A Trip to Hudson, New York

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Hudson, NY. If you don't know the place, it's about 125 miles north of NYC. The historic town seems to be forever expanding with chic shops, galleries, and restaurants. When I first started coming here the antiques and other shops extended maybe a half mile on Warren Street (the main street), now the entire length of the mile-long shopping street is bustling with business. It's not an inexpensive place; many of the businesses were established by transplanted New Yorkers, and the prices are close to what you'd pay in Manhattan. But, it is definitely a designer's paradise. There are still antiques shops, but the town is now far more eclectic.

A view on Warren Street.

An old view of the length of Warren Street. Amazingly, most of these buildings still exist.

The proprietors of a fun shop called "Finch."

Foley & Cox:

Alas, we were not here to shop. Believe it not we were here to attend a lecture entitled: Magical Dwellings: The Apotropaic Buildings of the New World Dutch Cultural Hearth. Try to say that three times, fast. The truth is, I had always wanted to see the inside of the 1811 dwelling that houses the local chapter of the DAR, and that is where the lecture took place. It was part historical house, part meeting spaces, and part library for historical records.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) building, the Robert Jenkins House.

By-the-way, the lecture title referred to the early American habit of hiding symbols and objects in a house related to the builders or owners. Items may include carved symbols on a beam, old shoes hidden in a wall, broken dishes under a floor board. Whether for good luck or other superstition, or a blessing on the house, it seemed a lot of people were hiding objects!
After the lecture we headed to Tanzy's, a "down home" kind of café. The owner told us that twelve years ago they had opened Tanzy's because there was no place for locals to eat, unless they wanted to spend $60 for a lunch, like the NYC visitors do. We loved her for this--and the food was good.

After lunch we took a tour of the Hudson Opera House. The restoration took 20 years (or, at least the raising of funds did) but it is now completed and hosts concerts, art shows, etc..