Forts Montgomery and Clinton, located just south of West Point, were built for the defense of the Hudson Highlands in 1776. It was here that British and loyalist troops overwhelmed Clinton's outnumbered patriots in October.
Although the Americans lost the battle for the Highlands, a relative handful of Americans aided in delaying British reinforcements from joining Burgoyne in the upper Hudson Valley and allowed Gates to gain much needed militia reinforcements in time to ultimately win Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga."
A guide to the Battles of the American Revolution by Theodore P. Savas and J. David Dameron (Savas Beatie LLC, NY 2006)
American Perspective: "Waiting within the American fortifications on Bemis Heights was the bloodied Continental Army led by Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates. Not an audacious commander, Gates was content to await General Burgoyne's next move. While Gates market time on Bemis Heights, Patriot forces assigned to defensive positions guarding the entrance to the Hudson Highlands worked to complete two forts on the Hudson River 100 miles south of Albany, New York. Their commander was Brig. Gen. George Clinton (not to be confused with the British commander with the same last name). The forts over which the American Clinton (who was also governor of New York) labored were named Montgomery, in honor of fallen Patriot Gen. Richard Montgomery, and Clinton, after himself as commander of the forces in that region. Built on opposite banks of Popolopen Creek, which emptied into the Hudson River on its western shore at a strategic bend, eight miles south of West Point, the bastions were key to the strategic defense of the Hudson Highlands.
Fort Montgomery guarded the northern bank of the creek and Fort Clinton the southern bank. To the east of both forts flowed the majestic Hudson River. All told, the American fielded 600 men and 20 pieces of heavy artillery. The Patriots strung a heavy iron chain across the river and seeded the water with log obstacles to disrupt any maritime assault upon the American forts. Patrolling the Hudson were two Americans warships, Montgomery and Congress, supported by a handful of smaller vessels . . .
. . . Fort Clinton was constructed on the south side of Popolopen Creek on a rocky ridge overlooking the Hudson River below, oriented to cover a 400-yard wide plain before the drop to the waterway. Fort Montgomery also overlooked the Hudson River, but was situated on the northern shore of Popolopen Creek, which ran west from the Hudson . . .
After a perfunctory request that the defenders capitulate (which was rejected), the twin assaults began. There was no element of surprise or effort at finesse. The British attached nearly simultaneously with the sun setting behind Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell's columns. Sir James Wallace's British river fleet also arrived and opened fire on the American vessels and forts, providing the British land forces with supporting fire.
Fort Montgomery fell first . . . Fort Clinton's defenders offered a better account of themselves, but the outcome was the same. Sir Henry Clinton ordered his command to launch a direct attach (there was little room to maneuver). His regulars and Hessian allies swept forward through a line of obstructions, taking terrible casualties during the approach and in the close-quarter fighting that followed. The weight of British metal carried the day, however, and within a short time the garrison was dead, wounded, captured, or fleeing . . .
By 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. the fighting was over. Only 300 Americans, including Generals James and Governor George Clinton, escaped, most from Fort Montgomery . . . Casualties: British: 190 killed and wounded; American: 350 killed, wounded, and captured."
Fort Montgomery as a Historic Ruin New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has decided not to recreate Forts Montgomery and/or Clinton. "Because of the limits of available information, any recreation would be inaccurate and would hide the violent end of these massive fortifications. Instead, the remains are preserved, just as the have survived the ages, as hallowed ground."
Fort Montgomery stands as an archeological site and a historic ruin.
Fort Montgomery, Today Today, Fort Montgomery is an archeological site and a historic ruin. This Historic Site is a genuine vestige of our nation's struggle for independence. Visitors will see the actual foundations of the fort's buildings and remains of the fort's earthworks. Visit Fort Montgomery and tour the remains of the 14 acre fortification, perched on a cliff overlooking the Hudson River.
The site includes a Visitor Center and interpretive trail that guides visitors past the fort's ruins to breathtaking views of the Hudson River. The Visitor Center features artifacts discovered in Fort Montgomery, mannequin displays, a 3 dimensional map model, and a 14 minute orientation film.
Attractions Include Audio-Visual Programs Demonstrations Group Tours Hiking Interpretive Signs Scenic Views Self Guided Tours Visitor Center
Fort Montgomery West Redoubt in the American Revolution.
Click sign at the Fort Montgomery West Redoubt.
The sign reads: Fort Montgomery's West Redoubt "Fort Montgomery's West Redoubt was one of three strong points built to defend the fort from an overland attack.
"New York State's Governor, Brigadier General George Clinton, commanded Fort Montgomery during the battle on October 6, 1777. Clinton ordered his men into the fort's three redoubts, where they were attacked by 900 British and Loyalist soldiers. After mounting a brave resistance, the Americans were driven from the redoubts and were forced to abandon the fort."
One of the drawings in the sign shows that: "Aware that the British were approaching, Governor Clinton ordered some of his men to take a 3-pounder cannon down the road that lead to the fort and delay them. The Americans were able to temporarily stop the advancing British and Loyalist soldiers, but were eventually forced to abandon the gun and return to the fort."
Click trail marker for the Historic 1777 & 1779 American Revolution Trail.
The sign reads: The Historic 1777 & 1779 Trails "You are walking part of the 1777 historic trail that retraces as nearly as possible the routes taken by the British army during the Revolutionary War.
"The 1777 trail represents the route taken by British General Sir Henry Clinton's forces on October 6, 1777. After landing 2100 men at Stony Point, he marched north to capture Forts Clinton and Montgomery. At Doodletown, the trail splits. The east branch of the trail follows the march of forces under Sir Henry Clinton and Major General John Vaughn that captured Fort Clinton. The west branch follows the route of Lieutenant Colonel Mungo Campbell's force, which captured Fort Montgomery.
"The 1779 trail traces the route taken by Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's Corps of Light Infantry in its assault on the British fortifications at Stony Point just after midnight on July 16, 1779. After a brief but fierce fight, Wayne's men captured Stony Point, achieving one of the Continental Army's most spectacular victories."
Walk the grounds of the Historic 1777 & 1779 Trails at Fort Montgomery Historic Site. You can pick up the 1777 & 1779 trails close to the Bear Mountain Bridge and/or near the Fort Montgomery Visitor Center.
Palaia Vineyards is located at 20 Sweet Clover Road, Highland Mills, NY 10930 in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Come and visit us and see whats new. We have Added a Deck to the Tasting Room. It's a great place to enjoy the view of the vineyard and the background of the Skunnemunk Ridge - and just relax. We invite you to come and visit while you explore and celebrate the history around us.
History Palaia Vineyards "Pa-Lie-Ahh" is named for our winemaker's grandfather, Angelo Palaia who emigrated here from Italy and passed his winemaking skills on to his son and grandson. We have taken the basics he gave us , and with modern winemaking techniques have been able to make some truly outstanding wines. Here at Sweet Clover Farm, we believe in celebrating and preserving the history of our family, country, town and homestead. We are proud to be the owners of a working farm that has been in the Hudson Valley for over 200 years. Once a dairy farm, it is now home to over 10 Acres of vineyards with more planned for the future. The 200 year old bank barn had been restored over the last 3 years and is now a beautiful winery on the lower level, with storage and a tasting room above preserving the look and feel of the historical building. We invite you to come and visit. Press "Blue Button" for history, photos and more about Palaia Vineyards and be sure to visit our winery.
