• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Olana State Historic Site

After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure

February 25, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

after icebergs with a painterThe new edition of After Icebergs with a Painter A Summer Voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland (Black Dome Press, 2022), by Louis Legrand Noble with an introduction by William L. Coleman, looks at an internationally renowned American artist of fame and fortune at the very peak of his powers.

A pastor and lauded writer with a sharp eye for revealing and humorous detail, Noble describes a journey fraught with danger and drama aboard the schooner Integrity to the latitudes where icebergs dwell with Hudson River School painter Frederic Church. [Read more…] about After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure

Filed Under: Books, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: Art History, Bard College, Books, Catskills, Climate Change, Environmental History, Frederic Church, Hudson River School, ice, Lisbon, Maritime Art, Maritime History, Olana State Historic Site, painting, St Lawrence County

$25M in Improvements Planned for Olana State Historic Site

December 19, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Frederic Church Center, View from Lakeside Terrace to WestOlana State Historic Site will undergo a $25 million site improvement project over the next two years, including construction of the Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape, a new entry and orientation facility at the historic site in Hudson, Columbia County.

The sustainably designed, all-electric Frederic Church Center will be a gateway to all visitors to Olana State Historic Site [Read more…] about $25M in Improvements Planned for Olana State Historic Site

Filed Under: Arts, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Art History, Columbia County, Frederic Church, Hudson, Olana State Historic Site

Butler’s Pantry: Irish Servants in the Hudson Valley

November 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Olana State Historic SiteThe Irish American Heritage Museum will host “Behind the Butler’s Pantry – Olana and the Lives of Irish Servants in the Hudson Valley,” a virtual conversation about the lives of Irish immigrants and their families who worked as servants at Frederic Church’s Olana on November 18th. [Read more…] about Butler’s Pantry: Irish Servants in the Hudson Valley

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Irish American Heritage Museum, Olana State Historic Site

Historic Sites Featured In Hudson Skywalk Arts Festival

September 28, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Hudson River Skywalk The Hudson River Skywalk Arts Festival is set for Sunday, September 30th, free events will be held at the Thomas Cole State Historic Site Site, Olana and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. [Read more…] about Historic Sites Featured In Hudson Skywalk Arts Festival

Filed Under: Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Hudson River, Olana State Historic Site, Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Exhibit: Frederic Church’s Summer House at Olana

August 12, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

olanas summer houseDavid McAlpin, a principal at Fradkin & McAlpin Architects, is among a group of 21 noted architects and landscape architects, including Steven Holl, Laurie D. Olin, Peter Pennoyer and Diana Balmori, who have been invited to solve a mystery that is more than 130 years old.

Each was asked to submit a design for “the Summer House” at Olana, the Hudson, New York, estate of the great American landscape artist Frederic Church. [Read more…] about Exhibit: Frederic Church’s Summer House at Olana

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New Exhibits Tagged With: Architecture, Frederic Church, Olana State Historic Site

Friends With Benefits: NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation

July 10, 2016 by Peter Feinman 4 Comments

OPRHP-1How many historic sites does the NYSOPRHP maintain? That is not a trick question. At the NY Statewide Preservation Conference, May 5-7, in Albany and Troy, the question was an unintended running joke among several sessions. Generally the number was between 35 and 40 with a variation due to how to classify a site given a site can be recreational and historic. But this is not a post about the combination of recreation and historic sites in one bureaucracy (it wasn’t always that way). Rather it is a discussion about what it means to be a state historic site. [Read more…] about Friends With Benefits: NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, OPRHP, Public History

Contemporary Exhibit Set For Thomas Cole, Olana Sites

March 23, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

NOZKOWSKI_Untitled_9-25_ Sams Point(1)The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and The Olana Partnership/Olana State Historic Site will co-host an exhibition of contemporary art to highlight the pivotal role that the two historic properties – and the artists who lived and worked there – played in shaping America’s culture of contemporary art.

