We took a mini New York vacation this past week. We went up North to Alexandria Bay and then over to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. Alexandria Bay is part of the Thousand Islands area on the St. Lawrence river between Canada and the US. One of the islands in this region is Heart Island and it is home to Boldt Castle. Most of our vacation involved KOA camping and Joseph knows I'm not a fan of camping so he used a tour of the castle to entice me to agree to the trip! We took a short boat ride to the island and then went on a self-guided tour of the castle.
| Lincoln was SO excited for the boat ride! |
| I love this picture of Edie. |
| This sign gives a brief history of Boldt Castle. |
This was called the "play house" where the family would stay while the castle was under construction. There was even a bowling alley in the basement.
This was the Yacht House where George Boldt stored his boats.
| Boldt Castle |
Stained glass ceiling in the front hall. The stairs and view of the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies.
Front foyer and view of the veranda.
| The library. |
| Ballroom |
| View of the foyer from the ballroom. |
| Reception room. |
| Dining room. This table sat 18 people. |
| Servants dining room. |
Not all of the house has been restored....it's a work in progress. Only half of the 2nd floor is restored and the 3rd through 5th floors are as they were after the elements took over for 70 years.
This is part of the "basement" which is more like a walkway or tunnel since those windows are ground level in the back of the house.
The protruding area with the pretty windows housed a swimming pool. It was interesting to see what a swimming pool would have been like in the early 1900s.
This is the Power house where the power for the house was generated.
This arched structure was the intended entrance to the island from the water.
| Play house. |
The kids got a little antsy before I was ready to go and started acting up so this picture is Joseph and me pretending we were alone enjoying the castle.
The romantic in me would love to spend a week or two living in a house like this. I think it would be interesting to live this way as long as I had indoor plumbing!