Silver Stream Winery is located at 11 Kennedy Lane, Monroe, NY 10950. The Hudson Valley is a viticultural paradox. It is at once an exciting new wine region and also the oldest commercial wine producing region in the country.
History There was a hill in Orange County New York. The hillside overlooked what used to be an old Indian road used before the Dutch got here and then later it became a Colonial road leading to the local iron works and forge. The road ran alongside a stream for most of its distance, the name of the stream was Trout Brook, but us kids, we used to just call it Silver Stream.
Today there are five varieties grown here at Silver Stream Winery: Cabenet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Traminette and an Alsatian variety known by the tongue-twisting name of Gewurtztraminer. We are producing about estate grown wines and other New York State varietals. We also make a vinegar that will knock you socks off and then hang 'em up on the bedpost. Press "Blue Button" to explore the exciting wines that are available here in the Hudson Valley of New York and at Silver Stream Winery.
From April 1782 to August 1783, General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, made his military headquarters and residence at the Hasbrouck family's farmhouse in Newburgh. Washington's Headquarters is located 12 miles north of the forts at West Point.
George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799), also called Father of his Country, was an American general and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and later the first President of the United States (1789–1797). He also served as President of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. George Washington is recognized as one of the most important figures in U.S. history. George Washington played an important role in both the "French and Indian War" and in the "American Revolution".
In 1754, Washington was commissioned as a colonel in the Virginia militia. In 1755, Washington accompanied the Braddock Expedition of the British Army during the French and Indian War. In 1757, he resigned his commission and married Martha Dandridge Custis, the wealthy widow of Daniel Parke Custis. The couple moved to Mount Vernon where he took up the life of a genteel farmer. He became a member of the House of Burgesses. By 1774, Washington had become one of the colonies' wealthiest men. In that year, he was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress and the next year to the Second Continental Congress. He did not support colonial independence until 1776, when he read Thomas Paine's "Common Sense".
In the First Continental Congress, twelve colonies sent delegates to discuss how to return to a state of harmonious relations with the Mother Country and not have a revolution! But radical thinking won out. Parliamentary acts were declared "unconstitutional". Taxes were not paid, an import-export ban was established, and Colonists were urged to arm themselves. The "shot heard 'round the world" was fired at Lexington where armed colonists tried to resist British seizure of an arsenal. Eight Americans and 273 British soldiers were killed. The Revolutionary War began. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775 and they declared themselves the government. They also named George Washington Commander in Chief of the newly organized army.
The Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and unlike many other revolutionary leaders, Washington voluntarily relinquished power. On December 23, 1783, General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. This action was of great significance, establishing the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority. If Washington had wanted to retain power he may have been able to seize it. There was some support among his most devoted followers for making Washington a permanent ruler or king, but Washington, like most of the Founding Fathers of the United States, abhorred the very idea. This established an important precedent of republican democracy throughout the world.
On February 4, 1789, America's first presidential election took place. On April 30, 1789, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, Washington took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.
Congressman Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site is located at Vails Gate, NY 12584 in Orange County in the Hudson River Valley. On several occasions during the Revolutionary War, Major General Henry Knox, Commander of the America artillery, established his military headquarters at John Ellison's 1754 Georgian-style house in Vails Gate. From October 1782 until the spring of 1783, as 7,000 soldiers and 500 "camp followers" were establishing winter quarters at the New Windsor Cantonment, and General Washington was lodged at Jonathan Hasbrouck's house in Newburgh, New York, Major General Horatio Gates occupied the elegant home from which he commanded the cantonment. Here the army awaited the end of the Revolutionary War that became effective when Washington issued the cease fire orders on April 19, 1783.
For most of the 18th and into the 19th century, the Ellison family had important commercial dealings in milling and trade. From their mill, flour was shipped down the Hudson River to New York City and the West Indies. At present, remains of the mill, with traces of the underground racecourse, and the Jane Colden Native Plant Sanctuary may be visited. Explore how the Ellisons and other families of the mid-Hudson Valley lived 200 years ago.
Point of Interest Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site is fun for the children and family of all ages.
Attractions Costumed Interpreters Demonstrations Educational Services Gardens Group Tours Guided Tours Hiking Interpretive Sign Picnic Area Re-enactments Scenic Views
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is located at Vails Gate, NY 12584 in Orange County in the Hudson River Valley. In October 1782, General George Washington moved his army to New Windsor, above West Point and just beyond the Hudson Highlands, to establish winter quarters. He was accompanied by 7,000 troops including 500 women and children or "camp followers." By late December 1782, they had erected nearly 600 log huts into a "cantonment," a military enclave. High-ranking officers were quartered in private homes.
Washington was pleased that the army was better housed, fed, and clothed than ever before in the long war, but life for the officers and troops at the Cantonment remained hard. It was at the New Windsor Cantonment that the cease fire orders were issued by Washington ending the eight-year War of Independence on April 19, 1783. The final success, however, was the gradual, orderly disbandment of the army at the Cantonment, and the peaceful march of its still largely unpaid officers and men back to their homes or new pursuits.
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is fun for children and family. See the staff in reproduction period dress and uniforms demonstrate musket drills, blacksmithing, military medicine and camplife activities. View the exhibits at the Visitor Center and the reconstructed Temple Building, which served as a chapel for the soldiers.
Sterling Forest® State Park comprises 17,953 acres of nearly pristine natural refuge amidst of one of the nation's most densely populated areas, a remarkable piece of woodland, a watershed for millions, and a tremendous outdoor recreation area. This unbroken deep-forest habitat is important for the survival of many resident and migratory species, including black bear, a variety of hawks and songbirds and many rare invertebrates and plants.
Parks attractions include: Biking, Boat Launch Sites, Fishing, Hiking, Hunting, Ice Fishing, Museum / Visitor Center, Recreation Programs, Snowshoeing
Storm King Art Center is a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Storm King comprises 500 pristine acres of carefully maintained fields, hills, and woodlands, on which more than 100 works by major international artists are thoughtfully sited. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. The grounds are surrounded by profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience.
Storm King takes its name from Storm King Mountain, located five miles from the Art Center, whose dramatic slope and peak were favorite subjects for the painters of the Hudson River School. The experience of Storm King, which beautifully unites art and nature, is different with each visit, as changing seasons, light, and weather conditions transform the landscape and the work.
Founded in 1960, the Storm King Art Center is among the world’s most vital modern-art organizations. Its permanent collection of sculpture dates from 1945 to the present and includes works by many of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. The art is meticulously integrated into a landscape of superb vistas of rolling hills and fields—planted with native grasses—and forests. The permanent collection, which includes several specially commissioned site-specific works, is often complemented by both temporary outdoor installations and exhibitions in the museum building.
