I while ago I went with a friend for a drink at “The Abbey Inn and Spa” in Peekskill, NY.
Its website describes its history as follows:
With its views over the Hudson River Highlands, Fort Hill was a key lookout post for George Washington and his army during the Revolutionary War; in 1902, it became home to a convent and chapel, established by the Episcopal Sisters of Saint Mary. The nuns moved elsewhere in the Hudson Valley in 2003, and developer Martin Ginsburg lovingly restored the abbey and its chapel into The Abbey Inn & Spa – a luxury hotel with 42 rooms and suites, a farm-to-table restaurant, a luxurious spa, and over 65 acres to explore. The chapel offers a unique venue for important occasions, and a peaceful English garden provides space for quiet contemplation. Lovingly restored and meticulously designed, our hotel pays homage to its historic heritage while offering contemporary amenities and world-class service to each and every guest. All of us at The Abbey Inn and Spa are thrilled to be part of this exciting transformation, and we’re eager to share it with you.
- Constructed in Peekskill, NY from 1872 – 1963, The Abbey Inn is the oldest Episcopal Religious Community in the United States still in existence
- The first convent was built in 1876. It was three story wooden building conceived by architect Henry Martyn Congdon (1834 – 1922) who designed numerous Episcopal churches during his career, mainly in the Gothic Revival Style
Congdon returned in 1896 to build the external main chapel (Higlands Ballroom), completed in 1902, with a Cornerstone (cornerstone room) that reads “Magnificat anima mea dominum” or “My soul magnifies the lord”- In 1902 a bell weighing 1,000 lbs and manufactured by the Meneely Bell Company of West Troy, NY was installed in the belfry which is still in place today
- The Chapel’s altar was made of various kinds of marble, and seven statutes of saint surrounding it were put in place in 1893
- Joseph Sibbel, a noted ecclesiastical sculptor (1850 – 1907) created the central statue representing the Virgin Mary and the Holy Child, St. Michael “Angel of Passion,” and St. Gabriel “The Angel of Passion and Praise” and donated a Roosevelt Organ that was installed in 1894
- In 1902, St. Mary’s school was beginning to be built made of granite found at the Mount Gabriel site.
- In 1908 a granite three-story house also designed by Congdon was built for the convent’s resident chaplains (the first of these occupants was Reverend Father Maurice Cowl. (Now private home of local doctor)
- Site sits adjacent to the City’s Fort Hill Park which includes Revolutionary War era artifacts as Peekskill was a scene of historic 3-day Revolutionary War battle
It’s a nice place and the view is spectacular. I’ll certainly go again.
