A trip up the Hudson not only surrounds you with the natural beauty of towering cliffs, expansive bridges and a spectacular water ride, but the area is steeped in America’s Colonial history as well as the opulence of the Gilded Age when the tycoons of industry, (Vanderbilts, Rockefellers) created magnificent estates to showcase their wealth and fortune. They fancied themselves American royalty and imported everything European to buttress their claims. Here are a few pictures of these estates and other unique properties as we proceeded north.
As you round the bend at Storm King Mountain, you see the Pollepel Island ruins of a medieval castle designed and built by eccentric Francis Bannerman VI, a Scottish immigrant and military surplus weapons dealer, who used the castle to store his arsenal from 1900 to 1967 when it was purchased by the State of New York. I know this sounds like something out of a movie and it could only have happened pre- 9/11.
The Vanderbilt Estate in Hyde Park is now run by the National Park Service and has been meticulously maintained. Although it looks very formal and elegant to us, it was a mere country home (no ballroom) for a few weeks in the spring and fall. 60-100 servants readied the mansion for these brief visits and everything had to be perfect. It even has a Marie Antoinette style bedroom complete with birthing rail.
The State of New York operates the Livingston Mills (Staatsburg) estate and the Roosevelt Estate (Springwood) in Hyde Park is also run by NPS.. Both of these families traced their lineage back to Colonial New York and the mansions are resplendent but more comfortable and not as ostentatious. President Roosevelt loved coming here throughout his life to find the peace and tranquility of this area.
I am also adding a picture of the castle-like Mount St. Alphonsus, the Redemptorist retreat across from us at Norrie Point. I loved waking up to this view every morning. It was a seminary complete with its own self-sustaining farm but is now a retreat center for all faiths.
Here is another gem—the Esopus Lighthouse that looks like a dollhouse and is a guardian of the river.
Here is another gem—the Esopus Lighthouse that looks like a dollhouse and is a guardian of the river.