Among the artists whose work may be seen at Storm King are David Smith, represented by thirteen major sculptures; Alexander Calder, with the fifty-foot-high stabile The Arch (1975); Isamu Noguchi, whose Momo Toro (1977–78) was commissioned by Storm King; Mark di Suvero, with four monumental works; Richard Serra, whose Schunnemunk Fork (1990–91) is installed on ten acres; Louise Nevelson, with City on a High Mountain (1983); and Andy Goldsworthy, whose Storm King Wall (1997–98), a 2,278-foot-long, serpentine wall made of fieldstone, was also commissioned by Storm King.
Visitors may walk through the grounds or take a self-guided tour aboard a handicap-accessible tram that travels through the main portion of the grounds. An audio-guide is available for rental at the museum shop.
Special Note: Bring a picnic and the children to this magnificent Sculpture Museum.
As a department of the United States Military Academy, the Museum supports cadet academic, military and cultural instruction. Its collections include nearly all aspects of military history and encompass the history of West Point and the United States Military Academy, the evolution of warfare, and the development of the American Armed Forces. While only a portion of the collection is on display, all artifacts are available for cadet academic instruction, special exhibition and research.
Based upon captured British materials brought to West Point after the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777, the Museum collections actually predate the founding of the United States Military Academy. When the Academy opened in 1802, many Revolutionary War trophies remained to be used for cadet instruction. By the 1820s, a teaching collection of artifacts existed at the Military Academy and after the Mexican War (1846 - 1848).
West Point was designated by Executive Order as the permanent depository of war trophies. In 1854 the first public museum was opened and in 1989 the West Point Museum in Olmsted Hall opened at Pershing Center. Today it represents the culmination of more than two centuries of preserving our military heritage. Press "Blue Button" for West Point Gallery, History of US Army Gallery, American Wars Gallery, and more about West Point.
Pazdar Winery is located in Scotchtown, NY 10941. We started the Pazdar Winery in 1995 to produce Innovative Unique Boutique and Hand Crafted Premium Wines with Attitude. The first wines were released June 1996. To ensure quality, the wines are hand-crafted using the finest grapes, fresh pressed fruit juice, and finest winemaking techniques from Europe and the United States. They are carefully aged. It is only when they have reached the desired flavor, that they are bottled and sold.
At this time we choose not to have a tasting room. Instead we enjoy going into various communities and getting to know our customers on personal basis. On weekends during the spring, summer, and fall months, one of us is usually at a farm market or a local liquor store where the wines can be tasted and bought. If you would like a listing of where we will be, please e-mail us and we will add you to our mailing list. Press "Blue Button" for Pazdar Winery.
Applewood Winery is located at 82 Four Corners Road, Warwick NY 10990 in Orange County. Enjoy wine tasting at a real farm winery in New York's Hudson Valley. Discover New York wines at Applewood Winery. Our wines are made from our own vineyards, orchards and from across the state. We make Chardonnay's, Cabernet Franc, barrel fermented reds, in addition to that we have delicious fruit wines including Hard Apple Cider. Every wine is produced in a "limited edition" with almost every bottle spoken for as soon as its made. So you'll only find our wine at the tasting room and here in our online store.
Enjoy music every weekend in August. Music starts at 2:00 and ends at 5:00. The Cafe will be open serving fruit & cheese platters and sandwiches. Press "Blue Button" for more about Applewood Winery.
The Demarest Hill Winery and Distillery is located at 81 Pine Island Turnpike, Warwick, New York 10990 in the Hudson River Valley. As a young man, Francesco tended the family vineyards in Molise, Italy, learning the intricate skill of wine making from his father. He toiled long and hard in these humble surroundings, and he set out to build his dream. . . Francesco finally settled in America. Here he used his hard-earned money to purchase a large tract of land in Warwick, New York, where his vision began to take shape.
Francesco carefully selected and assembled the equipment that would allow him to demonstrate his wine making expertise. At first he only made a few barrels of wine, but as the years went by, his production began to increase. He continued to perfect his winery's quality, and in 1994, the first varietal, as well as blended wines were created: Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Chenin Blanc.
Francesco has expanded his vineyard on a sun-drenched hillside, due to the ever-increasing demand for Demarest Hill wines. When asked why he makes wine, Francesco responds: "It's the people. When they take a sip of my wine and smile, that's my reward." Press "Blue Button" for more about The Demarest Hill Winery and Distillery.
Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery is located at 114 Little York Road, Warwick NY, 10990 in the foothills of the Hudson Valley. Situated between Mt. Eve and Mt. Adam, our tasting room provides the ideal setting for tasting wine, listening to music, and enjoying food. We invite you to come to the tasting room and celebrate Wine and Music and Food. Our wines and ciders are also available for purchase throughout NY and NJ.
Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery is open all year round. We sponsor a music series, "Uncorked and Unplugged n the Orchard" featuring live music every weekend - rain or shine. Our bakery is open every weekend year round. We offer fresh breads, pastries and specialty items, all prepared by our Culinary Institute of America trained chefs.
Every autumn, our guests are invited to enjoy our orchards and Pick-Your-Own apples and Pears. Pear picking begins in August. Apples begin to ripen shortly thereafter in early September. With thirty varieties we have an apple for every palate. Please, bring your family to meet our family and enjoy our farm, winery and orchards. Press "Blue Button" for more information about Warwick Valley Winery.
Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery, is located at 100 Brotherhood Plaza Drive, Washingtonville, NY 10992 in the Hudson River Valley Region.
Winemaking is an ancient and honored art, and nowhere is this more evident than at Brotherhood, America's Oldest winery. The winery was established by a European emigre, John Jaques, who produced the first commercial vintage in 1839. Brotherhood has been in continuous operation since that time, making the winery the oldest in the United States. Brotherhood Winery is listed in the New York State Register of Historic Places and is listed as a National Historic Landmark.
The winery, nestled in the foothills of the Catskills, offers visitors the opportunity to "step back into history". Our original buildings house vast underground cellars comparable to those of famous European wineries. Visitors stroll the beautifully landscaped premises, tour the romantic underground cellars, and taste a variety of award-winning wines. Press "Blue Button" for more about Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery.
Comments: Call for the dates of "Special Events" such as: Grapestomping.
The West Point Museum is considered to be the oldest and largest diversified public collection of miltaria in the Western Hemisphere. Its collections include nearly all aspects of military history and encompass the history of West Point and the US Military Academy, the evolution of warfare, and the development of the American Armed Forces.
The Chapel of Our Lady Restoration is located at 45 Market Street, Cold Spring, NY in the beautiful Hudson River Valley, Putnam County. The Chapel is an architectural gem in the Greek Revival style, dramatically situated on a rock bluff overlooking the Hudson River. It was designed in 1833 and, when consecrated in 1834 as The Church of Our Lady of Cold Spring, was the first Roman Catholic Church in the New York Archdiocese north of 14th Street, Manhattan.
In 1970, a group of concerned citizens organized the Chapel of Our Lady Restoration, Inc. and raised funds to purchase and restore the ruin. Their work accomplished, the building was re-dedicated on September 18, 1977 as a Chapel for people of all faiths.
