Boldt Castle

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

We made a special effort to go to church this Sunday since we haven’t been in a while. Bill found a Calvary Baptist Church in Pulaski, New York which was about a half hour from where we were staying. The service didn’t start until 11:00 A.M. so our day has been strung out. We drove the motor home pulling the Tahoe into the church’s parking lot. We really stood out.

After church, on our way to Boldt Castle, we passed two Amish settlements where we saw two horse and buggies and three Amish teenagers riding their bicycles. They were all dressed much like they would have been 100 years ago. I didn’t realize the Amish were in this part of the country. I thought they were mainly in Pennsylvania. We stopped at a Farmer’s Vegetable stand where we purchased sweet corn, peaches and three mini pies. Everything was outstanding. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to go back.

Bill wanted to tour Boldt Castle and Boat House. The castle is built on an island and it requires taking a shuttle boat to see it. This is a short version of the story of Boldt Castle:

The grandest of all Gilded Age Mansions remains a testament to one man’s tragic love story. A visit to the Castle offers a glimpse into one of the most compelling love stories in history. At the turn-of-the-century, George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world-famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, set out to build a full-sized Rhineland Castle in Alexandria Bay, on picturesque Heart Island. The grandiose structure was to be a display of his love for his wife, Louise.

Beginning in 1900, Boldt’s family shared four glorious summers on Wellesley Island while 300 workers, stonemasons, carpenters, and artists fashioned the six story, 120-room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, and a dovecote.

Not a single detail or expense was spared.

In 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt telegrammed the island and commanded the workers to immediately “stop all construction.” Louise had died suddenly. A broken-hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved. Three hundred workers laid down their tools. Boldt never returned to the island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love.

For 73 years the castle remained vacant, left to the mercy of ice, wind, rain, snow and vandals. The government assumed ownership in 1977 and spend millions of dollars rehabilitating the castle.