Popular Searches
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Share
Lindenwald, Olana projects highlights at luncheon
 |
| Martin Van Buren National Historic Site Superintendent Dan Dattilio addresses the attendees of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s semi-annual tourism luncheon Wednesday at the Wagon House at Olana State Historic Site. (Robert Ragaini/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
By Francesca Olsen
The Wagon House at Olana opened its doors Wednesday to a round table of tourism-related individuals, for the second of the county Chamber of Commerce’s bi-annual Tourism Leadership Luncheons.
Those who attended represented crucial aspects of county tourism, like members from the county Lodging Association, managers of state parks in the area, and representatives from performance art venues across the county.
Columbia County Chamber of Commerce President David Colby said the luncheon’s purpose is “to bring together leaders in the tourism industry in Columbia County,” for networking and to learn a little bit about upcoming projects and tourism initiatives.
Sara Griffen, the executive director of the Olana Partnership, and Lindenwald National Historic Site director Dan Dattilio enlightened the group on happenings and economic development news at Olana and Lindenwald. Box lunches were provided by Micosta Enterprises in Hudson, and featured local juices, local persimmons, and gourmet sandwiches.
“I’m delighted to have the group here at Olana’s Wagon House,” Griffen said. “We’re thrilled to be part of such a thriving and active tourism community.”
Speaking of thriving, Olana’s house visits are slightly up in number this year, Griffen said. “We’re bucking the odds in terms of house visitation,” she said. In 2009 thus far, 100,000 people have visited Olana, and 21,000 house tours have been given.
She showed the luncheon audience a clip from the Martha Stewart show where Olana was recently featured. “We’ve been trying to get her interested for years,” Griffen said. “Apparently, when she saw the footage, she gasped.”
An increase in educational programs has also brought visitors — the Wagon House opened in May and has already hosted 300 programs, serving 2,000 people of all ages. Griffen updated the group on upcoming projects at Olana, including a showing of Frederic Church’s artwork, inspired by time he spent with his wife in Jamaica. “Many of these paintings and sketches have never been seen by the public,” she said.
Dattilio called 2009 a “very significant year for Lindenwald.” In March, President Barack Obama signed the Land Management Act, increasing Lindenwald’s 39 acres to 300. Most of those acres are still farmed by real farmers. “For the first time, people will have access to the real Lindenwald,” he said. “It provides an opportunity to recreate the past.”
Roxbury Farm happens to have a 99-year lease on property that has recently started to assimilate into Lindenwald as a result of the Land Management Act. Dattilio said he’s working on drafting a “memorandum of intent” with Roxbury to work out what has become a complicated land-use paradox. For agricultural use, the land belongs to Roxbury, but the National Park Service is responsible for the land’s development, Dattilio told the Register-Star in October.
“We’re just getting to know each other,” he said at the luncheon.
Dattilio said the “most noticeable outcome” of the memorandum will be the removal of all of Lindenwald’s temporary structures that have been in place since 1976; they will be replaced by permanent maintenance and other facilities.
The memorandum will be out for public review and comment by May, he said.
After the presentations, those at the lunch table plugged their own upcoming projects and events, and outlined plans for new art shows and performance art events, Hudson’s annual Winter Walk and BeLo third initiative, and new public conservation areas in the works for next year.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
Those who attended represented crucial aspects of county tourism, like members from the county Lodging Association, managers of state parks in the area, and representatives from performance art venues across the county.
Columbia County Chamber of Commerce President David Colby said the luncheon’s purpose is “to bring together leaders in the tourism industry in Columbia County,” for networking and to learn a little bit about upcoming projects and tourism initiatives.
Sara Griffen, the executive director of the Olana Partnership, and Lindenwald National Historic Site director Dan Dattilio enlightened the group on happenings and economic development news at Olana and Lindenwald. Box lunches were provided by Micosta Enterprises in Hudson, and featured local juices, local persimmons, and gourmet sandwiches.
“I’m delighted to have the group here at Olana’s Wagon House,” Griffen said. “We’re thrilled to be part of such a thriving and active tourism community.”
Speaking of thriving, Olana’s house visits are slightly up in number this year, Griffen said. “We’re bucking the odds in terms of house visitation,” she said. In 2009 thus far, 100,000 people have visited Olana, and 21,000 house tours have been given.
She showed the luncheon audience a clip from the Martha Stewart show where Olana was recently featured. “We’ve been trying to get her interested for years,” Griffen said. “Apparently, when she saw the footage, she gasped.”
An increase in educational programs has also brought visitors — the Wagon House opened in May and has already hosted 300 programs, serving 2,000 people of all ages. Griffen updated the group on upcoming projects at Olana, including a showing of Frederic Church’s artwork, inspired by time he spent with his wife in Jamaica. “Many of these paintings and sketches have never been seen by the public,” she said.
Dattilio called 2009 a “very significant year for Lindenwald.” In March, President Barack Obama signed the Land Management Act, increasing Lindenwald’s 39 acres to 300. Most of those acres are still farmed by real farmers. “For the first time, people will have access to the real Lindenwald,” he said. “It provides an opportunity to recreate the past.”
Roxbury Farm happens to have a 99-year lease on property that has recently started to assimilate into Lindenwald as a result of the Land Management Act. Dattilio said he’s working on drafting a “memorandum of intent” with Roxbury to work out what has become a complicated land-use paradox. For agricultural use, the land belongs to Roxbury, but the National Park Service is responsible for the land’s development, Dattilio told the Register-Star in October.
“We’re just getting to know each other,” he said at the luncheon.
Dattilio said the “most noticeable outcome” of the memorandum will be the removal of all of Lindenwald’s temporary structures that have been in place since 1976; they will be replaced by permanent maintenance and other facilities.
The memorandum will be out for public review and comment by May, he said.
After the presentations, those at the lunch table plugged their own upcoming projects and events, and outlined plans for new art shows and performance art events, Hudson’s annual Winter Walk and BeLo third initiative, and new public conservation areas in the works for next year.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
Share this Article
 |
 |
|
| Results of countywide recanvassing are in | CVS to pay $875,000 in settlement over expired product sales |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
