Nestled in the central, western region of Dutchess County are three municipalities with a rich collection of history, as well as a trove of modern-day treasures. Landmarks and businesses, spanning the gamut of historic, nostalgic, and new, are peppered throughout the Hudson River communities of Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, and Pleasant Valley.
Many of the businesses, sites, and monuments that we see today had a very different look and purpose when they were first constructed many years ago. In other instances, new businesses have come to fruition, shaping the local economy and community. The Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, and Pleasant Valley landscapes have changed over time, helping nudge the Hudson Valley into the 21st century while preserving its cherished and colorful history.
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie was first settled by the Dutch in 1687, and its name, although still debated among historians, means “reed-covered lodge by the little watering place,” according to City of Poughkeepsie Historian, George Lukacs. The name comes from the Wappinger Indians, and has been spelled several different ways over the years, Lukacs says. The first sighting of the name was spelled Pooghkepesingh, and was listed in a 1683 deed between a Native American and two Dutchmen in a deal concerning the construction of a mill near Fall Kill creek, according to Lukacs.
The Queen City also spent nearly three years as the capital of New York State during the revolutionary war, says Lukacs, after the British torched Kingston, the original capital. Poughkeepsie was later incorporated into a village in 1799 and eventually swelled to a city in 1854.
The boundaries of Poughkeepsie are chockfull of notable monuments, homes and sites. The city has several landmarks, such as the Glebe House (635 Main Street) and Clinton House (549 Main Street), home to New York’s first governor George Clinton.
One of those landmarks is Vassar College, which was established in 1861 by Matthew Vassar. The renowned university located on Raymond Avenue touts a free art museum near its gates, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The center has an exhibition on display called “Genji’s World in Japanese Woodblock Prints,” which runs through December 15. “People should take advantage [of the Loeb Art Center],” says communications manager at Dutchess County Tourism, Nancy Lutz. “The college offers a lot of art and it’s all free.”
Other landmarks in the city include the Bardavon (35 Market Street), which opened as an Opera House in 1869. Moving into the 1900s, The Chance (6 Crannell Street) was built in 1912, and began hosting performances in 1926 as a vaudeville house, then dubbed the Dutchess Theatre. Both venues still host shows today. Upcoming highlights on The Chance calendar include comedian Jim Breuer on October 12 and horror-punk band The Misfits on October 27.
As Poughkeepsie marches into the new millennium, the places of its past are sometimes reinvented, rediscovered and reused. The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, for example, which was built in 1888 and officially opened in 1889, was re-launched in 2009 as the Walkway Over the Hudson. The roughly mile-and-a-quarter-long pedestrian bridge is elevated more than 200 feet above the Hudson River, and is the longest, elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.
As the 21st-century unfolds, new businesses are popping up around the city. The Pour House (206 Main Street), for example, is a new wine bar that opened in May. “We’re going for that more mature feel,” says co-owner of the wine bar, Anthony Jolly. The bar offers specialty drinks, light fare, as well as local meats from Elia’s Meat Market in Highland and cheeses from nearby Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie. The menu also includes sandwiches and handmade, thin-crust focaccia pizzas. The Pour House also hosts live music every Friday and Saturday night.
Hyde Park
Just north of Poughkeepsie is Hyde Park, the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. Although most historic sites in Hyde Park are intertwined with the legacy of the former president, such as the presidential library—which just underwent its first restoration since opening in 1941—there are several other quaint, hometown gems situated within the historic burg.
One of those well-known sites, located almost directly across the street from the FDR home, is the Hyde Park Drive-In (4114 Albany Post Road). The theater opened in 1949, and has been a staple in the town ever since. Recently, the drive-in was forced to convert to digital, as 35 millimeter film is now extinct. “You don’t see many outdoor theaters anymore,” says Ida Wacker, snack bar manager at the drive-in. “It’s a nice experience for any family to come out [to the drive in],” Wacker says. The Hyde Park Drive-In closed its doors for the season in September, but will reopen again in the spring.
A little more than a stone’s throw from Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s summer home, the property that eventually became her full-time residence after the presidential mansion was designated as a tourist site, is a restaurant whose foundation also offers a vibrant history, Joseph’s Steakhouse (728 Violet Avenue). The former first lady once owned the property that is now Joseph’s Steakhouse, and the restaurant’s front dining area is where her cook operated a tea room until 1949. “Royalty visiting the Roosevelt’s would enjoy afternoon tea in the Val-Kill Tea Room,” writes owner of Joseph’s Steakhouse, Joseph Wilson, in an e-mail. The restaurant still carries on the tradition, and offers afternoon tea in their tea room, according to Wilson.
“The Tea Room where Queen Elizabeth once had tea still has the original wooden rafter,” he writes.
The steakhouse, which specializes in dry-aged certified angus beef, will take part in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week this November. The event is an ideal opportunity for foodies to experience three-course meals at some of the premier restaurants across the Hudson Valley for a set price of $29.95 per person. (For more information: Hudsonvalleyrestaurantweek.com).
