Diamonds in the Rough: It’s Newburgh Week

  |  April 13, 2015
newburgh

Upstater is no stranger to Newburgh. We’ve explored the complicated Orange County city on numerous occasions, and we continue to gravitate towards its architectural wonders over and over again. How can we not? Newburgh has some of the most stunning buildings in the region, many crumbling away down to their foundations, but some getting facelifts from community groups and individual property buyers here and there. Just last week, Newburgh got the long-form treatment by the Guardian, a compelling piece, penned by Michael Deibert, that we believe should be required reading for anyone interested in this historic riverfront city. Here’s an excerpt to whet your whistle:

“It is no exaggeration to say that Newburgh is one of the most architecturally significant cities in the country. Though important buildings, such as the city’s magnificent Dutch Reformed Church, were being built as early as 1835, it was during the second half of the 19th century that the city’s promise fully bloomed, and it now represents a virtual open-air museum of important architecture from the era. Newburgh native Andrew Jackson Downing and the Anglo-Americans Calvert Vaux (co-creator of New York’s Central Park) and Frederick Clarke Withers all built luxurious, ornate mansions to rival anything seen elsewhere in the country.”

Architectural significance, however, can’t fix a city that has fallen on hard times. The once heavily-traveled route through Newburgh became Hudson Valley’s own version of Route 66 when the construction of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge circumvented drivers around the city. While downstaters continue to move to Newburgh due to rock-bottom real estate bargains and the sheer awesomeness of the houses (crumbling or not), the solution to Newburgh’s ills (gangs, crime, lack of gainful employment, etc) has yet to be unearthed.

Regardless, our fascination with its real estate market shan’t be ignored, not by us, and not by some other really cool blogs. So, this week, we will once again delve into Newburgh’s real estate market with an eye toward finding diamonds on the rough. Because if there’s one thing Newburgh is about, it’s finding treasures of hope and beauty in the unlikeliest of places. Stay tuned…

 

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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