A Visit to Cold Spring, NY – Chapel of our Lady Restoration

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Situated on a rise right next to the Cold Spring Metro North Station and the Hudson, this picturesque chapel has an amazing view across the river.

According to the restoration website (which also has some interesting old pictures).

Like most American stories, ours begins with immigration. Of the multitudes who came to our shores between 1820 and1860, a third were from Ireland. For those who gained employment at the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, a chapel was established to serve them and their families. Foundry owner Gouverneur Kemble donated land and funds for what would be the first Catholic church north of Manhattan.

On the banks of the Hudson River, in the heart of the Highlands opposite West Point, The Chapel Restoration is a national historic landmark, built in 1833 in the Greek Revival style.

Fifty miles north of New York City, across from Metro North Railroad Station and within walking distance of the charming 19th century village of Cold Spring, the chapel, which has no religious affiliation, hosts the renowned Sunday Music Series and Sunset Reading Series.

A beautiful and serene setting for weddings and other private gatherings, such as christenings, commitment ceremonies, renewal of vows and memorials, it is also a place of repose and contemplation for visitors to its grounds offering spectacular views.

Originally known as Chapel of Our Lady, The Chapel Restoration, Cold Spring, New York, was built in 1833, in the Greek Revival style.

Abandoned in 1906, it was a charred, weather-ravaged ruin until its restoration in the 1970s.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1996, with funds from the estate of Hugh Holt, a balcony based on the original was built and a tracker action pipe organ custom-built by George Bozeman was installed.

The chapel also has a Steinway Grand Piano, once owned by the Livingston family.
…

Its designer was another immigrant, a 19-year-old from England, Thomas Kelah Wharton. Built in 1833 of locally made red brick covered with stucco, the chapel was in the Greek Revival style, then in vogue. Its columns were of the Tuscan order, a simple, unfluted version of the Doric, whose supreme expression is the Parthenon in Athens.

Contemporary press describes a festive dedication, September 21, 1834, with people arriving by boat. A large choir performed, along with a band from West Point, “whose notes might be heard in the recesses of the mountains,” for dignitaries of church and state.

The foundry went on to become a major producer of Civil War armaments. Test firing greatly damaged chapel walls, and Captain Robert P. Parrott, then in charge, paid for repairs. Victorian additions altered the building’s integrity, and the coming of the railroad cut it off from the life of the town. Abandoned in 1906, it fell victim to the forces of nature and time. Ravaged by fire in 1927, it was a ruin until 1971, when, in the words of The New York Sunday News, “A Methodist, a Lutheran, a Jew, a Presbyterian or two, a scattering of Episcopalians and a handful of Catholics,” including actress Helen Hayes, came together, to buy it from the Archdiocese and undertake its restoration.

The work was overseen by architect Walter Knight Sturges, and the chapel was dedicated as an ecumenical site in 1977.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Visit to Cold Spring, NY – At Le Bouchon

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By this time, I was getting rather hungry, so I finally went to my ultimate destination: Brasserie Le Bouchon

In an earlier post I mentioned that I went to this restaurant because I wanted to have their cassoulet. However, when I got to the restaurant, I realized that I would still be walking around for a while. I’d had their cassoulet before and its quite substantial. It occurred to me that if I had that I’d probably be semi-comatose afterwards and wouldn’t want to walk any more. So, reluctantly I ordered something lighter: a Frisée Salad (with croutons, lardons and an egg) and a cream of cauliflower soup. I also had a Crème Brûlée for dessert. Everything tasted great and didn’t feel particularly full.

Seeing a camera around my neck, the guy in the fourth picture started talking to me. It turns out that he also has the same camera I was using, and we chatted for a while about cameras and photography while he waited for his lunch partner to arrive.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Visit to Cold Spring, NY – A Replica Parrott Rifle

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According to Civilwaracademy.com

The Civil War Parrott Rifle was a groundbreaking artillery innovation that significantly influenced the tactics and outcomes of the American Civil War. Renowned for its enhanced accuracy and extended range, this rifled cannon transformed battlefield engagements and siege warfare.

