Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Hudson (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Olana State Historic Site, Hudson Opera House, and Hudson–Athens lighthouse. Also, be sure to include Time and Space Limited in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Hudson (New York).
Table of Contents
Olana State Historic Site
Museum in Columbia County, New York. Olana State Historic Site is a historic house museum and property in Greenport, New York, near the city of Hudson. The estate was home to Frederic Edwin Church, one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The centerpiece of Olana is an eclectic villa which overlooks parkland and a working farm designed by the artist. The residence has a wide view of the Hudson River Valley, the Catskill Mountains and the Taconic Range. Church and his wife Isabel named their estate after a fortress-treasure house in ancient Greater Persia, which also overlooked a river valley.
Olana is one of the few intact artists' home-, studio- and estate-complexes in the United States; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The house is also a prime example of Orientalist architecture. It is owned and operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and is also supported by The Olana Partnership, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The main building is an architectural masterpiece designed by Frederic Church in consultation with the architect Calvert Vaux. The stone, brick, and polychrome-stenciled villa is a mixture of Victorian, Persian and Moorish styles. The interior remains much as it was during Church's lifetime, exotically furnished and decorated with objects from his global travels, and with some 40 paintings by Church and his friends. The house is intricately stenciled inside and out; Church designed the stencils based on his travels in the Middle East. The house contains Church's last studio, built as an addition from 1888 to 1890.[1]
Address: 5720 State Route 9g, 12534-4129 Hudson
Hudson Opera House
Nonprofit organization. Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House is an arts organization and venue in downtown Hudson, New York. The organization presents and produces arts and cultural programming year-round, and is an important civic partner in the vitality of Hudson. The building, constructed in 1855 as Hudson's city hall, is New York's oldest surviving theater.[2]
Address: 327 Warren Street, 12534-2413 Hudson
Hudson–Athens lighthouse
Lighthouse in Athens (village), New York. The Hudson–Athens Lighthouse, sometimes called the Hudson City light, is a lighthouse located in the Hudson River in the state of New York in the United States. The light is located between Hudson and Athens, closer to the Hudson side. Constructed in 1874, it marks a sandy ridge known as Middle Ground Flats and also acts as a general aid to navigation of the river. The station is built on a granite caisson with a unique shape designed to protect it from ice floes and river debris. The dwelling is constructed in the Second Empire architectural style, with a mansard roof. It is considered to be virtually a twin of the Stepping Stones Light in Long Island Sound, which was constructed just a few years later.[3]
Address: Hudson River, Hudson
Time and Space Limited
Concerts and shows, Theater
Address: 434 Columbia St, 12534-1908 Hudson
Carrie Haddad Gallery
Art gallery, Museum, Shopping
Address: 622 Warren St, 12534-2814 Hudson
United States Post Office
Post office in Hudson, New York. The U.S. Post Office in Hudson, New York, United States, is located on Union Street at the corner of South Fourth Street, just across from the Columbia County courthouse. It serves the ZIP Code 12534, which covers the city of Hudson and surrounding areas of the Town of Greenport.
It was built from 1909 to 1911 in a combination of the Colonial and Classical Revival architectural styles. The latter was used for the front portico, which echoes that of the slightly older county courthouse across the street. During the 1930s it was expanded in an architecturally sympathetic fashion, and public art was added to its lobby. It is a contributing property to the Hudson Historic District, established in 1985. Three years later, in 1988, the post office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in its own right, the only one in the county on the Register.[4]
Houses at 37–47 North Fifth Street
Building in Hudson. The houses at 37–47 North Fifth Street in Hudson, New York, United States, are a row of six Italianate buildings. They were built around 1870 by Freeman Coons, a local builder.
They are an intact example of late 19th-century worker housing in the city, restored at the end of the 20th century by a local community housing group after decades of neglect. In 2003 they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are currently used by a local drug rehabilitation program.[5]
Basilica Hudson
Wedding venue in Hudson, New York. Basilica Hudson is an arts and performance venue in Hudson, New York, USA. It was established in 2010 out of a 19th-century factory located near the city's "South Bay" riverfront along the Hudson River.
Basilica Hudson schedules its programming between spring and fall. Events range from film screenings and visual art exhibitions, to annual farmers' and flea markets with local vendors. It is the setting for the annual Basilica SoundScape festival and the 24 Hour Drone music festival,
Its creative directors in 2013 are musician Melissa Auf der Maur and independent filmmaker Tony Stone.
In 2012, The Guardian named Basilica Hudson one of the ten best industrial-chic spaces worldwide.[6]
Hudson Almshouse
Almshouse in Hudson, New York. Hudson Almshouse, also known as the Hudson Lunatic Asylum, Hudson Orphan and Relief Association, and Hudson Area Association Library, is a historic almshouse located at Hudson, Columbia County, New York. It was built about 1818, with a substantial rear addition built between about 1884 and 1889. It consists of a three-story central section with two-story flanking wings constructed of dressed limestone. Originally built as an almshouse, it subsequently served as a mental health asylum, female academy, private home, and from 1959 to 2016, the local association library.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[7]
Oliver Bronson House
The Plumb-Bronson House, also known as the Dr. Oliver Bronson House and Stables, is a historic house on Worth Avenue in Hudson, New York. Built in 1811 and significantly altered in 1839 and 1849, it is an important early example of the Hudson River Bracketed style by Alexander Jackson Davis. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003.[8]
Rossman–Prospect Avenue Historic District
The Rossman–Prospect Avenue Historic District is a small residential neighborhood located near the eastern end of the city of Hudson, New York, United States. Its houses were primarily built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the smaller of the city's two historic districts.
The area was developed when the city built an aqueduct through land owned by the Rossman family for a reservoir. It was the first planned residential subdivision in the city outside its large downtown grid plan. In 1985 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]