Tag: Museums of Kingston NY

The Trolley Museum of New York 89 East Strand Kingston, NY 12401

The Trolley Museum of New York

89 East Strand

Kingston, NY 12401

(845) 331-3399

http://www.tmny.org/

https://www.facebook.com/trolleymuseumny/

Open: Sunday & Saturday 12:00pm-5:00pm/Monday-Friday Closed-May through October so please check the website.

Fee: Adults $6.00/Children over Five (5) and Seniors $4.00/Children under Five/Active Military with ID and their families/Members Free

Trolley Rides leave Gallo Park at 12:30pm/1:30pm/2:30pm & 3:30pm.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48003-d4755385-Reviews-Trolley_Museum_Of_New_York-Kingston_Catskill_Region_New_York.html?m=19905

When I was visiting Kingston, NY again for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”, I came across the Trolley Museum that was down the road from the NY Maritime Museum and the harbor for the ‘Hudson River Cruises”. This unique museum has a lot of interactive things for a family to do including riding a trolley through the harbor of the Kingston Roundout to Kingston Point Park right on the Hudson River. On a beautiful sunny day there is nothing like it.

The first part of the trip took us to the Kingston Roundout

I just made the first trip on the trolley. You start at the front of the museum and then you take a short trip to the downtown and we picked up other passengers. It was then off for a short trolley trip following the river up to Kingston Point Park and the picnic grounds there.

The Trolley arriving at Kingston Point Park

The foliage was amazing at the park with hues of gold and red and the trees were just coming into their peak. We only had about a half hour to stay at the park and look around but it was a real delight of colors and the views of the river just shined in the sun. It was very picturesque especially with sailboats passing by.

The Trolley stops at Kingston Point Park

On our way back to the museum, you could see the lighthouse from its perch at the mouth of the inlet. People were starting to take the Hudson River Cruise in the distance which I had made two weeks earlier.

When I got back to the museum, I toured all the buses, subway cars and the Path train that they had in the parking lot. I could see this live in Manhattan so I went to visit the museum.

You can tour old subway cars, buses and an old Path Train

There were small exhibits on the history of the trolley cars in cities, the development of the cars as a mode of transportation starting with horses to the electrical age.

There was also a small display on glass fixtures used in the electrical lines before the new cabling systems came in and another hats and uniforms used on the trolley cars over the years. There are also displays of signs and posters for the different lines.

It is a small museum but for families, there is a lot to climb through and tour around and just taking the trolley up to the park is worth the price of the ticket.

History of The Trolley Museum of New York:

The Trolley Museum of New York is a non-profit educational museum founded in 1955. The goals of the museum are to offer rides to the public, exhibits and educational programs sharing the rich history of rail transportation and the role it played in the development of the Hudson Valley region. In addition to static displays of trolley, subway and rapid transit cars from the United States and Europe, a trolley ride runs 1 1/2 miles from Gallo Park at the foot of Broadway in downtown Kingston, NY to Kingston Point Park on the shore of the Hudson River, using a renovated 1925 trolley. Along the way, we stop at the Museum grounds.

The Museum is on the original site of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad yards at Milepost 1. Our shop building is built on the foundation of the U & D engine building house which existed at the turn of the century. The upper level includes a Visitor’s Center featuring seasonal and permanent displays, a video viewing area and large windows overlooking the restoration shop. Visitors can see up to eight trolleys being housed and restored below.

One of the cars in the restoration shop is our 1897 wooden trolley car from Olso, Norway. This car is one of four cars that we have on display that are 100 plus years old.

Your Donations:

All of the Museum staff are volunteers. There are many projects, both large and small, all of which require funding to complete. Chief among these are the installation of overhead electric wire, trolley restoration and the expansion and rehabilitation of track. Your donations will help to provide vital support for these projects and others.

(This information comes from The Trolley Museum of New York’s pamphlet and I give them full credit for it).

Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum of Kingston 265 Fair Street Kingston, NY 12402

Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum of Kingston

265 Fair Street

Kingston, NY 12402

(831) 331-0866

https://kingstonvolunteerfiremensmuseum.weebly.com/

Open: The hours vary by the season so please look to the website for the openings. School groups please call for an appointment.

Fee: Free but donations accepted

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Kingston Volunteer Museum during the ‘Kingston Snowflake Festival’

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48003-d3367598-Reviews-Volunteer_Fireman_s_Hall_Museum_of_Kingston-Kingston_New_York.html?m=19905

The antique fire truck outside the firehouse during the Kingston “Snowflake Festival”

I was recently visiting Kingston, NY for an event and while walking around the downtown the doors of the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum of Kingston was open for visitors. Even if you are not a fire fighter it is such an interesting museum on the history of fire fighting and the role the Kingston Fire Department had in the formation of the City of Kingston.

The early horse drawn fire equipment

The museum welcoming people to the Kingston “Snowflake Festival” in 2022

On the main floor is four pieces of equipment from various stages of the department. The engines are from the turn of the last century featuring horse drawn ladders and steam engines and then the latest equipment from the early teens and twenties from the automotive stage. Each piece of equipment has been carefully maintained and is in pristine shape.

The museum decorated for Christmas for the recent “Kingston Snowflake Festival”

It is interesting to see how different each rig is at that stage of its history but how much has not really changed with the use of the equipment when fighting a fire.

The bay area of the old firehouse with the antique equipment

One of the more interesting pieces in the collection is the beautifully detailed Parade piece from the late 1800’s (circa around 1890’s) which has gorgeous details and intricate craftsmanship work to it. This interesting piece of equipment was the pride of the department on parade day and is one of the few of its type in the country.

The Fire Department Parade Piece

Along the walls is all sorts of pictures of old fires, men who were once members of the department, ribbons and awards, old systems for calling for firemen from the horns that used to sound the alarms to the more modern telegraph equipment to the current paging systems.

The roster upstairs

The fire department equipment pieces

Upstairs you can visit the furnished headquarters of a firehouse circa 1890’s to 1920 with vintage furniture, decorations and composites of firemen long ago. There is even a mannequin of a fire fighter sliding down a pole that leads to the first floor. Here and there are more decorative equipment pieces, furnishings and awards.

The upstairs of the Kingston Volunteer Museum

The museum has a little something for everyone and if you are interesting in knowing more of the history of the fire service and want to hear the stories by members current and retired from the Kingston Fire Department, then the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum is the place to visit.

Old decorations from fire equipment at the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum

History of the Museum and Fire Fighting in Kingston, NY:

Ulster County has a remarkable over 350 year history of noble fire fighting. See it up-close and personal at the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum of Kingston.

The award case upstairs at the firehouse

When Kingston City Hall burned on June 4th, 1927, the third alarm was sounded from the building’s own bell tower before it crashed to the ground. Fire calls in Kingston today are answered through the 911 system with a three minute response time. Ever watched a TV show about firemen and their firehouse? The ‘squawk’ to a call is unmistakable.

The upstairs in the firehouse

Seven volunteer fire companies and the Exempt Association of Kingston recognized the importance of preserving and protecting firematic artifacts as well as establishing a meeting hall for volunteer fire organizations in Kingston and Ulster County. They were charged with finding a permanent home and signed a lease with the City of Kingston for Fair Street’s historic circa 1850 Wiltwyck Fire Station and the rest is history.

The Ladies Auxiliary and rosters

Walk through the large wooden doors to the home away from home of the 19th century firefighters.

The old Kingston, NY firehouse that now houses the museum

Disclaimer: this information was taken directly from the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall & Museum of Kingston pamphlet and I give them full credit for it. Please check out their website for more information.