The Inception of the Parrott Rifle

The Civil War Parrott Rifle emerged from the innovative mind of Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer. After resigning from the military, Parrott became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in 1836. His exposure to artillery manufacturing and engineering expertise led him to address the limitations of existing cannon designs.

In 1860, Parrott patented his rifled cannon design, which ingeniously combined affordability with advanced technology. His invention arrived at a crucial moment, just before the outbreak of the Civil War, positioning the Parrott Rifle as a significant asset in the impending conflict.

Design and Technological Advancements

The Parrott Rifle was distinguished by several key innovations that set it apart from traditional Civil War artillery.

Rifled Barrel Innovation

The introduction of rifling—a series of spiral grooves inside the barrel—allowed the Parrott Rifle to impart a stabilizing spin to its projectiles. This spin greatly enhanced accuracy and range compared to smoothbore cannons, enabling gunners to hit targets with unprecedented precision.

Reinforced Breech Mechanism

Parrott addressed the issue of barrel strength by reinforcing the breech—the rear part of the cannon where the explosion occurs—with a wrought iron band. This reinforcement allowed the cannon to withstand higher internal pressures, reducing the risk of catastrophic failures that were common with cast iron cannons of the era.

Specialized Projectiles

Parrott designed projectiles specifically for his rifle. These shells featured expanding brass rings or sabots that engaged the rifling grooves upon firing. This engagement ensured a tight seal (known as obturation), maximizing the propellant’s force and improving both range and accuracy.

Many Parrott rifles were made at the West Point Armory in Cold Spring, the ruins of which can still be seen (See: West Point Foundry).

For more information see the Wikipedia article on the Parrott Rifle.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Visit to Cold Spring, NY – Views of the Hudson Highlands

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Cold Spring is at the southern end of the Hudson Highlands, mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York state lying primarily in Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County on its west. They continue somewhat to the south in Westchester County and Rockland County, respectively. The highlands are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains.

North to south they fall between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, the latter forming the northern region of the New York – New Jersey Highlands.

The Hudson River enters this region in the south at Dunderberg Mountain near Stony Point, and from the north in the vicinity of Breakneck Ridge and Storm King Mountain near Cornwall, New York. These highlands have played a significant role in America’s environmental, cultural, and military history.

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Prior to European exploration, the Hudson Highlands were inhabited by Native American Lenape people. Henry Hudson and his crew on the Half Moon were the first Europeans known to see the Highlands when they explored the river in 1609.

The mountains became strategically important during the American Revolutionary War, when it was important for the Continental Army to hold the river valley and prevent the British from cutting New England off from the rest of the colonies. During the Revolutionary War, to prevent British shipping from using the river, the Hudson River Chain was forged at the Sterling Iron Works in Warwick, New York, a town in Orange County. From 1778 to 1782, the chain was stretched across the river from the Fort Clinton at West Point. The site of the fort is today the easternmost point of the grounds of the United States Military Academy. The only surviving piece of the boom and chain is currently on display at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, New York.

Several decades after independence, Thomas Cole started an artistic movement by painting America’s wild and rugged landscapes— especially, at first, the Highlands— with the stark contrasts and shadows they offered, in a way that suggested raw nature, a world reborn. After the movement had faded, a critic derisively referred to the movement as the Hudson River School; the name stuck as the label for the new nation’s first homegrown artistic movement.

In the early 20th century, in response to damage caused by quarrymen and loggers in the Highlands, local conservationists began to press for public ownership of the area’s woods and mountains. Their efforts paid off in the first of several state parks that now blanket the chain.

Later that century, an ambitious power-generating plan that would have dug into Storm King Mountain led to a landmark lawsuit by environmental groups that made history when the judge ruled that aesthetic impacts of such large projects could be considered and that a coalition of citizen groups had legal standing. This landmark lawsuit formed the basis for a large body of case law concerning environmentalism. (Adapted from Wikipedia)

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Visit to Cold Spring, NY – A Bandstand

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Bandstand down by the river. I’ve never actually seen a concert there, but I imagine they must have them. I’m sure it’s a pleasant place to sit and listen to music during warm weather.

I’ve included the plaque, partly because it says something about the history of the bandstand, but also because may name is Dale and, once upon a time in my youth I, too had a band connection.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.