The exhibition “River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home” will open on May 3rd and run through November 1, 2015. [Read more…] about Contemporary Exhibit Set For Thomas Cole, Olana Sites

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New Exhibits Tagged With: Art History, Hudson River School, Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Spring Walk at Olana Features Landscape, Wildlife

March 28, 2012 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Craig Thompson, director of Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, will host an outdoor foray to search for bluebirds, robin redbreast, white trillium and other colorful signs of spring on Sunday, April 1. An Olana educator will join the group to discuss the history of the landscape and carriage drives designed by Frederic Church.

Craig Thompson has been an environmental educator in NYS DEC’s Division of Public Affairs for over 30 years. Five Rivers, one of the state’s environmental education facilities, is a 445-acre “living museum” offering a comprehensive program of interpretive, education and information services year ‘round.

The Spring Walk will take place from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and is free and open to all ages. Meet at the Wagon House Education Center and dress for casual trail walking. Binoculars are helpful but not necessary. Space is limited, so please register by calling (518) 828-1872 ext. 109. In the event of inclement weather, the program may be canceled. (If in doubt, call (518) 828-1872 x 109 to confirm.) A vehicle use fee will be charged at the entrance to the site.

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Columbia County, Hudson River, Natural History, Olana State Historic Site, Wildlife

Forum: 1979 Hudson Valley Nuclear Decision

February 16, 2012 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In 1979, a nuclear power plant was nearly built on the Hudson River in plain view of Olana State Historic Site. The Olana Partnership is presenting a panel discussion on Saturday, February 25, about this little-known incident in Hudson Valley history.

For the first time ever, three key players in this debate will unite and recount this game-changing episode, and how each played an important role. The panelists, Carl Petrich, J. Winthrop Aldrich, and Richard Benas, will discuss the unprecedented and nationally significant approach of considering the visual impact of a nuclear power plant in a region. Dorothy Heyl, a member of Olana’s Landscape/Viewshed Committee, will moderate.

In 1977, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Power Authority of the State of New York held hearings on siting a nuclear power plant just south of Catskill in Cementon. The cooling tower, at a height of 450 feet, would have been visible for many miles. Thirty-five stories tall, it would have been 250 feet in diameter at its highest point and discharged a prominent plume. On some days, the plume would have obscured views of the Catskill Mountains from many locations, including Olana.

In the late 1970s, Carl Petrich, one of the panelists, worked as a landscape architect on the research staff of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Through an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Oak Ridge produced an Environmental Impact Statement for this project. Petrich immersed himself in Hudson River School history and the designed landscape of Frederic Church’s Olana. His conclusion—that the viewshed from Olana was of national importance and warranted protection—changed history. The resulting Environmental Impact Statement caused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to recommended denial of a construction license for the proposed nuclear power plant. This was the first and only time that such a recommendation had been made on any grounds—let alone environmental or aesthetic.

J. Winthrop Aldrich, a Hudson Valley resident and long-time public servant, worked with counsel for local groups opposing the siting of the plant in Cementon. He was a proponent of assuring that the impact of the project on historic and scenic resources would be formally weighed in the decision making.

Richard Benas, then at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, testified in hearings on the proposed plant. Based on this experience, Benas later developed visual impact guidelines which are now used to insure compliance with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQRA.

Testimony at the hearings on the significance of the Olana Viewshed included some by David Huntington, who had earlier led the successful preservation effort that saved Olana in 1967. More than 30 years ago, Huntington testified, “Olana is a monument and site whose significance will be increasingly appreciated by the American people.”

The three panelists, Petrich, Aldrich and Benas, will share their memories of a crucial, but mostly forgotten chapter in the preservation of a national historic landmark and its spectacular viewshed. “It’s surprising how few people know about this episode in this region,” noted Mark Prezorski, Landscape Curator for The Olana Partnership. “In some ways, it’s similar to the Storm King Mountain preservation effort, with far reaching effects.”