Today, the Chapel is not affiliated with any church or religious organization. It is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors which is pleased to offer it as an ecumenical setting for weddings and other significant events. The restored structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Press "Blue Button" for information about the music series.
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is located at Boscobel on Route 9D in Garrison, NY 36079 - just eight miles north of the Bear Mountain Bridge in the Hudson River Valley.
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival began in 1987 with a modest outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed under the stars in a meadow at Manitoga, in Garrison, New York. One year later, Boscobel Restoration, a Hudson River estate in Garrison, became the Festival’s new site. It offered a magnificent setting, ample parking, and an established reputation as a tourist attraction. Once in its new home and under a big tent, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival grew dramatically.
Nineteen years later, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a critically-acclaimed regional theater, attracting audiences from the tri-state area and beyond. Shakespeare scholars, critics and enthusiastic fans laud its spare, clear and compelling productions. In addition to its summer productions, the Festival sponsors year-round education programs, including a School Outreach Program and an Artists-in-Residence Program which reach over 8,000 students annually from elementary school through college, and a summer Apprentice Program for a select group of high school age actors seriously committed to learning the craft of theater.
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is dedicated to producing the plays of Shakespeare with an economy of style that focuses its energy and resources on script, actors, and audience. We communicate the stories with energy, clarity and invention and distill rather than embellish the language and action. We challenge ourselves and our audiences to take a fresh look at what is essential in Shakespeare’s plays.
Reviews Ben Brantley, The New York Times "Far more than the starry productions in Central Park, Mr. O'Brien's vivacious interpretations make Shakespeare breathe in the present tense, but without hyperventilating." "Few stages have wings like those of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where the theater is an open-sided tent perched on a riverside knoll." For a classic summer night of theater, the glorious grounds of Boscobel provide perfect set and setting. Pre-theater picnicking sets the mood as festival-goers choose their view of the Hudson Highlands. Press "Blue Button" for season schedules, plays, and more about the Shakespeare Festival.
Hudson Valley Attractions Before the play begins - picnic on the spectacular grounds of Bobcobel Restoration, and then enjoy one of the most enchanting Shakespearean peformances imaginable. What a wonderful way to spend an evening!
Boscobel is a neoclassical style mansion (built 1804-1808) located on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. This is where the river cuts through the Appalachian chain of mountains, creating the Hudson Highlands. The mountains on both sides rise up more than 1000 feet from the water's edge at what is the narrowest, deepest and most treacherous stretch of the river.
From the front lawn at Boscobel, one can see the Constitution Marsh Sanctuary and Constitution Island immediately below, the Bear Mountain Bridge to the south, the United States Military Academy at West Point across the river, and Storm King Mountain to the north. Spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Hudson Highlands, including Crow’s Nest, Storm King, and Sugar Loaf Mountains are visible from Boscobel’s grounds. The Hudson has been an inspiration for artists through the centuries, and great works by Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Doughty, Thomas P. Rossiter, and Frederic Church, have depicted the majesty of the River and its surroundings.
Boscobel was originally located in Montrose, New York, about fifteen miles south of the present site, with views overlooking the Hudson River at Haverstraw Bay. It was built by States Morris Dyckman (1755-1806), a descendant of one of the early Dutch families of New Amsterdam.
The Boscobel Mansion dates from the early nineteenth century and contains one of the nation's leading collections of furniture and decorative arts from the Federal period with high-style furniture by Duncan Phyfe and other recognized New York cabinetmakers of the day. Much of Dyckman's English china, silver, glass, and part of his library have also survived and are on exhibit. Collections are displayed in beautifully appointed period interiors with reproduction carpets, wallpaper, fabrics, and window treatments based upon contemporary sources.
Point of Interest: Visitors can explore the quaint nineteenth century village of Cold Spring with its antique and specialty shops, restaurants, Bear Mountain State Park, Historic West Point and more. Press to see more Historic Sites
Point of Interest: The Hudson River was recently named one of ten "American Heritage Rivers."
Attractions include: Guided Tour of Mansion, Self-Guided Tour of Magnificent Grounds including Rose Garden, Orangery, Springhouse and Garden House, Woodland Trail, Exhibition on Rescue and Restoration of Boscobel, Spectacular Panoramic Views of Hudson Highlands and River
Goold Orchards and Brookview Station Winery is located at 1297 Brookview Station Road, Castleton, NY. Goolds Orchards is 9 miles from downtown Albany on the east side of the Hudson River in the town of Schodack. Our farm has been in the Goold family since 1910. Our goal is to grow and sell only the highest quality apples. Goold Orchards has won the New York State apple consumer package contest and also Rensselaer County Farm Bureau's annual farm beautification award.
Our farm store features many varieties of apples including Macintosh, Crispin, Jonamac and Ida Red. The Store is open year-round with apples and pasteurized cider. Goold Orchard's sweet apple cider is freshly pressed in our own mill the old fashioned way, through oak racks. Goold's cider is made from a blend of sound, firm apples and flash pasteurized to insure a flavorful, safe, fresh juice. Quality and freshness are maintained by storage at near freezing temperature in our large refrigerated holding tanks. Press "Blue Button" for more about Brookview Station Winery and Festival.
Orchard Attractions Bakery Store Fall Festival - Including Brookview Station Wine Tent featuring farm wineries from across New York State Brookview Station Winery's Apple Wine Apple Pickin' Time
Battles of the American Revolution Battle of Bennington Date: August 16th, 1777 Between: British, including British marksmen, German (Hessian), Canadian, Indian and Loyalist (Tories) troops against American Continental Army (mostly New England militia). Location: Walloomsac, New York; just 10 miles from Bennington, Vermont
"Bennington, in fact, was one of the most important fights of the Revolution, contributing as it did so largely to the final surrender of Burgoyne's whole army at Saratoga, and the utter ruin of the British invasion from the north. It is also interesting as an extremely gallant bit of fighting . . . There stood the enemy strongly entrenched on a hill, and Stark, calling his undisciplined lines about him, went at them . . . He and his men fought well their hand-to-hand fight on that hot August day, and carried the entrenchments filled with regular troops and defended by artillery. It was a daring feat of arms, as well as a battle which had an important effect upon the course of history and upon the fate of the British Empire in America." Henry Cabot Lodge
This battle was fought on August 16, 1777 in a British effort to capture American storehouses in Bennington to restock their depleting provisions. The British forces had underestimated the strength of their enemy and most of their men were killed or taken prisoner while the Americans sustained smaller losses. The British surrendered on October 17, 1777, after two unsuccessful battles in Saratoga.
Casualties and losses were recorded as: American losses: 30 killed and 40 wounded = 70 casualties. British losses: 207 killed and 700 captured = 907 casualties.
Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site is located in Grafton, NY 12082, in Rensselaer County in the Hudson River Valley. Bennington Battlefield is the location of a Revolutionary War battle between the British forces of General John Burgoyne and Colonel Friedrich Baum against the American forces under Brigadier General John Stark and Colonel Seth Warner. Press "Blue Button" for more about Bennington Battlefield.
