Whenever I go up to scout Lyndhurst Castle, railroad tycoon Jay Gould’s former estate on the Hudson River… …I’ve always wondered about the gated, semi-abandoned-looking property you pass on the way out. A bit of background: first built in 1838 for New York City mayor William Paulding, Jr., the estate was later purchased for use…
Last week, I was heading home from a day of scouting in Westchester when I found myself passing through Sleepy Hollow. Suddenly, it felt like autumn had officially arrived. As a kid, there was nothing I loved more around Halloween than revisiting The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – both Washington Irving’s tale, for which I…
Last fall, I was scouting Westchester for period upscale homes when I happened to find a gem, located far back from the road on an enormous plot of land. I try not to get my hopes up for this type of thing – for a property of this sort, most of the time, the owners…
It’s after hours at the amusement park. The rides have all been shut down. Everyone’s gone home. The ticket windows all say “CLOSED.” But why don’t we take a look inside anyway? Because nothing beats an amusement park after hours…
This is Part 2 of the Scouting NY tour of Rockland State Psychiatric Hospital, a 600-acre abandoned mental asylum complex in Orangeburg, NY. Be sure to check out Part 1 here! Construction of Rockland State Psychiatric Hospital began in 1927 on a 600-acre plot in rural Orangeburg, NY. Below, the Male Reception Building in its…
I’ve been scouting around the Westchester area recently, and every day, I pass the exit on I-95 for Rye Playland, an 82-year old waterfront amusement park. I’ve never been, so on my way home today, I decided to finally check it out – and see where Tom Hanks found the Zoltar machine at the end…
For the past few weeks, I’ve been scouting north of the city in the White Plains/Harrison area. The other day, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye while driving… …peeking through the trees… The East Village Cube! On some guy’s lawn! If you’ve never been to NY, the iconic Astor Place Cube…
At first glance, it would be hard to figure out what this bland modern nursing home… …has to do with these haunting, castle-like ruins: Incredibly, they are actually within 20 feet of each other! You can see the castle just off to the left: The establishment pictured is the St. Cabrini Nursing Home, located in…
I recently posted about scouting Alder Manor, a dilapidated yet beautiful abandoned mansion in Yonkers. The manor was owned by William Boyce Thompson, an extremely rich copper magnate in the early 1900’s. This past winter, I had the opportunity to check out the former Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, a beautiful brick structure located…
TO CONTACT ALDER MANOR ABOUT FILMING, PHOTO SHOOTS, WEDDINGS, OR ANY OTHER RENTAL PURPOSE, EMAIL joan@theplantmanor.com. PLEASE BE SURE TO SAY YOU GOT THE CONTACT FROM SCOUTING NY! It sits on a hill just outside of New York City, completely empty and, for years, decaying and nearly forgotten… This is Alder Manor, and it’s without…