Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. On the off chance that someone is reading this and doesn’t know what on earth I’m talking about – My name is Howard Dale. And the sign is painted in my favorite color, blue to boot.
Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
The Newington-Cropsey Foundation was founded in 1977 for the purpose of preserving and displaying the home and paintings of Jasper F. Cropsey (1823-1900), Hudson River School artist. The Cropsey home, Ever Rest, has been on the National Register of Historic Homes since the early 1970’s.
In the mid 1830’s William Saunders, a local industrialist, built the carpenter gothic style home on two acres of land at 49 Washington Avenue in Hastings Upon Hudson, New York. Jasper and Maria Cropsey moved to the village, by then renamed as Hastings-on-Hudson, in 1885 and by 1886 had purchased Mr. Saunders’ former home. Jasper named the home “Ever Rest,” probably reflecting his view of the property as a restful, peaceful place where he and Maria could spend their twilight years together.
Ever Rest is partially furnished with selections of furniture from the Cropseys’ former home, Aladdin, in Warwick, NY. The dining room set, including table, chairs, and breakfront were designed by Cropsey and built by furniture makers in New York City. Even some of the drapery had been custom made for Aladdin and later altered for use at Ever Rest. Many European and Asian pieces purchased in New York City and Europe accent the decor.
In his early 60’s, Jasper was still a very active artist, and having been a trained architect, set out to design and build a painting studio at Ever Rest. It was completed in about 1887 and Jasper painted there for the rest of his career. The studio includes a large windowed cupola and full length window facing north, both designed to give the artist as much natural light as possible. In addition to being a working studio, the very large space also served as a family room of sorts, as well as a place to entertain guests. It also features an inglenook fireplace, piano, and various chairs and settees.
Ever Rest remained in the Cropsey family after Maria passed away in 1906. Any remaining paintings at Ever Rest were sold at Silo Art Galleries (Cropsey Estate Auction) in New York to settle the Cropsey estate. The Cropsey’s granddaughter Isabel grew up in the house and lived the rest of her life there. Her husband, William Steinschneider, was the last family member to live at Ever Rest, passing away in 1970. The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Houses in the early 1970’s, and became part of the Newington-Cropsey Foundation in 1977. The paintings on display at Ever Rest are part of the Foundation’s permanent collection, collected through the years by John and Barbara Newington, Cropsey’s great-granddaughter, and the Newington-Cropsey Foundation.
Having been cared for by the Cropsey family and then the Foundation, great care has been taken through the years to maintain the home as it was in Jasper and Maria’s time.
In 1994, the Gallery of Art was completed, enabling the foundation to display more of the permanent collection of Cropsey’s paintings, in addition to providing exhibition space for temporary and traveling exhibits. The new building also houses the archives of Cropsey’s writings and papers as well as a small research library.
The Foundation’s years of research into Cropsey’s paintings had culminated in the publication of the first volume of the Catalogue Raisonné.
It’s quite hard to figure when the foundation is actually open and when I passed by it wasn’t so I had to take most of these pictures through the bars of a fence. It looks like an interesting place. I’ll have to go back sometime and see if I can get past the bars.
Taken with a Sony RX100 M3 and Fuji X-E3 with Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
The Water Tower was constructed in 1916 for the National Conduit & Cable Company’s operations at 1 River Street in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The site was then transferred to Anaconda Copper and Mining Company in 1919. The company eventually merged into Anaconda Wire and Cable Company, and continued to operate until 1974 when the company ceased operations. Atlantic Richfield (AR) purchased the site in 1977 and an affiliate, ARCO, repurchased the site in 1998. AR and ARCO have since facilitated environmental investigations and remediation at the site. The site is currently under the responsibility of a 2016 Consent Order between British Petroleum (BP) and ARCO Environmental Remediation Limited (ARCO). The site has been categorized as a Superfund Site and is currently undergoing remediation. The Water Tower currently resides at the Harbor at Hastings Superfund Site.
Despite all its problems the tower has become something of an icon in the town. Although there have been plans to demolish it they have so far been resisted by local residents.
Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.
“The Good Witch” is an interesting and pleasant coffee shop conveniently located right next to the Hastings-on-Hudson Metro North Station
It’s no doubt named after the Good Witch, Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz”, a role which was played by Billie Burke, a resident of Hastings-on-Hudson.
Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.
Above: Hastings-on-Hudson Metro North Hudson Line station.
“Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line. To the north of Hastings-on-Hudson is the village of Dobbs Ferry, to the south, the city of Yonkers, and to the east unincorporated parts of Greenburgh. As of the 2020 US Census, it had a population of 8,590. The town lies on U.S. Route 9, “Broadway”, along with the Saw Mill River Parkway and I-287.
