Montgomery Place a bit of heaven

By Rebecca Rothbaum
Poughkeepsie Journal

Montgomery Place • River Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, Red Hook. • Phone: Call (845) 758-5461. • Hours: Open daily, except Tuesdays, April through October, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with the last tour at 4 a.m. Open weekends in November, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and the first two weekends in December, noon to 5 p.m. • Cost: $6, adults; $3, children; $5, seniors. Admission to the grounds, $3. • Featuring: A classical-revival mansion, formal gardens and trails. • Web site: www.hudsonvalley.org

The daughter of prominent Hudson Valley judge Robert Livingston chose a 230-acre parcel of land in Annandale-on-Hudson, a hamlet in the northwest pocket of Dutchess County, for its location: she shipped her harvests by boat on the nearby Hudson River to Albany and New York City.

Almost 200 years later, Montgomery's bucolic estate continues to draw visitors with its proximity to the Hudson, making it one of the region's more popular spring and summer outings. Every year, approximately 32,000 visitors tour Montgomery Place's mansion -- home to generations of New York's most prominent families -- and walk the estate's trails.

Alone or coupled with a trip to neighboring Tivoli Bays, a network of state trails snaking down to marshlands and the river, Montogomery Place is a perfect day trip destination.

''Our eligant (sic) Mountains which bound the River so fantastically and varied, and our boasted Hudson which brings to its banks all we can desire is suficient to gratify any moderate American Woman,'' Montgomery wrote.

The Federal-style mansion Montgomery built in 1804 -- she called it her ''chateau'' in a nod to the French -- is perched on a bluff overlooking the river and the Catskills beyond-views visible from the parlours and dining room.

''The river has always been integeral to Montgomery Place,'' said Geoff Carter, the director of preservation for Historic Hudson Valley, which owns and operates Montgomery Place.

Richard Montgomery, to whom Janet Livingston Montgomery was married for three years before he was killed in the Battle of Quebec, was even honored with a 21-gun salute on the river, Carter said. His widow looked on from her porch.

Montgomery Place features a classical-revival mansion and formal gardens.

Over the years, Montgomery's descendents added on to the mansion, making it a kind federal and classical revival hybrid. One of America's major 19th-century architects, Alexander Jackson Davis, redesigned the mansion for Louise Livingston in 1843 and then for her daughter Cora Livingston Barton in 1863 in the classical revival style. He added porches, wings, a balustrade and other details.

Greenhouse, garden later added

Landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing, who assisted Davis, wrote in 1859 that Montgomery Place ''is nowhere surpassed in American in point of location, natural beauty or landscape gardening charms.''

In the 1929, John Ross Delafield and his wife, botanist Violetta Delafield, who occupied the house at the time, added a greenhouse and the estate's several formal gardens.

Montgomery Place was occupied until 1985, when John White Delafield died and his son Dennis Delafield sold the estate to Historic Hudson Valley for $1.9 million. However, Delafield gifted the mansion's furnishings and paintings to Historic Hudson Valley, setting Montgomery Place apart from many other historic homes, which no longer contain original furniture. Indeed, much of the home's wallpaper dates back to the middle of the 19th century.

Historic Hudson Valley spent more than five years restoring the house and grounds, including an apple orchard, gardens and several trails, spending at least as much money as the cost of the house.

''But,'' said Carter, ''Look what we've got.''

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Scan neighborhood for dining spots

If you don't want to dine al fresco, there are ample dining choices in neighboring Tivoli and Red Hook, including Mexican and Japanese cuisines.

Luna 61, in Red Hook, is a cozy vegetarian restaurant that fills up quickly on the weekends. An inventive menu, featuring hearty entrees like the ''Cuban Press,'' a sandwich of goat cheese and spinach, and Pad Thai, fresh juices and organic beers, has made Luna 61 popular with both veggies and meat-eaters. And don't forget to check out the desserts, which can include bananna cream pie, German chocolate cake and a crumbly apple cake.

Luna 61 is located on Route 199, just east of Route 9 in the Village of Red Hook.

This nearly 2,000-acre preserve, where the Stoney Creek and the Saw Kill pour into the Hudson River, includes two coves -- Tivoli North Bay, an intertidal marsh, and Tivoli South Bay, with exposed mudflats.

In addition to being home to the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, it is a popular place for canoeing, kayaking and sightseeing.

Tivoli Bays also attracts hikers with its extensive trails, which meander towards the river through fields and woods, offering dramatic views of the marshlands, river and Catskills.