Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Poughkeepsie is a city in New York, and serves as the county seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson River Valley roughly midway between New York City and Albany. The name derives from a Native American word (roughly U-puku-ipi-sing), meaning "reed hut by the water" or "campsite by small water," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River. Poughkeepsie is known as "The Queen City of the Hudson."

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History

Poughkeepsie was founded in 1687. The community was set off from the Town of Poughkeepsie when it became an incorporated village in 1799. The City of Poughkeepsie was chartered in 1854.

The city was the capital of New York for a brief period in 1777, and was the site of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by New York in 1788.

Geography

The City of Poughkeepsie is in the western part of Dutchess County and is bordered by the Hudson River on the west and by the Town of Poughkeepsie on the north, east and south. Outside of municipal designations, the City and Town of Poughkeepsie are generally viewed as a single place. Both the City of Poughkeepsie and the Town of Poughkeepsie are commonly referred to as Poughkeepsie.

Educational Institutions

The area is home to several colleges: Vassar (one of the Seven Sisters), Marist, and Dutchess Community, all of which are in the Town of Poughkeepsie. In nearby Hyde Park, to the north, is the Culinary Institute of America.

A branch of Adelphi University is also located in the city.

The Poughkeepsie City School District is the public K-12 school system serving approximately 5,000 students.

The town of Poughkeepsie is also home to the Spackenkill Union Free school district and a large part of the Arlington School District.

Transportation

Poughkeepsie sits at the junction of the north-south US 9 and east-west US 44 and NY 55 highways.

Commuter service to New York City is available by train, served by the MTA Metro-North Railroad, the city being the northern terminus of Metro-North's Hudson Line. Amtrak also services the Poughkeepsie station, along the Hudson River south to New York City's Pennsylvania Station and north along the river to Albany-Rensselaer station and points further north and west; Amtrak trains serving Poughkeepsie are the Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express and Maple Leaf.

The Mid-Hudson Bridge, opened in 1930, carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Highland. The Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in 1888 to carry railroad traffic across the Hudson, but has remained unused since a 1974 fire damaged its decking.

In nearby Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Airport services local commuter flights. The nearest major airport to Poughkeepsie is Stewart International Airport about 18 miles south in Newburgh, with the three major metropolitan airports for New York City - John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, and LaGuardia Airport - approximately 75 miles to the south, and Albany International Airport approximately 65 miles north.

Within Poughkeepsie there are two transit bus services:

Both services have a quasi-hub at the intersection of Main and Market streets, adjacent to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and at the west end of the former pedestrian-only Main Mall; the Mall was removed in 2001, with those blocks being restored back to traffic and to the name Main Street. Other buses serving this area include Adirondack Trailways, Coach USA, commuter runs to White Plains, and a shuttle to New Paltz.

Industry

IBM has a large campus in Poughkeepsie (a facility still referred to by many as IBM's "Main Plant"). This facility is actually located in the Town of Poughkeepsie. A factory on site once built the IBM Stretch Computer as well as later machines such as the IBM System/360 model 195.

Entertainment

The Bardavon 1869 Opera House located near Main and Market is a theater which has an array of music, drama, dance and film events. It is also the home of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.

The Mid-Hudson Civic Center located down the street from the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, hosts concerts, wrestling, trade shows, and has an ice rink next door for hockey events.

The Chance, located on 6 Crannell Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, hosts live rock concerts with local as well as major artists.

Popular FM radio stations in the area are WRRV (alternative rock) WPDH (album-oriented rock), WRWD (country), WSPK (top 40), WHUD (adult contemporary), and WPKF (rhythmic top 40).

Notable Natives and Residents

• Billy Name, photographer, filmmaker, artist and Andy Warhol collaborator, was born and lives in the town.
• Director Ed Wood lived in Poughkeepsie during his early years.
• Elfquest creators/authors/artists Wendy and Richard Pini live in Poughkeepsie.
• CBS news reporter Dave Price is from Poughkeepsie.
• 90's rapper Skee-Lo was born in Poughkeepsie.
• Homer Augustus Nelson, lawyer, congressman, Secretary of State of New York and colonel in the Union Army, was from Poughkeepsie.
• Poughkeepsie was the birthplace of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker, a physician and public health worker.
• Eleven Major League Baseball players were born in Poughkeepsie: Frank Bahret (1858), Frank Beck (1860), Bill Daley (1868), Buttons Briggs (1875), Elmer Steele (1886), Mickey McDermott (1929), Fred Lasher (1941), Tommy Boggs (1955), Ricky Horton (1959), Frank Cimorelli (1968), and Jeff Pierce (1969).
• Bill Duke, actor and film director, was born in Poughkeepsie and attended Dutchess Community College.
• Houston Texans offensive tackle Charles Spencer was born in Poughkeepsie in 1982.

Trivia

• Poughkeepsie is referred to in an episode of Law and Order when a character refers to a vacation home.
• Until 1972 Poughkeepsie was home to the Smith Brothers cough drop factory. The Smith Brothers' grave site is in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.
• In the television show Friends, Ross dates a girl from Poughkeepsie in the episode The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie. Ross falls asleep on the train on his way to visit her, and she attempts to wake him up by shouting at him from the Poughkeepsie station platform when the train arrives.
• In the 2004 film Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story, the team that loses to Average Joe's Gym in the semi-finals is called the "Poughkeepsie State Flying Cougars."
• In an episode of the Daily Show host Jon Stewart asked guest Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) which U.S. city was his favorite. Idle answered, "Poughkeepsie." He had recently performed at the Bardavon theater.
• Poughkeepsie is mentioned in the Something Corporate song, "I Woke Up In A Car," the Soltero song, "Poughkeepsie's Always Proud," and The Lemonheads song, "Poughkeepsie."
• In Lauren Weisberger's second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, Bette, the main character, is from Poughkeepsie and at one point she and her boyfriend visit her parents there.
• "Poughkeepsie" is the name of a song by Devendra Banhart.
• Batteries Not Included recorded a song titled "Poughkeepsie City of Sin," which was a minor local hit. It was played annually by radio station WPDH (101.5 FM) as #1,015 on their Top 1,015 Rock Songs of all Time countdown.
• In the 2006 movie Night at the Museum, the character of Teddy Roosevelt, played by Robin Williams, states that he is a mannequin made in Poughkeepsie.
• For many years Poughkeepsie was host to the Collegiate Regatta Race and celebration. This famous event ended in 1949.