A Winning Pair

Wappingers Falls + Fishkill

by Atticus Lanigan and photographs by Amber S. Clark, October 29, 2009

The intersection of Interstate 84 and Route 9 shines brightly for those passing through on either of those nighttime highways. One of the principal gateways to Dutchess County and regions north and east, this stretch of stores, chain restaurants and hotels, medical offices, and industrial parks can be called a big box-store carnival, a food extravaganza, a multilane bumper car ride, or a festival of lights. Despite its many informal appellations, the area described above is most appropriately called the Village of Fishkill. Yards away lies its other half: the quintessential small town housing some of the oldest buildings in Dutchess County.

Traveling north out of the mouth of heat and bright lights, one encounters a crown jewel to the west, the First Reformed Church of Fishkill, standing sentinel at the gateway to this historic region. Rich in its own history, including its employment as a prison during the Revolutionary War, it is maitre d’ to the Fishkill Village District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 for containing a significant concentration of structures dating from the late 1700s.

As in many Hudson Valley towns, a distinct revival is currently underway in Fishkill, admittedly made possible by the success of the bustling strip down the road. According to Kathy English of the Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce, the 10 or so hotels clustered at the junction of I-84 and Route 9 are what has allowed Fishkill’s restaurant row to flourish on Main Street. Employees of IBM subsidiaries who stay for extended business trips and who seek solace from chain-restaurant monotony have also added to the increasingly popular Fishkill dining and nightlife.

Main Street offers a variety of creative dining spots tightly packed in refurbished brick buildings. One such restaurant, Il Barilotto, offers Italian peasant cuisine with an urban twist and provides a cozy atmosphere with an extensive wine list. The manager of Il Barilotto since its opening in 2001, Scott Rosenberg, values the restaurant’s role in fueling the recent status upgrade of the village, attracting a crowd of transplanted families from New York and Westchester who are accustomed to urban amenities.

Fishkill’s enclave of eateries allows visitors a taste of the typical Hudson Valley Main Street: quaint, historic, reviving, and chic. And, as per its original function, the village acts as a gateway to the rest of Dutchess County; specifically, the historic lands of the Rombout Patent. The first tract of land ever licensed in the county, the patent once encompassed Hudson River shoreline access and stretched as far afield as present-day LaGrange and East Fishkill.