Hudson River Cruise Tour Highlights!

Hudson River lighthouses truly offer an intriguing glimpse into the past…see the Rondout Lighthouse, watching patiently over the entrance to Rondout Harbor since 1837, and the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, the only one made of wood, is the second oldest, on the job since 1871. Whether you join us for a regularly scheduled river tour, a scenic Fall Foliage Cruise or a chartered group tour, you’ll see the extraordinary and opulent Hudson River waterfront mansions that marked the height of industrial success during the turn of the century:

• See Wyndcliff Mansion, at one time one of the most opulent and extravagant homes on the east shore of the Hudson. This mansion was built for Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones, and was so extraordinary that it inspired the now often-used expression, “Keeping up with the Jones’”!

• You will also see “Dinsmore”, built in 1936 for Mr. and Mrs. Lytell Hull – Mrs. Hull was the former Mrs. Vincent Astor and daughter-in-law of John Jacob Astor – the wealthiest man in America at the time of his death aboard the Titanic in 1912. The property was purchased in 1986 by the publisher of Penthouse Magazine and, after extensive restoration, was purportedly given to his son as a wedding present!

• Wilderstein is a restored Victorian mansion originally was an Italian Villa design, but was remodeled and enlarged in 1888 into a Queen Anne style mansion. This was the beloved home of Miss Margaret (Daisy) Stuckely, who was born there in 1891 and lived there for a century until her death in 1991! This amazing home features windows designed by Tiffany. The mansion is open to the public for tours, and is furnished just as it was in the 1800’s.

• And the benchmark of Victorian opulence: Vanderbilt Mansion. Long a symbol of American capitalism and the height of the Gilded Age when the “Great and Gracious” made their mark on American society, the Vanderbilt Mansion was built in 1898. With 54 rooms and 212 acres of property, it was built at an original cost of $660,000.

• Now known as Marist Mid Hudson Valley Camp is the unusual estate known as the Payne Mansion. Once owned by Col. Oliver Hazard Payne, the treasurer of Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon) and a founder of the US steel Company, it was completed in 1910. A French chateau style with 37 rooms, a large center courtyard, and long marble-lined hallways, it has 14 fireplaces, each with a different color marble hearth! The Colonel also owned the country’s largest steam yacht in 1910: called the ‘Aphrodite’, it was 308 feet long! The boat house is lined with Delft Tile and has a fireplace for keeping guests warm during the cooler months. Now privately owned, Marist was the last of the great Hudson River Mansions.

• Another unique property, Rosemont, also enjoys a colorful history! It was formerly owned by Judge Alton Brooks Parker, the former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and the highest judge in the State of New York. Judge Parker ran as the Democratic candidate against Teddy Roosevelt in 1904. The original house was known as the “Tank & Tummy” tavern when it opened in the Hudson River Valley in 1740.

Other highlights of your Hudson River waterfront cruise include the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge that connects East Kingston with Rhinebeck, the Esopus Meadows, and the impressive Mt. St. Alphonsus seminary, a castle-like seminary opened in 1907 for young men coming to enter the priesthood. Today it serves as a retreat, with 160 dormitory rooms, a large chapel, dining rooms, offices, a library and classrooms. Staatsburg (formerly the home of Ogden Mills, US Treasury Secretary under President Herbert Hoover) has 65 rooms and 14 bathrooms, with an interior rich with marble fireplaces, oak paneling, and gilded ceilings.