Crailo State Historic Site is located at 9 1/2 Riverside Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144 in the Hudson River Valley. Crailo State Historic Site is a museum of Colonial New Netherland history in the Upper Hudson Valley. Originally a part of the vast landholding called the Manor or Patroonship of Rensselaerswyck, the Crailo farm was named after the Van Rensselaer's estate in the Netherlands, variously spelled Crayloo or Cralo in the 17th century, and meaning "crows' wood" in Dutch.
Crailo was built in the early 18th century by Hendrick Van Rensselaer. Hendrick died in 1740 and his eldest son, Johannes, inherited Crailo. He remodeled the house and added an east wing in the Georgian style, reflecting the increasing influence of the English on the Albany-area Dutch.
Crailo today tells the story of the early Dutch inhabitants of the Upper Hudson Valley through exhibits highlighting archeological finds from the Albany Fort Orange excavations, special programs, and guided tours of the museum. Press "Blue Button" for attractions and more about Crailo State Historic Site.
The Appalachian Trail "The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, designated a linear National Park by the 1968 National Trails System Act, is a continuous, marked public footpath extending approximately 2,144 miles from Mount Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain, Georgia along the Appalachian Mountain range. It maintains a wilderness character by following the scenic ridges of the Appalachian Mountain ranges of the White, Green, Berkshire, Ramapo, Kittatinny, Blue Ridge, Great Smoky, and Nantahala Mountains. The Appalachian Trail is protected along most of its course by federal or state ownership of the land. The entire trail environment is maintained as a place for everyone to hike and enjoy the Appalachian Mountains, while at the same time conserving the natural, scenic, historical and cultural resources of this one-of-a-kind, linear park." Source: Signage at the Visitor Center Book Store on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, describing the Appalachian Trail.
In 1921, the idea for the Appalachian Trail originated with a volunteer forester Benton MacKaye. He conceived the Trail as a refuge from modern stresses, stretching along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, where hikers could re-connect with the natural world. Once MacKaye's idea was published, over the years, volunteers from hiking groups in the Northeast made that dream a reality - a 2,144-mile-long hiking trail which is our nation's first National Scenic Trail.
Click to enlarge photo of the Bear Mountain Bridge taken from Perkins Memorial Drive.
The roadway of the Bear Mountain Bridge carries the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail. Note that the Bear Mountain Bridge has eight-foot-wide shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists to comfortably walk on both sides of the bridge.
Through a network of 32 hiking and trail clubs from Maine to Georgia, volunteers form the basis of a unique, volunteer-based, cooperative management system for this national parkland. Volunteers take an active role in safeguarding the quality of the Trail both for the hiking public and local communities. The private Appalachian Trail Conference oversees the volunteer effort along the Trail's length.
Click to enlarge photo of View of the Hudson River from Bear Mountain Bridge.
Experience wonderful views of the majestic Hudson River when walking the Appalachian Trail on the Bear Mountain Bridge.
The Appalachian Trail enters New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and runs northward along the ridgeline of the Kittatinny Mountains to High Point State Park. There it strikes east along the NJ/NY state line, crosses the Wawayanda plateau, and enters New York state on the ridge overlooking Greenwood Lake. It traverses Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park (where the Appalachian trail was first conceived), crosses the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge, heading northeasterly towards and through Fahnestock State Park. Continuing northeast, it crosses into Connecticut near Kent, CT.
Click to enlarge photo of Popolopen Creek from the Bear Mountain Bridge.
The Popolopen Creek Footbridge, a bridge for pedestrians only, connects the trail between the twin forts, Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton, and carries the Appalachian Trail on the western side of the Bear Mountain Bridge.
Popolopen Creek Popolopen Creek is a stream that is mostly fed by Lake Popolopen, Stillwell Lake, and Weyant's Pond. Eventually, the creek drains into the Hudson River. In 2002, New York's Governor George Pataki, dedicated a long suspension foot bridge that spans Popolopen Creek.
Click on photo of Appalachian Trail Sign.
Appalachian Trail Sign Look for this sign at the Rockland side of the tool booths of the Bear Mountain Bridge.
Bear Mountain Park: Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center The study of native animals and their habitat at Bear Mountain has a long history. In 1921, the American Museum of Natural History installed a facility at the Boy Scouts headquarters on Lake Kanawauke. Four years later, the same Museum began a program for the study of insects in Harriman State Park. The Commission added a bear den in 1926, which became a small zoo, as the facility took in more injured animals in need of shelter.
Today's Trailside Museums and Zoo occupy 40 acres on a bluff 250 feet over the Hudson River. The trails, including the first section of the Appalachian Trail, are among the oldest in the country; they link the various homes of Samantha, the eagle, and other birds of prey, the bear den, as well as habitats for beavers, a river otter, foxes, coyotes, and more.
Children enjoy the various presentations of indigenous wildlife, geology and herpetology. On display are Native American artifacts, models of Revolutionary War battles fought on-site, and an exhibit of the origins of the Boy Scouts, and four Museum buildings. See the bald eagle, black bear, owl, river otter and more animals local to Bear Mountain.
The Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center also highlight the history of the area. Learn about the importance of Bear Mountain in the American Revolutionary War. Visit historic 1777 & 1779 Trails that retrace the routes taken by the British army during the American War of Independence. Visit Fort Montgomery, a Revolutionary War fort built to defend the Hudson Highlands and protect American control of the Hudson River and learn about the Battle of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton.
Young children, older children, and adults all enjoy visiting each of the Museum buildings that house different exhibits. Visit the Local Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish Museum, the Geology Museum, History Museum and Nature Study Museum.
The Turning Point "home to great music", is located at 468 Piermont Ave, Piermont, NY 10968. Before the show, take a walk on the Pier at Piermont and enjoy fantastic views, clean air, and a wonderful breeze. Press "Blue Button" for music schedule and check the menu for the downstairs cafe.
The word is: One of the best music venues in the Tri State region . . . the jazz is great and the blues are hot!
Battles of the American Revolution Battle of Stony Point Date: July 16th, 1779 Between: British against the American Continental Army Location: Stony Point, New York
The Stony Point Battlefield marks the "Battle of Stony Point" and the victory of the American light infantry over the British in a daring midnight raid.
Visit the site of the Battle of Stony Point, one of the last major Revolutionary War battles in the northeastern colonies. This is where Brigadier General Anthony Wayne led his corps of Continental Light Infantry in a daring midnight attack on the British, seizing the site's fortifications and taking the British garrison as prisoners on July 16, 1779.
By the late 1770s, the war had been raging for four years and both sides were eager for a conclusion. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of the British forces in America, attempted to coerce General George Washington into one decisive battle to control the Hudson River. As part of his strategy, Clinton fortified Stony Point. Washington devised a plan for Wayne to lead an attack on the fort. Armed with bayonets only, the infantry captured the fort in short order, ending British control of the river.
The site features a museum, which offers exhibits on the battle and the 1826 Stony Point Lighthouse, as well as interpretive programs, such as reenactments highlighting 18th century military life, cannon and musket firings, cooking demonstrations, and children's activities.
