Living History in Athens, NY

  |  December 22, 2014
albertus van loon house

Albertus Van Loon House, Athens

Oh how we adore the village of Athens in Greene County. The Hudson River-side town is packed-to-bursting with historical properties and sites we can’t help but feel all drooly over. Back in the summer, we went to visit Athens again to refresh our memories on just how charming a place it is. It was a quiet Tuesday in the village, not a whole lot of activity to speak of, although the brewery was open and the riverfront park was stunning. The Hudson Athens Lighthouse is too far to see clearly from the park’s dock, so taking a tour is on a future to-do list. But the real treat was finding the Stewart House Hotel, which we’ve mentioned a couple of times on this blog.

Stewart House hotel

The c.1883 boutique hotel is across the street from its restaurant, which is situated along the water. Unfortunately for us , the restaurant hadn’t yet opened for the day or we would’ve hit the pause button and sat down for lunch while watching the occasional boat leisurely saunter by. We then sneaked a quick peek at the hotel’s lobby, where we found this little gem:

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Yeah. Cooper-plated staircase, anyone?

You won’t be surprised to learn that we spent the majority of our time in Athens wandering around the street, gawking at houses. And we were not disappointed. Old Victorians with ornate detailing, an honest-to-gosh Sears pre-fab from the 1920s, stately Colonials, Italianates, a contemporary or two here and there, we saw them all in the village, included the sweetest corner lot property with its own grape arbor (note to self: Put in grape arbor).

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In celebration of this unsung jewel on the Hudson, we’ll be exploring Athens’ real estate market this week, posting a property per day (except Christmas Day. We’re taking a break from the Interwebs to enjoy some holiday family time), and fantasizing about buying one of these little places in one of the Hudson Valley’s best-kept secrets.

Athens is located approximately 10 minutes north of Catskill, 25 minutes from Saugerties, and a little over 2 hours from NYC.

About Kandy Harris

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

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