The living area upstairs in the firehouse decorated for Christmas

The Senate House 296 Fair Street Kingston, NY 12401

The Senate House

296 Fair Street

Kingston, NY 12401

(845) 338-2786

http://www.palisadeparksconservancy.org

Home

Open: Sunday 1:00pm-5:00pm/Wednesday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm (April 15-October 31). Open by Appointment only (November 1-April 14)

Fee: Adults $4.00/Seniors (62+) $3.00/Children under 12 and under Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48003-d3225491-Reviews-Senate_House_State_Historic_Site-Kingston_Catskill_Region_New_York.html

I recently spent my afternoon at the Senate House and Museum in Kingston, NY taking a tour of the museum and the House next door. The Senate House itself is being renovated and repaired and will not be open until next year. It was a quiet afternoon, and I was the only patron for most of the afternoon. The grounds were full of beautiful foliage and fall flowers, so it was nice to walk around the grounds.

The Senate House plaque

The Senate House itself was closed for the renovation but you could see in the windows and there was not much going on inside the house. There was furniture here and there and the roof really needed work. There is not much to see at the house itself but the grounds are very pretty and well-landscaped. The house was built for merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek and his family. It stayed in the family for generations.

The Senate House at 296 Fair Street

The Senate House decked out for the Christmas holidays at the “Kingston Snowflake Festival” in 2022

The Senate House property decorated for the Kingston Snowflake Festival in 2022

Santa’s visit at the Senate House property in 2022

The Senate House Museum is broken into three sections. The right side of the museum is is the history of the City of Kingston and the matching artifacts. There is a description of manufacturing, merchant class and its military prominence. The left side of the museum is dedicated to the locally born artist, John Vanderlyn. His paintings line the walls of the museum of the artist at different stages of his career. His work was ahead of its time for the area, and it was noted in the collection that he forced himself to commission portraits to survive. His works advanced for the time because of his studying abroad now line the walls of the best museums in the country.

The second floor holds the furniture that is not historically correct with the Senate House and comes from different time periods. There is furniture, beds and chairs, spinning wheels, chamber pots and all sorts of accessories for the home.

Artifacts from the past are displayed here

The Loughran House next door houses more of the furniture of the house and has a new exhibition “Back to the Future: The Evolution of Senate House”. This houses artifacts from the house.

The Senate House property during the “Kingston Snowflake Festival” in 2022

History of the Senate House:

(From Wiki/Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation pamphlet)

Amidst the turmoil of a British military invasion in the fall of 1777, the elected representations of rebellious New Yorkers met in Kingston to form a new state government. While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York’s first Senate met in the simple stone house of merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek.

Here they adopted a system comprising of a senate, assembly, governor and judiciary that still exists today. Every one of the assembled delegates risked his life and property by being so openly disloyal to the Crown. Indeed, all were forced to flee for their lives when the British attacked and burned Kingston on October 16th.

While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York’s first Senate met in the simple stone house of Abraham Van Gaasbeek, a prosperous merchant trader who had suffered financial losses as a result of the war and personal losses in the recent deaths of his wife, Sara, his daughter and infant granddaughter. It was Sara’s grandfather, Wessel Ten Broeck, who built the original section of the house in 1676.

At first called Wiltwyck, Kingston was the third “city” established in the Dutch Colony of New Netherland. Planned and developed by the Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1656, the town was renamed Kingston after the colony was seized by the English in 1664.

Wessel Ten Broeck’s one room Dutch style house was enlarged by succeeding owners in the 18th century. Each change reflected the increasing fortunes of the Ten Broeck/Van Gaasbeek family and demonstrated a gradual acceptance of English styles and customs over the persistent influence of the early Dutch. Kingston at the time of the American Revolution was still a noticeably “Dutch” town and most of its citizens supported the American cause. British Major General John Vaughan justified his destruction of the city because it was a “nursery for almost every villain in the country.”

In 1887, to recognize Senate House’s role in the formation of New York State, New York State acquired the property, which quickly became a vital community museum. A two-story Museum Building was constructed in 1927 to house and display the site’s burgeoning collection. Among its treasures are: major works by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston. The museum also includes the site’s popular new exhibit: “Kingston Stockage: New Netherlands’ Third City,” discussing Kingston’s early history.

(New York State Park History)

The Kingston Stockade: The City’s formation from the beginning

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