City Downtown

City Downtown (HM2MFV)

Location:
Buy flags at Flagstore.com!

N 41° 42.413', W 73° 55.652'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 283 views
Inscription

A Notable Industrial and Civic Center

As "Queen City of the Hudson River Valley," Poughkeepsie has been a beehive of activity since settlers first established riverfront industries here in the early 1700s. Geography helped fuel the transformation from town to city. The Fall Kill Creek provided power for early grain, wool, lumber and plaster mills. By the mid 19th century, Poughkeepsie had become an industrial powerhouse. A shoe factory, iron foundry, and glass works, among others, not only supplied the growing residents, but an expanding country. Matthew Vassar's brewery became the first to achieve nationwide beer distribution.
Economic prosperity was coupled with important civic structures and institutions. Poughkeepsie became New York's second state capital after the British set Kingston on fire during the Revolutionary War. In 1788, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay came here to debate anti-federalists on the ratification of the US Constitution, ultimately leading to the creation of the Bill of Rights.
The landmarked Post Office, with its elegant design in local stone, served as a model for New Deal construction. Franklin Roosevelt himself laid the cornerstone in 1937. Not far from FDR's home in Hyde Park, Poughkeepsie was considered the region's downtown. In 1940, he made his Presidential acceptance speech at the (now demolished) Nelson House, across from



the Bardavon Opera House — itself New York's oldest continuously operating entertainment venue. Eleanor, much beloved by the locals, was often spotted shopping in town.
In the 1960s and 70s, Poughkeepsie underwent the greatest surge of urban renewal per capita of any American city. While this swept away much of the original structure and character, a new age of enlightened civic leaders, philanthropists, artists, and residents have combined forces to reinvigorate this regal Hudson River city.
Details
HM NumberHM2MFV
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, October 30th, 2019 at 8:01pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 589226 N 4617788
Decimal Degrees41.70688333, -73.92753333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 41° 42.413', W 73° 55.652'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds41° 42' 24.78" N, 73° 55' 39.12" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near , ,
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What country is the marker located in?
  2. Is this marker part of a series?
  3. What historical period does the marker represent?
  4. What historical place does the marker represent?
  5. What type of marker is it?
  6. What class is the marker?
  7. What style is the marker?
  8. Does the marker have a number?
  9. What year was the marker erected?
  10. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  11. This marker needs at least one picture.
  12. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  13. Is the marker in the median?