April 24, 2006
Chasing Rainbows
Back from upstate New York. This is the best I can do for the moment. I actually didn't take many pictures, since those rolling-green-hills-in-the-pouring-rain-from-the-highway shots all look alot like this, sans the rainbow-- and even with the rainbow, they leave alot to be desired aesthetically. The sun broke through once this weekend, thus the semi spectacle. At least you can get an idea of just how cheery a town can be, while exploring in the rain.
Basically the search led to locales from Poughkeepsie north on either side of the the Hudson River-- towns that can be accessed by train from New York City.
Newburgh was a first stop because of a property listed on the net. And, indeed, it was love at first sight. The Chapman Steamer Company Firehouse has 8000 square feet and beautiful 1914 fancy brickwork. It's right across the street from a stately park, which may have been a Frederick Law Olmstead design. However, its setting could not be called exactly bucolic. Worrisome would be a better word. The real estate agent never called back, so I didn't get to see the inside. Newburgh is chock full of interesting architecture, as well as rolling steel doors.
Just a couple of miles across the river is the beautifully restored Beacon. A bit puffed up for some, but most charming -- home of the new Dia:Beacon, and its galleric followers. Unlike Newburgh, Beacon has clearly been discovered, and its discovery is reflected in housing prices.
Maybe Red Hook.
Why am I going on like this. A perfect fact dump if I ever read one. Ho Hum
Photo note above: Out the window in Rhinebeck. A Bavarian flavor.
Posted by Dakota at April 24, 2006 09:34 AM