“This discussion, while it addresses the prospect of a nuclear power plant, is not about nuclear energy,” commented Sara Griffen, President of The Olana Partnership. “It is the story of how the importance of the Olana Viewshed factored into the siting of a plant, and how this mattered on a national and regional level.”

“Olana is famous for its breath-taking panoramic views that draw thousands of visitors to this magnificent historic site every year,” said Kimberly Flook, Site Manager of Olana Historic Site. “It was Frederic Church’s vision that actively shaped his landscape to frame the Hudson Valley’s unique natural beauty.”

The panel discussion will begin at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 25 in Hudson, NY, at Stair Galleries (549 Warren Street). A suggested donation of $10 can be paid at the door, and admission is free for all members of The Olana Partnership. A reception will follow. More information is available online at olana.org or by phoning The Olana Partnership at 518.828.1872. RSVPs appreciated.

Photo: View from Olana with Superimposed Simulated Nuclear Cooling Towers (detail), 1979, photograph #4363-77, Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Dept. of Energy.

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Art History, Columbia County, Hudson River, Industrial History, Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site

Olana Partnership Elects New Trustee

December 7, 2011 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Richard Sharp, Chairman of The Olana Partnership, has announced the election of Joseph A. Pierson to the board of trustees.

“We are delighted that Joseph has joined our board. He brings to the Partnership a keen visual sense and creative eye, along with a track record of commitment to historic preservation,” said Chairman Sharp. “Joseph continues the tradition of his family’s longstanding support of Olana.”

Pierson is president of Cypress Films, Inc., a successful, independent, New York-based film, theater and television production company. Most recently, he produced and directed EvenHand, an independent feature film shot on location in San Antonio, Texas. Currently in pre-production is a filmed adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s A Suspension of Mercy and an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man for the Broadway stage.

Pierson majored in Studio Art at Middlebury College, graduating with departmental honors. He has an avid interest in historic preservation, serving as a member of the Director’s Council of the Historic House Trust of New York City, the Trustees’ Council of the Preservation League of New York State, and as chair of the Fort Tryon Park Trust. In addition, Mr. Pierson serves on the board of the Greenrock Corporation and as president of Abeyton Lodge, Inc.

In 1994, Pierson was elected a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. He is a member of the Fund’s Pocantico Center and nominating committees. He and his family have a local residence in Columbia County, New York.

“From the first time Joseph came for a visit to Olana, we could tell that he noticed and appreciated everything, and with his strong background in historic preservation, had insights that we knew would be of great value to us,” said Sara Griffen, President of The Olana Partnership. “The fact that his grandfather Nelson Rockefeller had been responsible for saving Olana from the auction block in the early 1960s made it all the more fitting that Joseph might join the board.”

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Film History, Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, Public History

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Pat Boomhower on Ask Governor Hochul to Support New York’s History
  • Pat Boomhower on Ask Governor Hochul to Support New York’s History
  • Nancy Fenn on Albany’s Anneke Jans Bogardus, Indecent Exposure, Trinity Church & The Bowery
  • Pat Boomhower on Historic Adirondack MacNaughton Cottage Being Rehabilitated
  • DonS on Historic Adirondack MacNaughton Cottage Being Rehabilitated
  • Becky Landy on Dr. Bradford VanDiver: Adirondack Renaissance Man
  • Douglas Morgan on Euro-American Expansion Into The Finger Lakes Region
  • Charles Yaple on Poetry: Out The Window
  • Bill Orzell on New Backstretch Housing Planned For Saratoga, Belmont
  • Jo Ann on Avoiding A Repeat of 2020 Election Attacks

Recent New York Books

Flee North Thomas Smallwood Early Underground Railroad
Making Long Island
The Witch of New York
styles brook book lorraine duvall
James Wilson: The Anxious Founder
Flatiron Legacy National Football League History NFL
Henry David Thoreau Thinking Disobediently
Prints of a New Kind: Political Caricature in the United States, 1789–1828
The Confidante - The Untold Story of the Anna Rosenberg Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America

Secondary Sidebar