Town of Newburgh: Crossroads of the Northeast

by Anne Pyburn and photographs by David Cunningham, November 30, 2011

It’s been called the Crossroads of the Northeast. And indeed, the more-or-less central nexus of the Town of Newburgh, where the New York Thruway and Interstate 84 meet with Route 300 not far from Route 17K, is a crossroads on a grand scale, modernized in recent years until it feels far more “downstate” than most of the Hudson Valley.

One of the newest features: a dedicated highway, Route 747, that speeds you simply and directly to Stewart, a tidy little international airport that’s handy and simple enough to make flying painless. In this, as in a surprising variety of other areas, the Town of Newburgh has what you need. It’s as if, when the communities of the Valley lined up to receive their varied blessings, a good fairy with a practical turn of mind pulled this town into her embrace and whispered, “You shall be useful.”

Surrounded by the workaday world of the Crossroads of the Northeast lies New York’s Other City. Head to Newburgh—the city—for symphony or opera. Drop by the Ann Street Gallery for high tea and contemporary art. See legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli at the Ritz Theatre, part of the Tom Humphries Guitar Series. Chow down on barbecue and burgers that melt in your mouth at the Wherehouse, or on Zagat-rated Italian at Caffe Macchiato. Have a beer at Gully’s floating restaurant and watch the sun sparkle on the river.


Come to the Downing Film Center for a free showing of Joyeux Noel. Bask in the renovated glory of the Railroad Playhouse for a performance of David Sedaris’s “Santaland Diaries.” Explore the effect of 4,000 National Historic Register buildings gathered in one small city. Come to the Newburgh Free Library Gallery or the Karpeles Document Museum. Check out the websites of the Newburgh Preservation Association, Newburgh Restoration, and Newburgh Revealed to study up on new urbanism in action, or the City of Newburgh Arts Calendar to get an overview of what’s doin’. But whatever you do, don’t miss out completely on the Queen City of the Hudson.

And stay tuned—newly elected mayor Judy Kennedy says it’s time Newburgh got her game all the way back. “For two whole days after the election, my iPhone voicemail was literally running over and I was getting a constant stream of calls,” says Kennedy. “So many people are so excited about Newburgh’s potential right now. I’ve been spending my days in rooms full of enthusiastic people. We need to build a business district around the architecture, the location, the art. We have so much here, and so much more to come.”