Catskills history: a bit of everything
Perhaps because the most prominent chapter in the Catskills’ story is the agreeably schlock era of resorts favored by working-class New Yorkers, the region’s more refined historical elements often go underappreciated.
The frequently stunning scenery was the inspiration for numerous works by Hudson River School of Painting artists, like the pioneering naturalist John Burroughs. Wealthy industrialists and their families, including the Rockefellers and the Goulds, built residences and resorts. Washington Irving based his Rip Van Winkle tale on a visit here.
The place has a decidedly funky vibe and Woodstock – for which the rock concert was named, although it was actually held in Bethel, in a neighboring county – is among the most avowedly creative...
Full StoryIt is easy to tire of the steady stream of gloom describing the state of the golf industry, fundamental validity notwithstanding. In such a frame of mind, perhaps an excursion in the Catskills is not, intuitively, the antidote. After all, isn’t the region Illustration A for bygone resort vitality, whose Borscht Belt... Full Story
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Hudson River Valley rich in lesser-known privates
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Saratoga Wears Its Quaintness Well
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Nemacolin Woodlands Is a World unto Itself
The contemplation of parallel universes is usually best left to cosmologists, but a similar...