There’s a sad tale to be told in the Thousand Islands, one of hearts and death and a great mansion abandoned.  

It’s the story of the finest summer home ever (partially) built in these parts: Boldt Castle. 

By the early 1900s, George C. Boldt was arguably the most famous man in the Thousand Islands.  A millionaire in a tax-free time, he was proprietor of The Waldorf-Astoria and testament to a solid formula:  Hard work + marrying for love + meeting the right people = success.

As a teenage Prussian immigrant with empty pockets, Boldt came to America by himself in the 1860s and began landing menial gigs in New York and Philadelphia hotels.  He impressed his betters as he rose in rank; while steward at the prestigious Philadelphia Club in 1876, he made a particular impression on young Louise Kehrer, daughter of the club’s owner.  Boldt and Kehrer married soon after, and became a formidable pair of hoteliers. 

Some years later, as owner of Philly’s elegant Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, George befriended one of America’s richest men, William Waldorf Astor…and created a place for himself and Louise in Manhattan’s high society.  

But one small side of Boldt Castle's main house

In 1893, Astor asked the Boldts to help design and run the ubër-grand Waldorf Hotel, erected on the site of the gajillionaire’s former Park Avenue home.  In 1897, Astor’s competitive cousin John Jacob Astor IV opened his own Astoria Hotel next door, and leased it to George.  It was profit-sharing George who linked the two structures to form The Waldorf-Astoria, creating the then-largest hotel in the world, and Louise who made it a hub for the city’s most prestigious social events.

The grand entrance of Boldt Castle's main house

By this time, many of New York’s elite were spending their summers up north in the Thousand Islands, yachting on the St. Lawrence River and building massive Beaux Arts mansions along Alexandria (“Alex”) Bay.  George followed suit, envisioning a spectacular gift for his beloved Louise, whom he called his “beautiful princess.” 

The Boldt Castle Yacht House

The Boldt Castle Boathouse

Boldt purchased Heart Island and set out to create a fairytale castle as a monument to his indispensable wife.  He, Louise and their two children spent four successive summers in the property’s original 80-room, um, cottage, later moved in sections and reassembled as the nearby Hart House Inn.  Meanwhile, Boldt employed 300 workers and $2.5 million in the seemingly-impossible construction of a six-story, 120-room stone behemoth with tunnels, electric power, elaborate gardens, and a truly enormous yacht house.  

He intended Boldt Castle as a gift for Louise on her 42nd birthday, Valentine’s Day 1904.  But one month shy of this date, his dream ended with a shock:  

Louise died of a heart attack.

George sent a simple telegram to his construction crew, telling them to stop their work.  Anguished until his own death in 1916, he would never set foot on Heart Island again.

For 73 years, the unfinished Boldt Castle compound stood empty and unfinished, prey to vandalism and punishing area weather.  The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority purchased it in 1977, and has since turned it into the area’s greatest tourist attraction.

Boldt Castle today is still a work in progress (its upper floors are peppered with graffiti and dust, and the children’s fanciful playhouse is under repair), but its romantic grounds are a popular site for weddings.

To us, it seems a star-crossed place to start a long life together…but we can appreciate the dream. 

Boldt Castle Visitor Information
More of our photos of Boldt Castle

Related posts:
Thousand Islands: More Than Just Dressing
Thousand Islands: Finding Warmth in Clayton
Thousand Islands: The Other Kingston

Other “castles” of the Thousand Islands:
Singer Castle
Carleton Island Villa

Travels With Two

We recently returned from the Thousand Islands, a chain of more than a thousand islands between upstate New York and Ontario, Canada along the St. Lawrence Seaway…and discovered anew that there’s a lot to do in the small 1800s-era town of Clayton, New York.

That is, once you’re done lounging by the wide, deep river for hours on end, gazing at the water and thinking about nothing at all.

Our five-day, early July trip to the Thousand Islands was awash in thunderstorms, which threatened to cancel the multi-island fireworks that make the Fourth such a joy up here.  Instead, fortune smiled upon a clear night with a full moon and lots of Roman candles exploding from hither and yon.  There were even a couple of  rosy sunsets and sun-stippled afternoons, but an equal measure of horizontal lightning cracked across the St. Lawrence River in the wee black hours.

Most surprising was the cold.  On our previous trips to this area, a light sweatshirt was plenty of cover, but on this trip we regretted not having rain jackets…and even fleece. In search of warmer clothing, we took our first trip in ten years to the bustling downtown of Clayton.

