Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
Taken near Harbor Square in Ossining, New York.
I often see lots of seagulls by the Hudson, but I didn’t realize that pigeons also seem like these “beach-like” areas. You can see them in the second and third photographs.
As you can see this boat is called “Shatte-Tug”. I often see it moored by the Shattemuc Yacht Club. Bearing in mind its name it makes sense that it’s in some way connected to the club.
However, it’s not always moored in the same spot, so I guess it moves around. I have no idea what purpose it serves: maybe from time-to-time boats from the club (and maybe other nearby marinas) get stuck and the “Shatte-Tug” has to go out and bring them in. Who knows?
Taken with a Sony RX100 VII.
I like to see my pictures in print. I don’t have a good enough printer to make prints, and even if did I wouldn’t have anywhere to put them. So, I make photobooks. This is my latest. It’s called “Teahouse”.
I usually use the Book module of Lightroom to do the layout and then upload to Blurb for printing. This time, however, I decided to try Blurb’s own standalone software Bookwright (for more on Bookwright see here). I like Bookwright more than the Lightroom Book Module and will use it for future books.
Halsey Pond Park is a 30-acre scenic and tranquil area that is located in Irvington, NY. Nestled between a golf course and private residences, it’s a peaceful oasis drawing families and dog walkers alike. The park is touted as Irvington’s best kept secret. Halsey Pond Park is open to village residents for passive recreation activities. New York State fishing license required for fishing (catch & release). Halsey Pond Park is open from dawn to dusk. The park is managed by the Irvington Recreation & Parks Department.
A wide 1/2 mile long crushed stone path circles the scenic pond, passing old stone walls, a dam, and the Beltzhoover Teahouse that overlooks the pond. A haven for birdwatchers, on any given day, you may see ducks, geese, herons, cormorants, warblers or even an Osprey.
Rochroane castle was built between 1902 and 1905 for Melchior S. Beltzhoover, an oil and cotton magnate from Natchez, Mississippi. The 44 room stone castle, once part of a 200-acre estate overlooking the Hudson River, was designed by Arthur. J. Manning, a New York City architect who also lived in Irvington. The stone was quarried from the land upon which it was built. This “Rhine castle” featured a spectacular stained-glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany that depicted the Hudson River view as seen from the castle.
Benjamin Halsey bought Rochroane castle in 1927, and renamed it “Grey Towers.” After Halsey’s death in 1956, his widow began donating portions of the estate to the Immaculate Conception Church, ending with the mansion itself in 1976. Gutted by fire a few months later, the mansion and 38 acres were sold to a developer who, in 1980, deeded Halsey Pond and its folly, sometimes called Halsey Teahouse, to the Village of Irvington in exchange for permission to remove Rochroane/Grey Towers and subdivide the rest of the property.
Beltzhoover Teahouse, the last remaining structure of the once-grand estate, is a little turn-of-the-century castle, with an open hexagonal tower featuring gothic arched windows and a roof terrace overlooking Halsey Pond.
Neglect and years of deterioration threatened the survival of this rare historic architectural resource. Beltzhoover Teahouse was preserved through the initiative and support of concerned citizens, the Village of Irvington Trustees and Irvington
Landmarks Preservation, Inc.
A Plaque reads: Beltzhoover Teahouse on Halsey Pond
Largest remaining structure of “Rochrome”, the 200 acre Belzhoover Estate built in 1905. Melchior Beltzhoover was “President” of Irving ton from 1904 to 1916. The Halsey family owned a portion of the property from 1927-1976. The pond area became village land in 1980.
From 1994 to 1997 many citizens volunteered their time, expertise, and craftsmanship to save the structure. Preservation of the Teahouse was financed equally by private donations and Village funds.
Irvington Landmark Preservation, Inc.
1997
Not long ago I went into Manhattan to meet some friends/former colleagues for a drink. I arrived early and while waiting for my friends to arrive I noticed this man sitting at the bar, his head bowed over his beer.
You might think that this is just a picture of a sad, lonely old guy drowning his sorrows at the bar, but you’d be wrong. He was actually very animated. He seemed to be a friend of the bartender, and they had a fairly long and cheerful conversation while the man drank a single beer. After that he paid and left.
Just goes to show how photographs can, and do deceive even without AI and Photoshop.
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.
Isaac Newton Spiegelberg was born in 1859. His family were wholesale clothing merchants who had done well during the Civil War. Although born in the USA he was educated in Germany. Trained as an engineer, he worked for a while on Switzerland’s St. Gotthard Railway. He eventually returned to the US, where he worked on the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, mostly in Oklahoma. In 1884 he moved away from engineering and took up brokerage with the firm of J & W Seligman. .
In 1909, he built a large (forty-nine room) mansion in the then popular Tudor Revival style on around twenty acres off Sleepy Hollow Road in Briarcliff Manor. He named it “Miramont Court” (Spiegel-mirror, Berg-Mountain). A later owner renamed it “Brandywine”
For the full story see a piece I just prepared for the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society: Miramont Court/Brandywine, the Estate of Isaac Newton Spiegelberg. Notebook 2025-3
I live about three miles from Miramont Court/Brandywine. On occasion I’ve walked there. It takes about an hour.
Taken with a Sony RX100 VII.