Attractions Include Children's Activities Costumed Interpreters Demonstrations Educational Services Group Tours Museum and Visitors Center Picnic Area
The Stony Point lighthouse was built in 1826, and is the oldest lighthouse on the Hudson River. In October, 1995, the lighthouse was restored, relighted, and re-opened to the public for the first time since 1925; when it was decommissioned after having served for nearly one hundred years. The Stony Point lighthouse marked the danger to ships of a rocky promontory, the Stony Point peninsula.
The top of a lighthouse is called the lantern. The inside of a lantern is called the lens. In 1856, a fifth-order Fresnel lens was installed and a larger, fourth-order lens installed in 1902. The lens in use now is a period fourth-order lens on loan from the United States Coast Guard.
Lighthouses were operated by keepers who had to make sure that the lights were burning and fogbells were ringing in bad weather. A keeper's house was either built into a lighthouse or constructed separately close by. Nancy Rose, the Keeper of the Stony Point lighthouse, kept the light for 47 years, from 1857 to her death in 1904.
Johnston's Winery is located at 5140 Bliss Road, Ballston Spa, NY 12020. Johnston's Winery is on the west side of the Hudson River Region. Call for an appointment.
Colebrook Country Wines is located at 562 Colebrook Road, Gansevoort, NY 12831. We now have the following wines in stock: Elderberry, Strawberry/Rhubarb, Cherry, Peach, Apple, Red Currant, and Green Apple/Reisling. Free tastings of course! We can also customize a gift basket for any occasion, using our gourmet wine sauces, syrups, jellies and biscuits.
Allied Wine Corporation is located at 2 Fairgrounds Road, Monticello, NY 12701. Allied Wine Corporation is the leader in Kosher wine manufacturing and sales.
The Esopus Meadows Lighthouse is located in Esopus, NY 12429 in Ulster County. Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, fondly nicknamed the “Maid of the Meadows”, was completed in 1871. A lighthouse was needed on the Hudson River to warn mariners of the mud flats known as the Esopus Meadows located off the western shore of the river.
The lighthouse was built on a new foundation, located to the south of the former location, traces of which are still visible on the adjoining small island. Inside the house is a kitchen, sitting room and equipment room on the first floor and three bedrooms and a bath on the second. The light tower extends above the living quarters with an octagonal deck housing the light. Situated 53 feet above the mean water line, the lantern room contained an optic fifth-order Fresnel lens providing a 270 degree arc of light that was visible for 12 nautical miles.
In 1979, the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The road to restoration didn’t really begin until 1990 when the Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission was formed. Press "Blue Button" for history, photos, and more about the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse.
Whitecliff Vineyard is located at 331 McKinstry Road, Gardiner, NY 12525 in the Hudson Valley. Whitecliff Vineyard sits on 70 acres opposite the Shawangunk Mountain chain located west of the Hudson River (near New Paltz) and 60 miles north of New York City. It is one of nine wineries of the famed Shawangunk Wine Trail and is following in the tradition of French Huguenot settlers who brought wine making to this scenic valley over three centuries ago.
Whitecliff is working with European vinifera varietals such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Riesling, and quality hybrids like Seyval Blanc and Vignoles, including small plantings of Pinot Noir and Merlot. We are pioneering use of Gamay Noir grape in the Hudson Valley for a true Beaujolais-style Nouveau.
Whitecliff Vineyard is rooted in the centuries-old agricultural traditions of the Hudson Valley. Visit us and see how fertile soils and beautiful surroundings contribute to the vineyard, and are reflected in the fine, flavorful wines that are a vivid expression of this region—the oldest winemaking region in America. Visitors are invited to sample wines in our tasting room and enjoy the spectacular view of the Shawangunk cliffs from the deck. Press "Blue Button" for more about Whitecliff Vineyard.
Rondout Creek is located at Kingston Point, Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. The current Rondout Lighthouse is actually the third lighthouse built at the mouth of the Rondout Creek. The first Kingston Lighthouse was built in 1837. This wood structure became badly damaged by ice and weather and soon became unsafe for the keeper and her family. A second lighthouse of brick and stone was constructed in 1867 on the south side of the creek. This second light was abandoned in 1915 when the present dikes were constructed at the Creek's entrance. Demolished in 1954 when its roof collapsed, the second lighthouse's stone footings are still visible today.
In 1913 construction started on a new lighthouse, which is the structure known to area residents today as the Rondout Lighthouse. The largest and last 'family' light built on the Hudson River, the third Rondout Lighthouse, was first lit on August 25, 1915.
Enjoy hiking the Interpretive Nature Trail that follows the course of the fitness trail through the upper area in Hasbrouck Park and is approximately 1 mile in length. It is suitable for young children and adults. Thirty-two different varieties of trees are identified along the trail through the use of signage, and a brochure is available to assist visitor's with locating the trees and providing interesting facts regarding some of the species. In addition to the trees, the trail offers spectacular views of the serene waters of the Hudson River, Rondout Creek, Rondout Lighthouse, and also the Ponckhockie section of Kingston. Press "Blue Button" for history, architectural details, and more about Kingston Point Lighthouse.
Benmarl Vineyards is located at 156 Highland Avenue, Marlboro, NY 12542 in Ulster County. Benmarl Vineyards holds the NY State Farm Winery license #1 and is the acknowledged parent of the burgeoning farm winery industry that has brought fame to the wineries of New York State. Benmarl's fine wines have won acclaim throughout the world and prestigious awards. Benmarl's varietal and table wines are made, aged and bottled at the winery from grapes grown on the Benmarl Estate as well as from grapes of other growers.
The Miller family began wine growing as a hobby, saw it become a kind of privately sustained research station and eventually become what friends have described as "more a crusade than a business". It began appropriately on a vineyard in the Hudson River Valley. Wine has been made from the grapes of this region since the 17th century when the French Hugenots grew vines and made wine in nearby New Paltz. U.P. Hedrick, author of the Grapes of New York, called the Hudson region "the birthplace of American viticulture" citing a planting in 1827 at Croton Point as the nation's earliest commercially successful vineyard.
TIME Magazine described Benmarl and its eastern farm winery counterparts as "a new breed of winemakers, whose wines of fine quality and elegance are shaking California's throne." The highly respected "New York Times" wine columnist Frank Prial became interested in Benmarl and its Société when it sought his help in publicizing the need for legislative reform to encourage farm wineries in New York, and he described its wines as "remarkable examples of what dedication can produce." Author and wine authority Alixis Lichine wrote in his "Encyclopedia Of Wines And Spirits" that "Benmarl promises to be among the finest vineyards in the nation". Press "Blue Button" for more information about Benmarl Vineyards.
Glorie Farm Winery is located at 40 Mountain Road, Marlboro, NY 12542. Housed in a 1913 barn near the top of Mt. Zion Mountain, Glorie Farm Winery is one of the newest wineries in the Hudson River Valley Region.
Press "Blue Button" for information about Glorie Farm Winery.
Kedem Winery, producing kosher wines, is located at 1519 Route 9W in Marlboro, NY 12542 in Ulster County. Royal Wine Corporation operates Kedem Winery. Royal Wine has a heritage of perfection and family tradition which spans over 8 generations of superb wine production. With scores as high as 92 in Wine Spectator Magazine, Royal's wines have earned international recognition.
