Olana State Historic Site
5720 Route 9G
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 828-0135
Open: 11:00am-3:00pm (check the website for seasonality)
Directions: Located on Route 9G, five miles south of Hudson. Take NYS I-87 to Exit 21, Catskill. Take Route 23 over Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Bear right on Route 9G south. Olana is one mile on the left. Or visit our websites at http://www.Olana.org and http://www.nysparks.com.
Hours: House available by guided tour only. Call for days and hours or visit http://www.olana.org. Reservations suggested; group tours by advance reservation only. Grounds open 8:00am-sunset year around.
Admission: $10.00 Adults (Tickets depend on the type of tour you are taking)
TripAdvisor Review:
The front of Olana when we toured the house.
I had not been to the Olana Mansion since 2014 and it was finally nice to see it during the summer when everything was in bloom. The tours were every hour of the day during the warmer months with several types of tours available at different prices. There was a house and garden tour for two hours which I had just missed so I took the house tour.
The story board of Olana pf the family
The house is filled with original family furnishings from when the house was almost sold off in the 1960’s. An industrialist saw a reason to save the house for future generations and raised the money to keep everything intact. It gave us a glimpse into the life of artist Fredrick Church and his family. The tour consists of all the bottom floors of the house and the garden. The unique part of the tour is that the man who was our tour guide partner was the last Mrs. Church’s grandnephew. So, he remembered visiting the house as a child.
We started the tour in the formal gardens that have been replanted. They were in full bloom giving us insight to how the grounds were once landscaped. The gardens were made up of mostly local flowers that were native to the area.
The formal gardens of Olana
The Olana gardens leading to the house.
We explored the views from the porch to see what the family would have experienced when they were at the house in season. There are breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the surrounding Catskill Mountains from the porch of the house. Things have grown in since the family’s time, but it still offers amazing vistas.
The views are beautiful from the porch.
We then toured the house’s first floor where the family did their receiving of guests, their social rooms and the offices of both Mr. & Mrs. Church. Each of the rooms still contained family heirlooms and original furnishings. We started with the Receiving Room where guests would wait to be welcomed by the family or leave a calling card that they were making a visit.
The Receiving Room in the front of Olana
When you look at the walls of the room, it is decorated with Fredrick Church’s artwork. The tour guide told us that the house had the largest collection of Fredrick Church’s paintings in the country. I took this attribute as these were the pieces that he did not sell at the time. The works of the Hudson River School and of his travels abroad were very interesting and lively.
Fredrick Church paintings that line the house.
We toured the house room by room admiring the furnishings and all the artwork of Fredrick Church that lined the walls of the house. This included family members including his wife, Isabel Carnes Church, his partner for the rest of his life.
Isabel Carnes Church, the mistress of the house
On his many trips abroad, Fredrick Church painted many of the sites he had visited that included the Far and Middle East.
Fredrick Church’s painting of “Petra” in the Middle East.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Church kept up social appearances on top of their work. They had a steady stream of guests visit the house and there was a lot of entertaining here.
The view from the porch
The view from the other side of the porch
We next visited the parlor, where the family would gather when they were staying at the house. There were many exotic furnishings from their trips on top of the personal family items. There were musical instruments to keep the family entertained when they were home.
The family piano in the Parlor
The formal Dining Room was more personal with a dining table that extended out for twenty people or open enough for the family to diner in this room.
The formal Dining Room
The formal Dining Room with the collection of painting that the family acquired when they were aboard.
As we finished the visit to the public rooms of the home, we toured the outside of the home as well as we exited out the side door.
The side view of Olana
When we looked up at the home with its combination of Morrish and Arabic design we saw four teapots at the top of the tower. When asked what they meant and why they were there, no one including the tour guide knew. It was figured by a group of landscape architects that it may have something to do with longevity or renewal. This secret died with the family.
The teapots line the roof.
The tour is very interesting and gives you a view on the house and on the family who lived there and how they lived when they were in residence here. They entertained, they worked, they traveled, and they made great art. The location on the hill in the Hudson River Valley shows their investment in the location. This was all kept intact after the 1960’s for us to enjoy.
The views of the Hudson River Valley
History of Olana:
Olana, one of the most important artistic residences and planned landscapes in the United States, is the last and perhaps greatest masterpiece created by Hudson River School artist Fredrick Edwin Church (1826-1900). Church designed the landscape and his Persian style home on and around the same hilltop where, as an eighteen year old student, he sketched spectacular views of the Catskills and the river alongside his mentor Thomas Cole.
The view of the house from the back.
Even in an era defined by personal architectural statements, the home of Fredric and Isabel Church was unique. Delight in the Moorish details of the building and each room. View the original furnishings of the house and walk or jog along the paths and carriage drives of the surrounding landscape, also designed by Church. A designated National Historic Landmark, Olana State Historic Site opened to the public in 1967. The house, its contents and the landscape still look very much as they did in Church’s day.
The inside of Olana in the main rooms
The views of the Hudson River from the porch of the house
Decorations in the historic garden
The story of the grounds and the estate
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 