The area that is now Hastings-on-Hudson and Dobbs Ferry was the primary settlement of the Weckquaesgeek Algonquian people, who called the community Wysquaqua. In the summer, the Weckquaesgeeks camped at the mouth of the ravine running under the present Warburton Avenue Bridge. There they fished, swam and collected oysters and clamshells used to make wampum. On the level plain nearby (which is now Maple Avenue), they planted corn and possibly tobacco.
The findings of large numbers of artifacts have suggested that there was significant tribal activity in the confluence of Factory Brook and Scheckler’s Brook just behind what is now the Cropsey Studio, but the interest in the site failed to generate any archeological inquiry.
Pre-1920
Around 1650, a Dutch carpenter, named Frederick Philipse, arrived in New Amsterdam. In 1682, Philipse traded with the Native Americans for the area that is now Dobbs Ferry and Hastings-on-Hudson. In 1693, the English Crown granted Philipse the Manor of Philipsburg, which included what is now Hastings-on-Hudson. After dividing the area into four nearly equal-sized farms, the Philipses leased them to Dutch, English and French Huguenot settlers.
During the American Revolution, what is now Hastings-on-Hudson, lay between the lines of the warring forces and was declared neutral territory. In reality, the area became a no-man’s land and was raided repeatedly by both sides. The minor Revolutionary War skirmish known as the Battle of Edgar’s Lane was fought in Hastings. Following the Revolution, the Philipses, who had been loyal to George III, saw their vast lands confiscated and sold by the newly established American state. In 1785, the four farms comprising today’s Hastings-on-Hudson were bought by James DeClark, Jacobus Dyckman, George Fisher, and tavern keeper Peter Post.
Around the same time, Westchester County, which had been established as one of the 10 original counties in New York, was divided into towns, and the area that is now Hastings-on-Hudson became part of the town of Greenburgh. The village was incorporated in 1879 and its name changed from Hastings-Upon-Hudson to Hastings-on-Hudson.
Stone quarrying was the earliest industry in Hastings-on-Hudson. From 1865 to 1871, hundreds of Scottish and Irish laborers blasted huge quantities of dolomitic marble from a white Westchester marble quarry. An inclined railroad carried the marble down to the quarry wharf where it was dressed by skilled stonecutters and loaded onto ships bound for cities like New York and Charleston, South Carolina.
By the 1880s, Hastings Pavement was producing hexagonal paving blocks which were used extensively in Central Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Between 1895 and 1900, Hastings Pavement produced 10 million such blocks and shipped them throughout the United States and to cities in Canada, Brazil and England. By 1891, the National Conduit and Cable Company had established an operation on the waterfront producing cables for utility companies here and abroad. In 1912, labor strife between striking workers and their employer, the National Cable and Conduit Company, left two striking workers and two bystanders dead. Similar labor unrest occurred in 1916, whereby the Village was put under house arrest.
During World War I, 200 National Guardsmen were stationed in Hastings-on-Hudson because of the security interests of the National Conduit plant and a chemical plant opened by Frederick G. Zinsser that produced a wood alcohol called Hastings Spirits.
1920-recent
The Anaconda Copper Company took over National Conduit in 1929, and a few years later acquired the Hastings Pavement property. By the end of World War II, Anaconda owned most of the industrial waterfront. Anaconda closed its Hastings-on-Hudson plant in 1975, bringing to an end the century-long era of heavy industry on the Hastings-on-Hudson waterfront.
The 1926-founded Hillside-on-Hastings sanitarium and hospital opened in 1926. They relocated to Glen Oaks, Queens in 1941.
Billie Burke, actress (the “Good Witch” in the Wizard of Oz) lived in Hastings-on-Hudson and left her property to the school district, which still owns it, and uses it for various sports.
Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, from Ripley, in western New York, used real estate profits to purchase the Hudson River Rubber Company, a small business in Hastings-on-Hudson. The following year, Goodrich relocated the business to Akron, Ohio.
Children’s Village, a boarding facility for children in difficult circumstances, located in neighboring Dobbs Ferry, sold about 50 acres (200,000 m2) of its property in Hastings-on-Hudson to a developer in 1986. The developer was planning to build close to 100 homes that would result in traffic on the roads adjoining Hillside Elementary School. Local residents formed a committee called “Save Hillside Woods” and raised close to $800K. As a result of the 1987 stock market crash and the subsequent receivership of the bank that held the mortgage on the property, the Village purchased this parcel from the FDIC with the funds accumulated and a bond floated by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson to expand and maintain Hillside Woods.
The Jasper F. Cropsey House and Studio and Hastings Prototype House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The John William Draper House is listed as a National Historic Landmark” (Wikipedia)
Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 35mm f1.4 R