Before I launch (pun intended) our Hudson River cruise, I want to take a paragraph or two to retell a tale about an old classmate’s great-grandfather; his name was Isaac Cholowsky. Mr. Cholowsky was born in Poland around 1880. At age 16 Isaac found himself in an apprenticeship as a violin maker. He was quite adverse to having his life “planned” by his parents, so he saved his money and bought a train ticket to Paris. The only belongings he took were a sack full of clothes and the newest violin he was making.
Isaac was not only an apprentice violin maker, but he was also (because of his father’s demands) an accomplished violinist. He found work in Paris as a dance hall musician. He continued to save his earnings (except for necessities), and in 1897 he bought another ticket – this time for third-class passage to New York City in the United States. He arrived here on December 19, 1897, with little else than a change of clothes and his violin. It was the first day of Hanukkah.
On the third night of that annual celebration at a cousin’s home, Isaac met a kindred spirit – another Jewish lad who was twenty years old and looking for someone with whom he could share an apartment. Five days later Isaac took everything he owned to his new address on West 22nd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood. On his ninth day in America Isaac found an ad in a newspaper for violin players. He applied and found his dream job the same afternoon. He was hired to play in the on-board orchestra of the Hudson River Day-liner Albany.
It is one hundred forty-six miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan to Albany. Isaac Colowsky made that trip four days a week for 32 years. Traveling nearly two-million miles on the Hudson River was quite an accomplishment for a kid from Poland but the thing he boasted about most often was that his employer gave him a free lunch every day he worked. The lunch wasn’t much but it was free. “Free” was the thing that made lunch memorable!
Back in the day when cruises up the Hudson River were offered for only $2.00 per roundtrip, they provided memorable escapes from city life. As the liner left Pier 81 in New York City, the skyline provided a fascinating backdrop for those watching from the deck rail on the starboard side of the boat. The fresh river air and the gentle rocking of the boat quickly worked their magic on tired souls, and you couldn’t help but look for a deck chair where you can close your eyes for a late morning nap.
As you cruise northward, you’ll pass towns such as Yonkers, Dobbs Ferry, and Tarrytown. The river’s banks are dotted with lush parks and elegant estates. Then …
30 miles upriver is Sleepy Hollow …
where the Hudson River sailors would find The Old Dutch Church*. The church and its three-acre churchyard is featured in Washington Irving’s 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.
* (this card is not a Raphotype card, however it is a Tuck manufactured card and apparently the only Sleepy Hollow card ever made by Tuck.
46 miles upriver is the Ladycliff Academy at Highland Falls
Many cruises included narrators on deck, talking to passengers and pointing out places with unique histories and local lore. One location that would have been talked about was the virtually unknown Ladycliff Academy.
The Academy was a boarding school for girls founded in 1899 by the Franciscan Sisters of Peekskill. It was located in Highland Falls on the grounds that would later become Ladycliff College. (The college was on property that is adjacent to the military academy at West Point.) In the early 1970s the academy was renamed Franciscan High School and opened to boys, however its remote location caused it to fail.
West Point is 52 miles upriver …
. . . if any of the Day Line passengers happened to be watching from the port-side of the liner they would see the West Point Lighthouse. A stakelight was first installed on the rocky shore around 1853, but that was soon replaced (1872) with a wooden light tower. In its heyday the light was dubbed the Old Cro’ Nest Lighthouse or Gee’s Point Lighthouse. The light was only thirty-eight feet above mean highwater, but since it was of a modern (for the time) design, it was sufficient since it was a sixth order Fresnel. Originally it had no fog signal, but one was installed in 1888, along with a keeper’s house. The light was decommissioned in 1946.
84 miles upriver is the City of Poughkeepsie …
… where the Hudson River railroad bridge was built in 1888. Railroad service was discontinued in 1981 after a disastrous fire that was hot enough to warp the train track by more than 15 degrees.
In October 2009 a new feature was added, the “Walkway Over the Hudson State Park” was opened to walkers who wanted to cross the river on foot. The new footbridge is the longest in the world.
140 miles upriver is Coxsackie Lighthouse
The lighthouse was first established in 1830 and situated on the north end of Rattlesnake Island. It was essential at the time since the channel at that point was extremely narrow. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1940. At first the lighthouse was a red square tower with granite trimmings, and a red brick dwelling was built on a stone pier. The lantern housing was black. The fixed white light was 32 feet high. The original lens was a sixth order Fresnel lens.
Aside: this postcard is included in the Smithsonian’s collection of lighthouse postcards.
Destination, the Wharf at Albany
The Wharf in Albany is quite close to the downtown business section. It was close to this area, where in 1623 Fort Orange (named for the Dutch Royal Family), the first permanent settlement, was erected. The English “captured” the Fort in 1664 and renamed the place “Albany” after the Duke of York and Albany. Albany became a city in 1686.
Day-trippers had only two hours to shop or sightsee before their liner would leave the dock for the return to Manhattan.
Homeward
A day cruise up the Hudson River was not just about the sights; it was an experience.
Few things in life can provide the same kind of serenity and peace on a waterway as grand as the Hudson. Sure, the sights were what the passengers remembered, (or perhaps they liked the music from the onboard orchestra) but the return seemed to present the joy, universally known as “going home.”
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The Tuck postcard illustrations with this essay are examples from the Tuck Raphotype collection entitled, The Hudson River. The set is unusual since it contains 19 issues.
Your description takes me back to the lovely day-long trips my parents took me on the Hudson River Dayline to Bear Mountain. That last card captures it nicely.
This article reminded me of my parents’ stories of taking the Aquarama from Cleveland to Detroit and back, which was a six-hour voyage each way, during the 1950’s.
Another great article! Those taking the cruise also passed Sing Sing Prison in Ossining. The term going up the river as slang for going to prison originated when prisoners were transported by boat up the Hudson from New York City to Ossining in the 19th century, Later they were taken by train. The train station is next to the prison.
Your article brought back fond memories of taking this trip with my father, Emile R. La Vigne while he was working on the movie “West Side Story” in New York City, 1961! Such a memorable cruse and great visit to West Point and FDR’s home! Thank you!