What Makes a Wine Kosher? A simple definition of “kosher,” is a food prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. The term “kosher wine” refers to a wine that was made according to specific guidelines. Kosher does not represent a variety or style of winemaking and the fact that a wine is kosher has no effect on its taste. In other words, kosher wine is not like Chinese or Italian food, which are varieties of food. Since kosher law does not prohibit the use of specific wine styles, grape varieties, or origin, any wine made in accordance to these rules can be kosher. This explains the large variety of kosher wines available from around the world, including Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Spain, New York, California, France, Israel, Italy, among others.
Today, the range of grape varieties used for the production of kosher supervised wines has greatly expanded. Consequently, kosher wines are available in all varieties from around the world. Kedem Winery is open for tours and wine tastings. Press "Blue Button" for information about Kedem Winery.
Stoutridge Vineyards is located at 10 Ann Kaley Lane, Marlboro, NY 12542. We are members of the Shawangunk Wine Trail and the Meet Me In Marlborough Farm Trail. The vineyards are half a mile from the Hudson River on the south-east facing slopes of a ridge of land on which grapevines and fruit trees have been continuously planted for 200 years. The Marlboro area has a rich history of fruit and wine production and during the 1800's was the principal supplier of fresh fruit for New York City.
We specialize in Germanic style white wines from the Pinot Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Riesling varieties, and Northern Italian style red wines from the Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Teroldego varieties.
The winery is currently housed in a picturesque and historic stone farmhouse known to elder locals as "The Homestead". The winery at Stoutridge Vineyard is a gravity flow design built into a hillside directly on the site of the pre-prohibition era Morano Winery (1902 - 1919). The old winery's foundation wall is all that remains of the historic structure, and it has been meticulously restored to become a beautiful front wall for the Stoutridge tasting room patio.
Press "Blue Button" to view the vineyards for Riesling, Pinot Noir & Teroldego, Sangiovese wines; view photos of Stoutridge Winery and grounds, and learn all about wine at Stoutridge Vineyards.
Adair Vineyards is located at 52 Allhusen Road, New Paltz, New York 12561, Ulster County in the historic Hudson Valley. The beauty of the land in the valley is legend. One needs only to recall the glorious paintings of the Hudson River School artistes to visualize the grandeur of this magnificent valley. We often compare a visit to Adair Vineyards to a step into one of those 19th century paintings. There are similarities. Asher Durand’s painting in 1840 The Solitary Oak appears on our wine label. And, we have a solitary oak standing at the head of our vineyard. In his painting are cows, horses, mountains, and a stream. Our winery is housed in a barn, over 200 years old, once occupied by cows and horses, and has a stream running by with the Shawangunk Mountains in the background.
The vineyard is located next to the winery. In order to maintain the highest quality, our wines are created firstly with estate-grown grapes and then supplemented with additional varieties grown at a local farm which we have a close working relationship.
In the wine cellar you will see how we make the wine, care for it to perfection and bottle it for our customer. Our wines range from dry to slightly sweet. Come to Adair Vineyards. Combine wine tasting at our winery with several of the other Hudson Valley wineries. Or stop off to see us on the way to some of the many historic and scenic sights. We know you will have a good time. Press "Blue Button" for more information about our wines and winery.
Rivendell Winery is located at 714 Albany Post Road, New Paltz, NY 12561. Rivendell Winery was established in 1987 by the Ransom Family in the Hudson Valley town of New Paltz, on the west side of the Hudson River, on a property originally established as a winery in the 1970's.
Over the years it has become one of New York's most awarded labels, receiving considerable national attention for its wine quality. With a wine growing philosophy that utilizes only the finest grapes grown in the best regions of New York, and an emphasis on high quality wines made in unique and proprietary styles, Rivendell has grown to a dominant position in its immediate market, winning many regional polls for "Best Winery", an alchemist's horde of medals from regional, national and international competitions and a number of marketing "firsts" for the New York industry. Indeed, in 2004 Rivendell was awarded the Governor's Cup, for the "Best New York Wine" at the annual New York Wine Competition.
In 1998, the winery tasting room was redesigned to offer the wines of many other quality New York wineries under the name Vintage New York™. Currently there are over 75 wines available for tasting from more than a dozen New York wineries. From Finger Lakes Chardonnay to Long Island Merlot to handcrafted Grappa and Brandy, Rivendell has become the place to discover the finest in New York wines in the Hudson Valley. Press "Blue Button" for information about Rivendell Winery.
Baldwin Vineyards is located at 176 Hardenburgh Road, Pine Bush, New York 12566. Located 85 miles northwest of NYC in the Hudson River Valley Region, Baldwin Vineyards is situated on a 35 acre vineyard with a pasture like setting, complete with a stone home built by the Hardenburghs in 1786.
Proprietors, Patricia and Jack Baldwin, planted the first Vineyard in 1982 and a second vineyard in 1983. By 1985, both were working full time to create a micro winery which offers a wide array of different styles of wine for the discerning palate. Dry, creamy Chardonnays, a Brut Methode Champenois and Merlot for dry wine lovers. Dessert wine lovers will revel in the Late Harvest Riesling, a Raspberry Wine and an internationally acclaimed Strawberry Wine. A total of 24 different wines await wine lovers. Press "Blue Button" for more information about Baldwin Vineyards.
Brimstone Hill Vineyard & Winery is located at 61 Brimstone Hill Road, Pine Bush, New York 12566 in the beautiful historic Hudson Valley Region. Brimstone Hill Vineyard & Winery grows and produces elegant country Hudson River region wines. Visitors have a choice of eight graceful wines to taste. Brimstone Hill Vineyard & Winery's award winning wines have been pleasing the palatable senses of this region for over 25 years!
Our cozy tasting room is open year round! We welcome small and large groups to enjoy all four glorious seasons the valley has to offer. An appreciation for wine starts in the vineyard. At Brimstone Hill Vineyard & Winery, grape vines are all around us. Begin your visit walking through rows of tall slender vines, where each season teaches us to understand some aspect about the wine grape. Inside patrons are able to taste a variety of wines ranging from dry chilled whites, to toasty reds and sumptuous semi-sweet whites.
Press "Blue Button" for more about the Brimstone Hill Vineyard and Winery.
The Saugerties Lighthouse is located at 168 Lighthouse Drive, Saugerties, NY 12477. The Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy was formed in 1985. The Coast Guard, the original owners of the lighthouse, relinquished jurisdiction, and the property reverted back to New York State. The Conservancy then bought the deteriorated remains of the lighthouse for one dollar. Efforts to stabilize the building began shortly thereafter while local architect Alex Wade completed plans for the reconstruction. A wooden barge was built to haul construction materials including tons of masonry materials. . . More than 10,000 new bricks were required to replace bricks that had crumbled. The entire masonry structure, including the massive stone base, has been reconstructed.
After extensive fundraising and restoration work the building was completely reconstructed. After 36 years, the light was restored to operation in the light tower on August 4, 1990. The Coast Guard installed a fourth-order Fresnel lens with a solar-powered light. Press "Blue Button" for History, photos - Now and Then, Bed & Breakfast, Day-Use, and more about the Saugerties Lighthouse.
