If you’ve ever taken the train from the Hudson Valley to New York City you’ve seen Bannerman Island and its gorgeous Scottish style castle out your window. It’s a strange sight to see a castle in the middle of the Hudson River but it’s there, I promise you, at least for the time being since it’s rapidly falling down. A few weekends ago my mother and I took a 20-minute boat ride from Beacon out to the island to learn more about the castle and its interesting history. Rather than reinventing the wheel here, I will just point you in the direction of the history of the island and the castle. What I can tell you is that Frank Bannerman, the castle builder extraordinaire, was the largest buyer of army/navy surplus weapons, ammunition, goods, supplies, etc… and was the father of the first army/navy store and catalog (he was also the inventor of the sealed bid contract system that is used today). His enormous storefront was in Brooklyn, NY and he built Bannerman Castle as a safe warehouse for his surplus of weapons and such. The castle is now falling down but the Bannerman Castle Trust is working to stabilize what is left of the castle and the main house. You can actually help to do this by voting for it through Chase Community Giving by September 19th. You can find out more about the castle, the island and about voting here. Enjoy the photos and if you get the chance definitely take a tour of the island.
Reblogged this on The Miraculous Makings of a Mad Scientist.