What’s Out There Weekend (WOTW) Upper Hudson Valley will illuminate the distinctive landscape legacy and local character of the region extending across Columbia, Greene, Albany, and Rensselaer Counties, as evidenced by their publicly accessible parks, estates, gardens, cemeteries, campuses, and neighborhoods.
Originally inhabited and shaped by members of the Algonquin Federation, the Upper Hudson Valley includes sites that demonstrate the nation's struggle for liberty, equality, and human rights. Such themes are revealed at sites associated with the American Revolution, the Underground Railroad, and noted political figures.
The region boasts a wide range of natural resources, which have provided inspiration to many designers, artists, and writers over the course of the last four centuries. The influence of these tastemakers—and others—is evident at diverse cultural landscapes—many of which will be featured during the event.
WOTW Upper Hudson Valley will include two days of free, expert-led tours of some two-dozen sites, encouraging participants to discover the little-known design history of places that they might pass every day. Working in collaboration with local partners, TCLF will make visible and instill value in these landscapes that make this region distinctive and will engage the public to promote their sustained stewardship.
In addition to the tours, TCLF will produce a printed What’s Out There Upper Hudson Valley guidebook that includes all of the tour sites (available for purchase and free as a downloadable PDF), and has added to ever-growing digital What’s Out There Mid- and Upper Hudson Valley (which TCLF maintains in perpetuity). The digital Guide includes an illustrated history of the region’s cultural landscape heritage, with 85 individual site entries, and biographies of more than 65 designers who collectively shaped the landscapes that people in the region move through every day.
All What's Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley tours are free, but attendance is limited and registration is required.
Saturday, June 6
• Oakwood Cemetery | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Heidi Klinowski (Friends of Oakwood Cemetery)
• University at Albany, Uptown Campus / State University of New York | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Ray Bromley, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus (University at Albany / SUNY); Jason Kersch (University at Albany / SUNY)
• Washington Park | 10:00 am – 11:30 am | Led by Tom Pfeiffer (Washington Park Advisory Committee)
• Graceland Cemetery | 10:00 am – 11:00 am | Led by Steve Reilly (Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation
• Olana State Historic Site - The Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape | 10:30 am – 11:30 am | Led by Thomas L. Woltz, FASLA, CLARB (Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects); Adam Yarinsky, FAIA (Architecture Research Office)
• Steepletop | 11:30 am – 1:00pm | Led by Mark O’Berski (The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society Board of Trustees)
• Ten Broeck Mansion | 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm | Led by Representatives of Albany County Historical Association—Ten Broeck Mansion
• Clermont State Historic Site |1:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Led by Leslie Reed (NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation)
• Olana State Historic Site | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Led by Thomas L. Woltz, FASLA, CLARB (Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects)
• Underground Railroad Education Center | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Led by Mary Liz Stewart (Underground Railroad Education Center)
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by John Kolb (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Robert Carney (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Andrew White (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
• Swinburne Park and Bleecker Stadium | 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by Tony Opalka (City of Albany)
• Art Omi | 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Led by Jeremy Adams (Art Omi)
• Mountain Top Arboretum | 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Led by Jamie Purinton (Jamie Purinton Landscape Architect); Sammy Winderman (Mountain Top Arboretum)
• Promenade Hill Park | 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm | Led by Gail Wittwer-Laird, FAAR (Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners)
• Public Square / 7th Street Park | 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm | Led by Gail Wittwer-Laird, FAAR (Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners)
Sunday, June 7
• Prospect Park | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Kathy T. Sheehan (Rensselaer County & City of Troy; Hart Cluett Museum)
• Thomas Cole National Historic Site | 10:30 am – 11:30 am | Led by Beth Wynne (Thomas Cole National Historic Site)
• Art Omi Pavilions | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Led by Francis Greenburger (Art Omi)
• Albany Rural Cemetery | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Led by Michael Radlick, Ph.D. (Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery); Lynn Radlick, Ph.D. (Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery)
• Lincoln Park | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Led by Tony Opalka (City of Albany)
• Empire State Plaza and New York State Capitol Grounds | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Led by Allan Greller (The Cultural Landscape Foundation)
• Martin Van Buren National Historic Site | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by Megan O’Malley (National Park Service, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site); Jared Muehlbauer (National Park Service, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site)
• Persons of Color Cemetery at Kinderhook | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Led by Kate Johnson (Historians of Columbia County New York, Village of Kinderhook); Warren Applegate (Persons of Color Cemetery at Kinderhook); Hollis Seamon, Ph.D. (Retired, The College of Saint Rose); and Representatives from the African American Archive of Columbia County
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact lily@tclf.org for further details.