Senate House State Historic Site is located at 296 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County in the Hudson River Valley. Amidst the turmoil of a British military invasion in the fall of 1777, the elected representatives of rebellious New Yorkers met in Kingston to form a new state government. While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York's first Senate met in the simple stone house of merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek.
In 1887, to recognize Senate House's role in the Revolution, New York State acquired the property, which quickly became a vital community museum. A two-story Museum Building was constructed in 1927 to house and display the site's burgeoning collection. Among its treasures are: major art works by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston, dating from the 1720s through the 1870s, and notable paintings by Ammi Phillips, Joseph Tubby, James Bard, and Thomas Sully. Press "Blue Button" for more information about the Senate House State Historic Site.
The Shawangunk Wine Trail is nestled between the famous Shawangunk Mountains and the majestic Hudson River in Ulster County, just 85 miles north of New York City. The Trail is composed of eleven family owned wineries and dozens of "Associate Members" dedicated to making a visit to the Hudson Valley a memorable experience.
While taking a tour of the wineries along the Trail, always in view of the mountains to the west, one is reminded of the cataclysmic forces of earlier geological periods when the earth heaved up forming the great folded ridge of conglomerate rock. And the more recent glacial period that scratched and gouged the scenic cliffs and formed the unique chain of emerald lakes perched atop the ridge. The eleven wineries on the Trail all follow the tradition of the fine winemaking established by the early French Huguenot settlers who brought their wine making expertise to this valley over 300 years ago. Each winery is different. Small to medium in size, all proud of their well crafted red and white wines that range from bone dry to dessert sweet. You will find sparkling wines, vinifera and French/American varietals and blends, and even some beautifully made fruit wines. This young, thriving industry has recently become well known for its prize winning wines across the nation. Throughout the year there are special events such as Lobster Fests, jazz concerts and strawberry festivals.
Scattered along the Trail are many special attractions, lodgings, B&B's and restaurants. While following the Trail the traveler could visit a thoroughbred horse farm, a honey farm with performing bears, exciting nature trails through the majestic mountain range an road side fruit and vegetable markets to delight all the senses. There is hang gliding, camping, parachuting, fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, country fairs, antiquing and a visit to the oldest street in America where the stone houses display the way life was lived in 1650.
In spring there are apple blossoms, strawberry picking and fresh flower sales. In summer, the College at New Paltz features a repertory theater and the Music in the Mountains Festival. There are several art galleries and numerous antique shops. And to top it off, literally, is a trip to Lake Minnewaska and Lake Mohonk Mountain House high atop the Shawangunks. The view from Skytop Point at Mohonk spans four different states. Press "Blue Button" for photos, names of wineries on the trail, and information about The Shawangunk Wine Trail.
El Paso Winery is located on the westerly side of route 9W in the beautiful Hudson Valley Wine Region of New York State. Our winery tasting room is the barn of an original 125 year old farmstead. El Paso Winery gets its Spanish name from the original owner who emigrated from Uruguay, South America almost 30 years ago. His specialties were sweet wines, some of which we still produce today.
My husband and I purchased the winery in 1997 and our favorite wines are the wonderful dry reds and whites of New York State. El Paso Winery produces 20 wines; so, why not stop in for "a little taste of the Hudson Valley". Press "Blue Button" for more about El Paso Winery.
Magnanini Farm Winery & Restaurant is located at 172 Strawridge Road, Wallkill, NY 12589, Ulster County in the Hudson River Valley. What isn’t homemade at Magnanini is handmade. The personal touch is evident at Magnanini in everything from Rachel’s homemade delicacies; Richard’s proudest blends of wine, and to his father’s architectural work.
The property on which the vineyards and winery are located has been in the family since 1953, although it wasn’t until 1970 that Galba and Richard began planting wine grapes. “In 1965, I went to Europe. I was touring Europe and I saw American tourists drinking wines. I came back and decided to plant.” The harvest from the first planting was sold to home winemakers in the area. While the winemakers perfected their wines, Richard continued to do research on viticulture practices and winemaking techniques.
With the adoption of the Farm Winery Act in 1976, the Magnanini’s were encouraged to continue their efforts in the vineyards and eventually bottled 1,000 gallons for commercial sale in July 1984. Production at the winery has reached to 6,000 gallons. Press "Blue Button" for more about Magnanini Farm Winery & Restaurant.
Chateau LaFayette Reneau Winery and Inn is located at Route 414, 7 miles north of Watkins Glen, in Hector, NY 14841. We cordially invite you to savor 140 acres of vineyards, ponds, and woodlands. Our brick house and renovated barn/winery are from an earlier, simpler time. The panoramic view of Seneca Lake is absolutely spellbinding. Your visit here is more than another trip to a winery. It's a vacation from daily stress. This is the ideal place to nurture wine & dreams.
Looking for a unique setting to savor our great wine? Enjoy a serene luncheon in our picnic area while gazing at the breathtaking views of Seneca lake and our vineyards. We are the most photographed winery in the State of New York. Press "Blue Button" for photos and more information about Chateau LaFayette Reneau.
Mountain View Winery is located at 401 County Route 61, Cambridge, NY 12816 in the Hudson River Valley. The view from the winery is a sweeping vista of the Green Mountains of Vermont on the other side of the valley. Mountain View Winery is the first licensed Farm Winery in Washington County, New York. We are located just north of Cambridge, and due east of Saratoga Springs. Offereing traditional grape wines, as well as fruit wines. The winemaker is active duty Air Force and might be deployed at any given time, so Winery hours are by appointment only for tours and tastings.
The Dallemagne family has been producing some of the world's finest wines for generations, starting in the area near Liege, Belgium in the mid 1400's. Paul Dallemagne, the owner and winemaker, has resurrected the family tradition of fine wines and opened Mountain View Winery in July of 2005. The first year's total production was 95 cases, a small start. Second year production was be 185 cases. Plans are to continue to expand production as the Winery's customer base expands. The Winery is closed each year between October and February. Press "Blue Button" to learn more about the wines of Mountain View Winery, including: Merlot, Diamond, First Kiss Blush, Myrtille - a Blueberry fruit wine, and more.
A Wine Lover’s Event Resource How many times have you found yourself looking for a really cool local wine event, wine education class, boutique wine shop or friendly wine club in your area? Or searched for wine events in destinations you plan on traveling to? After spending needless time searching inefficiently, you find very little or, worse, nothing more fun than visiting the local grocery store’s wine department. Or you could type www.LocalWineEvents.com into your browser and find it all at your fingertips.
LocalWineEvents.com offers a user-friendly city search feature in the state or country of your choice, making it easy to find out what’s going on in your part of the world. Once you have selected the specific city, you simply choose those events of interest or select the subject pages such as “Wine & Food Educators,” “BYOB Restaurants” or “Food, Wine and Lodging” located at the top of the city webpage. LocalWineEvents.com users may also sign up to receive “The Juice” newsletter and e-mails about local wine events happening in their area. . . Tom DiNardo, Wine Adventure Magazine.