Pleasant Valley
The first settlers that made their way to the Town of Pleasant Valley were Presbyterians hailing from Connecticut in 1737, according to Pleasant Valley Historian Fred Schaeffer. The town was dubbed Pleasant Valley because the first settlers simply thought it was a pleasant place surrounding the Wappinger Creek.
There are several notable landmarks in the town, such as the Mill Site Museum on Route 44, where a mill was first constructed around the mid-1700s, as well as James Baird State Park, home to a renowned 18-hole golf course that opened in 1948 and was designed by well-known golf course architect Robert Trent Jones.
In addition to these historic sites, Pleasant Valley is also home to a slew of family-owned businesses that have been operating for generations. The Pleasant Valley Department Store (1585 Route 44) is one of the last small, family-owned department stores in the region and beyond. The store was opened in 1946 by business partners and US Army veterans Harold Hommel and Walter Bogatis, and has evolved since the 1940s when it was a pharmacy with a soda fountain. Today, the Pleasant Valley Department Store focuses on clothing and footwear. “People come in and they say, ‘Thank you, I don’t have to go to the mall,'” says Pleasant Valley Department Store owner Caroline Dolfi, Hommel’s daughter.
“What used to be the norm is now a specialty,” says Dolfi regarding the rarity of small department stores nowadays. The store sells brands such as Woolrich, Dockers, Calvin Klein, and Levi’s, among others. “We’re here for hopefully many years to come,” says Dolfi.
A little further down Route 44 is Quattro’s Game Farm and Farm Store (2251 Route 44), a local poultry and game farm that has been in business for more than three generations. The farm store includes a butcher shop, a specialty section with imported Italian products, and an ammunition and hunting supplies store. “The butcher at Quattro’s will take out a band saw and cut you a steak the size of your head,” says Dutchess County Tourism’s Lutz, jokingly.
The farm is run by the Quattrociocchi family, who shortened the farm name to Quattro’s, which is slightly easier to pronounce. Eighty-four-year-old Carmella Quattrociocchi, whose parents started the business, still works on the farm today. “This has been her life,” says store manager Joyce Quattrociocchi. “[Carmela] is the only one who takes care of her birds.” Joyce is married to Carmella’s son, Sal, and they have two children, 24-year-old Maria and Catherine, 20. Both daughters help in the store and run the Quattro’s booth at various farmers’ markets in New York City and Rhinebeck. The farm is currently taking orders for Thanksgiving turkeys. All of the birds at Quattro’s are free of hormones, chemicals, and antibiotics.
Some newer Pleasant Valley-based family establishments include Madison’s Pizza (17 North Avenue), which opened in 2004. The restaurant expanded last year, and is now equipped with a full bar. Menu highlights at Madison’s include wings and pasta dishes, such as their penne ala vodka. “We kind of make you feel at home, even if you’re not from around here,” says owner Jason Kiggins of what makes Madison’s a unique dining experience. “We’re family-owned and operated, and the family is here working all of the time.”
The restaurant got its name from Kiggins’s daughter, Madison, who was two-years-old when he opened up the restaurant. She’s now 12.
The Publick House is a hometown bar on Maggiacomo Lane, which opened five years ago. The bar features American cuisine, and has a heavy emphasis on chicken wings. Their sweet-chili coconut wings won the grand prize for most original wing sauce at Hudson Valley Wing Fest in 2010. A unique drink at the pub is the Publick House’s Irish High, which includes Guinness, as well as espresso and vanilla vodkas, according to bartender Sarah Rathjen. “[Publick House] is your local pub,” Rathjen says. “[People] come here for a good meal, good beer on draft, to watch the football game. It’s just groups of friends meeting up all of the time.”
Pleasant Valley is also home to cutting edge new ventures, like Hudson Valley Skin Care headquartered on Charles Street. The company, started by pharmacist Glenn Arpino and his wife Cathie, a cosmetic formulator, use local, Hudson Valley beer, honey, goat milk, maple syrup and coffee in their products. The beer that’s used comes from the Hyde Park Brewing Company, as well as coffee from Monkey Joe Coffee Roasting Company based out of Kingston.
Cathie, who previously worked for companies such as Estée Lauder, decided that she wanted to create a natural skincare line, and put a few products out on display in her husband’s office, called Dermasave Labs, which is a compounding pharmacy specializing in women’s issues. The products were a big hit with the customers, and women were raving about them, according to Glenn Arpino. The company, which started roughly one year ago, makes soaps, oil, lotions, and face scrubs, among other products.
Resources
Adam’s Fairacre Farm
Dreaming Goddess
Freight Liquidators
H. G. Page & Sons
Heat Revival
Hudson Valley Skin Care
Madison’s Pizza
Pleasant Valley Departmet Store
Rhinebeck Bank
Vassar College
This article appears in October 2013.