Clayton, an antique-lovers’ paradise steeped in island culture, is set in the self-proclaimed “geographical center of the Thousand Islands”; it’s in fact 7 miles west of the 1000 Islands International Bridge.  A bustling lumber and shipbuilding hub throughout much of the 1800s, the 1873 arrival of the railroad brought tourists to Clayton, and it’s remained popular in the Thousand Islands ever since.

Much of its present charm rests in period architecture, independent shops, and a conscious decision not to dwell on the fact that it’s simply a small town in a region few people outside the mid-Atlantic have even heard of.

Some Clayton highlights:

The Thousand Islands Museum (312 James Street), the perfect place to catch up on 150 some-odd years of area history.  See how Clayton’s original citizens dressed, kept house, hunted, fished and amused themselves during punishing winters that many summer people still, quite logically, flee. 

Freighters (310 James Street), the spot for substantial, organic-cotton sweats for men and women adorned with either “The River,” Irish-themes, or a tasteful heron logo.  Look no further for stylish and warm clothes when the local weather turns.

The Antique Boat Museum (750 Mary Street), where you can learn about local shipbuilding and the unique, handcrafted St. Lawrence Skiff, the area boat of choice in the 19th century.

Gold Cup Farms & River Rat Cheese (242 James Street), for the eponymous white cheddar and other products from area farms.  In addition to a fair-sized Amish community, the Thousand Islands are home to a thriving agritourism industry.

Corbin’s River Heritage (534 Riverside Drive), the best place in town to find a souvenir of your trip; this store specializes in books, prints, maps and more on the Thousand Islands region. 

Rest yourself at the Lyric Coffee House (246 James Street) for a spot of lunch, gelato and more in a refurbished 1914 movie house.

LOGISTICS:

If you’ve made it up to the Thousand Islands, don’t miss Clayton.  Renting a car in the Thousand Islands is well advised (ideally from the airport in either Syracuse or Toronto), and in Clayton there’s plenty of street parking or in the large public lot on James Street.  If you’d rather just sail on in, dock your boat at the Clayton Marina (where rentals, as at most area marinas, are available), or arrange for a ferry or private charter through Clayton Island Tours.

Related posts:
Thousand Islands: More Than Just Dressing
Thousand Islands: The Other Kingston

Travels With Two

We can’t wait to get back to the Thousand Islands in July…

Where are the Thousand Islands, you ask?  Well, on the St. Lawrence River between upstate New York and Ontario, Canada.  There are actually more than 1000 islands here, but we’re not counting.

Unplugged from much of the modern world, this is the perfect summer spot to turn off your cell phone, kick back in a wooden deck chair, open a book you’ve long neglected, and listen to the river slap the dockside…’til the fireflies come out twinkling.

To the uninitiated, mention of the Thousand Islands only invokes a pale pink salad dressing.  A staple at the area’s former Herald Hotel (now the Thousand Islands Inn), the dressing long ago found a fan in summer resident George Boldt, who had it added to the restaurant menu at his hotel, New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. 

But there’s more to the Thousand Islands.

Known to Iroquois tribes as Manatoana (Garden of the Great Spirit), this 50-mile stretch was discovered by French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534, long traveled by Canadian fur trappers, and re-discovered by wealthy East Coast vacationers in the 1870s.  Many of the homes, inns and hotels here are Queen Anne and Arts & Crafts architectural gems.   

There are thick forests of wind-molded pine and maple trees, lighthouses perched beside deep teal water, and blessedly cooler temperatures than wherever you are.   White folks tool around the river in Chris Craft speedboats, have clambakes, and play cards on screened-in porches ringed by summer lilies.  They fish and swim during the day, then plunk down dockside at 5pm to drink gin and tonics and watch tourist steamboats drift by, reminiscing about their college days…with their college friends. 

In order to qualify as one of the Thousand Islands, a chunk of land must remain above water 365 days a year and support two living trees.  However, several islands, like Wellesley, Hill and Wolfe, are large enough to support small townships and national parks.  

While most smaller islands are privately owned, there are lots of places for visitors to stay:  Hotels, campgrounds and cottages.

Getting here can be a journey, so it’s best to plan on a visit of 5 days or more.  There used to be commercial flights to the small airport in nearby Watertown, New York, but these days the closest hub on the New York side is Syracuse (1.5 hours); it’s a 3-hour drive from Toronto.

Major hubs, like Watertown and Clayton, have marinas with parking lots where you can leave your rental car, and there are also bridges and ferries that can get you and your car across the St. Lawrence.

The Thousand Islands are an important place to us…but more on that by summer’s end.

Travels With Two