Extending 150 miles above the tip of Manhattan, the Hudson River Valley is a picturesque site, filled with forgotten cultural gems, thriving towns, and its fair share of abandoned sites. In addition to several river estates, it is home to historic churches, factories, and civic buildings, many of which are listed in National Register of Historical Places (a few are even named National Historical Landmarks). Yet, despite its rich history and charming, rustic ambience, part of Hudson Valley’s heritage threatens to be erased as it succumbs to time and neglect. In an effort to draw attention to the site, Hudson Valley Ruins, a photography and architecture exhibition, is currently being presented at the New York State Museum in Albany.
Sing Sing State Prison; Ossining, Westchester County by Robert Yasinsac. Image via Thomas Rinaldi
New York Trap Rock Co. Verplanck, Westchester County. Image via Thomas Rinaldi
The exhibit, held in the photography gallery of the museum, is based on the work of Robert Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi, co-authors of the book Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape. Divided into three sections that cover the upper, middle and lower sections of the Hudson River Valley, the show will explore the general historical and architectural significance of specific sites that have changed in the past ten years since the book’s publication. It will also explore particular threats that are currently effecting the historical buildings in the region, including works by Alexander Jackson Davis and Calvert Vaux – two prominent American architects in the nineteenth century.
Wyndclyffe Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. Photo by Thomas Rinaldi
Oliver Bronson House in Hudson. Photo by Thomas Rinaldi.
Staples Brick Company. Maiden-on-Hudson. Photo by Thomas Rinaldi.
Greycourt in Chester. Photo by Robert Yasinac.
The demolished Briarcliff Lodge at Briarcliff Mansion Photo by Robert Yasinac.
The show will run until December 31, 2017 in The New York State Museum in Albany. Can’t make it to Albany? Get the book: Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape
Architectural designer and author Thomas Rinaldi, also leads our tour of Greenwich Village’s Disappearing Neon Signs. His photographs have been presented at Municipal Art Society of New York, and published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and the New York Observer, among other places.
Next, check out 27 Historic Estates to Visit in New York’s Hudson Valley and explore Inside the Abandoned Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie. Also view our Guide to Kingston in NY’s Hudson Valley.
