Skiing in Beautiful Poughkeepsie

Apparently there was a small ski hill in the City of Poughkeepsie until 1980.  Who woulda thunk it?

In 1893 local cough drop mogul W.W. Smith of Smith Brothers Cough Drops purchased the land and donated it to the city.  The following is an excerpt from a statement of historical significance written by Holly Wahlberg in connection with the current effort to gain historic site status:

"Starting in 1936, [Park Supervisor] Berry actively welcomed skiers, tobogganists and sledders to College Hill where the first and eighth fairways of the golf course became the preferred hills for winter play.  Never neglecting to spread the word about the joy of plants, Berry encouraged all those enjoying winter sports on the hill to stop in the greenhouse conservatory whenever they needed to get warm.  In 1939, Berry opened the first College Hill ski-tow at the eighth tee, and this proved to be an immediate hit with the public.  It was estimated that visitors using the tow could go down the hill 30 to 40 times in an hour for the very reasonable day pass fee of 25 cents for children and 50 cents for adults.

In 1971, a combination of state and city funds was used to make College Hill into a more formal “ski center” with a new ski tow, night lighting and snow making equipment.  But multiple years of low snow totals and low attendance numbers turned College Hill Ski Center into a significant drain on city finances.  Surveys showed that most of those using the center were not Poughkeepsie residents.  In 1980, city officials tried to convince county government and surrounding towns to partner with them in sharing the costs of running the slope.  When these efforts failed, the slope was closed and the equipment sold at public auction in 1981."

Anyone on this board ever ski there?  As a current resident of the City of Poughkeepsie, the idea of a ski tow in town fascinates me.

Petronio

Interesting, wasn't aware of that one.  

The Dutchess Ski Area on Mount Beacon was a more substantial ski area, with 11 trails, 3 double chairlifts, night skiing, and a ski school, that operated from 1968 to 1975.  You can still sort of make out where some of the trails might have been.  I live only 10 minutes from the mountain, it would've been fun.  I've got a buddy who fools around in the Mount Beacon "BC" when there is enough snow.  I hope to get out with him this winter.

makes sense for a guy that sells cough drops to fund a ski area

I've never heard Poughkeepsie called beautiful before

This guy I worked with BCed Mt Beacon in early 2015 when we had all that POW.  I hope this year equates to that!  I want to do it.  

Coach Z wrote

I've never heard Poughkeepsie called beautiful before

Well, I was being sarcastic, although usually I try to be a booster about my adopted home city.  Also, College Hill Park is very pretty, and if you are ever in the area on a nice day and have time I would highly recommend a stroll across the Walkway Over the Hudson -- an old railroad crossing converted into the world's longest pedestrian bridge.  

Petronio

Coach Z wrote

makes sense for a guy that sells cough drops to fund a ski area

I've never heard Poughkeepsie called beautiful before

I could spend a sunny spring day on the Vassar campus with no complaint. It's a huge arboretum, old buildings, young.... ummm uh thinkers?

Yeah, ML is correct. Vassar's campus is beautiful. There are other nice parts of Poughkeepsie as well; probably due to having the college and a decent sized hospital to prop up the local economy. Newburgh and Beacon on the other hand...

Hey, lay off Beacon!  When's the last time you were there?

Newburgh is a dangerous shithole (other than the waterfront), but Beacon has seen a ton of change, especially since the Dia art museum went in.  We  (the fam) joke about it a lot, but the hipsters run rampant nowadays in Beacon, and BroNo (Brooklyn North) is a reality.  Yes, Main Street in Beacon still has a (shrinking) taint, but the east and west ends are full of shops, galleries, antique stores, restaurants, and boutique hotels.....not to mention real estate that flies off the market, including million dollar plus apartments in reclaimed industrial buildings.  

Learn what you are talking about before you disparage Beacon.  I may have a Wappingers address and pay Fishkill taxes, but Beacon is our home town!

You know what? Guilty as charged. My apologies. I's actually been about ten years since I was in beacon. Back then the downtown was like a ghost town. Also I didn't mean it to disparage the residents. I'm glad to hear they're doing better.

Edit: I don't mean to didparage the people of Newburgh either, just commenting on the run-down, depressed condition of the city itself. Also, I apologize to everybody for the thread drift

Oh, Newburgh is a shithole!  My son has soccer practice at the Armory tonight, not on the best part of town.  It really is a cesspool.....and some, I assume, are good people!

No worries!  You should come give Beacon another chance.  We even have our own distillery and the Beacon Bourbon is good.  I'll admit that when we moved back in 2005 I wondered "do we really want to move into the Beacon City School District?"   Have to say, it turned out well, but I did wonder!  Honestly, the cultural diversity my daughter experienced throughout her education has really provided her a perspective and leg up that a lot of other kids don't have!  

Beacon is pretty nice these days. I prefer Hudson-South to Brooklyn-North though. :)

Newburgh is a lost cause :(

My daughter's girl scout troupe was just in Beacon for a first-aid day and went to the museum.  They said the museum was awesome.

On the other side of the river, fine cross-country skiing can be had west of the People's Republic of New Paltz. Mohonk Preserve and Lake Minnewaska.  Back in the day, Joppenburgh Mountain apparently had a ski jump, but I haven't delved in to that.

JTG4eva! wrote

Oh, Newburgh is a shithole!  My son has soccer practice at the Armory tonight, not on the best part of town.  It really is a cesspool.....and some, I assume, are good people.

Every time I think about the negatives and challenges we face in the City of Poughkeepsie, I say to myself "At least we're not Newburgh" -- those guys have it tough.

Petronio

Thing is, there are some beautiful homes and nice old architecture, as well as good people, in Newburgh.  My neighbor's mother had a beautiful home there.  Had, unfortunately, because who can deal with drug deals going down on your street....

Peter Minde wrote

On the other side of the river, fine cross-country skiing can be had west of the People's Republic of New Paltz. Mohonk Preserve and Lake Minnewaska.  Back in the day, Joppenburgh Mountain apparently had a ski jump, but I haven't delved in to that.

And the road biking is pretty cool, too, all accessible from Poughkeepsie by that converted railway bridge/bike trail/walkway, that also drops twelve miles into Duchess south of Poughkeepsie. The conversion of that old bridge to  recreation was a very smart thing to do. A lot of cities should study the Highline in NYC and the Walkway to figure out how to generate a ton of excitement, civic pride, and some money with minimal investment.

Just in Beacon yesterday to do my sort of annual visit to the Dia. Pretty cool place, and you'll see stuff you can probably never see anywhere else in the world. Seriously. The Serras on the old loading dock are always amazing.
Funny, the reason I was over there was to do some business with a printmaker/framer who moved from downtown Beacon to upper Cold Spring on rt. 9, because, I'm guessing, his rent went up and he seemed to a bit hermitish, so he didn't want to deal with the newfound traffic and bustle of Main St..