Visit to Upper Landing Park
April 21, 2017 by anbeeman
Upper Landing Park is a small, manicured park located right by the historic Walkway Over the Hudson. The park was once Poughkeepsie’s northern-most commercial dock along the Hudson, hence the name Upper Landing. It’s historical significance is also believed to be where Poughkeepsie was originally founded. The City of Poughkeepsie owned the area until 2012, when it was bought by the Dyson Foundation and is now managed by New York State Parks.
The view of Upper Landing Park, the Fall Kill Creek, and the Walkway Over the Hudson
We were graciously greeted by Eric from New York State Parks and Theresa from the Dyson Foundation to give us more information about the park. The park was small and easy to explore, and was clearly built for urban trekking; the park included nicely paved paths and picnic tables for visitors to sit at.
Paved brick roads and green spaces
Our experts emphasized the fact that the park was made for two primary reasons: one was to eliminate the possibility of a housing development on valuable waterfront property, and the other reason was to act as a corridor or connector to the Walkway Over the Hudson. The highlight of the park is an elevator that will take visitors from the park to the walkway, which was also highly advertised both in the park on on the park’s website. The Dyson Foundation’s main incentive to invest in the park was the potential it held for spurring economic growth in the area, particularly in conjunction with the Walkway.
Pathway to the highly anticipated elevator ride
The experts conveyed to us that the park was a multi-use park, with about 500,000 visitors a year. They can host events such as galas and private weddings on their patio, as well as Movie Night during the summer which draws many community members. The park is also involved in New York State’s I Love My Parks Day, an event which Eric was particularly excited for Upper Landing Park to participate in. We enjoyed the historical blurbs and buildings located throughout the park, a sculpture made of steel from the Walkway Over the Hudson, and the elevator ride up to the Walkway. It was perhaps a small glimpse into what Poughkeepsie could be in the future.
Aerial view of the park from the elevator, with Waryas park extending beyond it