Tarrytown, New York

Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow

Orchard Street, Demolished by Urban Renewal, 1960s.

The village of Tarrytown until recently had one of the best collections of ruins along the Hudson River. Outside of Main Street and the industrial center along the river, the village consisted of great estates. Some of the very famous and wealthiest families lived here; Washington Irving, Jay Gould, the Bronfman family, and a slew of others whose names mean nothing to today’s world, called Tarrytown home. Several of the large estates are intact, especially in the South End of the village..

As the estates here became less fashionable, the properties were converted to other uses, or abandoned outright, leaving behind relics of the past. The Spratt House, which appeared in the television series Dark Shadows when it was abandoned, stood just south of Gould's Lyndhurst, now a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In an area rife with literal ruins, one mansion on the Gracemere estate actually sat abandoned and intact until about 2006.

    Near the downtown section of the village stood Tarrytown Hospital, at Wood Court. It was a great little abandoned building, and was unfortunately demolished for possible expansion of the current nursing home (which replaced an even earlier hospital). The site today, almost a decade later, is still an empty lot.

    Not too far from the site of Tarrytown Hospital is a mansion that was the long-time home of the village municipal offices and courthouse. Historic former Village Hall is slated for demolition, due to be replaced by an affordable housing apartment building, but it seems that the developer of high-end luxury units on the riverfront is dragging its heels on the low-end units.

    Also in the Sleepy Hollow vicinity are the ruins of a municipal water provider, the New Rochelle Water Company. Not a ruin, the James House is featured here due to threat from development.

I also include an essay on neighborhood development, a lost art in the Hudson Valley. This piece was includes two photos of an area known as Irving.

Enjoy your trip through a small selection of ruins from my favorite village along the Hudson.

"The Old House" - As Seen On TV- a setting for the television series Dark Shadows. The house has since been demolished, but ruins of the estate remain.

Irving - An essay on neighborhood development.

Gracemere - A wealthy clothing merchant built four mansions, one for each his daughters, upon their marriages. One house sat vacant for a few decades until demolished sometime around 2006.

Tarrytown Hospital - This wonderful building was demolished early 1998.

Historic Village Hall - Abandoned in 2009, still standing in late 2010.

Hudson River Yard - A coal and lumber business. Somehow this building has survived a waterfront transformation, so far.

James House - A 19th-century mansion threatened by new development.

New Rochelle Water Company - This facility served the nearby area including Sleepy Hollow.

Ichabod Crane, forever being chased by the Headless Horseman (or, some say, Brom Bones...)

E-mail Rob Yasinsac