This past Memorial Day weekend The Magazine ANTIQUES was pleased to take part in the inaugural edition of Design Hudson, a celebration of the amazing architecture, art, antiques, and other collection-worthy design that can be found throughout Hudson, New York. To showcase just some of the design flair and expertise this upstate town has to offer, the Design Hudson program included tours of six architecturally significant houses styled by six leading interior designers at work in the region.
On Friday, we toured the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, an 1811 residence (remodeled later in the century by Andrew Jackson Downing) designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2003 and awaiting full restoration. For Design Hudson, 20 local art and design galleries decorated rooms in the lovely ruins—and engaging juxtaposition of contemporary art and early American architecture. A cocktail party on Friday night, attended by more than 300 people, raised $5,500 to continue the restoration.
The celebration continued into Saturday at Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House, where the magazine presented a digital tour of Brooklyn Museum curator Barry Harwood's nearby home, decorated in the lush style of the Aesthetic Movement. The house is featured as the cover story our May/June 2018 issue. That evening, Paula and Phil Forman welcomed guests of The Magazine ANTIQUES and Design Hudson into their beautiful Greek revival home on Warrant Street for an exclusive cocktail party.
Sunday we toured design galleries on Warren Street, in partnership with our sister publication MODERN Magazine. We braved the rain and introduced readers to some of our favorite 20th century and contemporary art and design galleries, including Ornamentum, Four, Modest Designs, Stair Galleries and Arenskjold. We also presented a talk, entitled "The Respectful Renovation," given by architect and historic preservationist Chip Bohl inside his current project, a recently renovated 1887 Queen Anne-style mansion at 420 Warren Street.
We concluded the long weekend with a treasure hunt along Warren Street, with the grand prize of a two-night stay at Hudson's brand new boutique hotel, The Wick. Participants ran up and down the main thoroughfare looking for clues in seven galleries: Neven and Neven Moderne, Regan & Smith, FINCH, Timothy Doyle, Sutter Antiques, Vincent Mulford, and The Gilded Owl.
We would like to thank Chuck Rosenthal for his dedication to the fair, Paula and Phil Forman for opening their home to us, Hudson Business Coalition for making it possible to reimagine the Bronson House, Barry Harwood for the digital tour of his beautiful home, Tambra Dillon for making us at home in Hudson Hall, Chip Bohl for his illuminating discussion, Jenn Morse for her beautiful photography, and all who participated in our gallery tour and treasure hunt. We would also like to thank the galleries that allowed us to visit their spaces: Stair Galleries, Modest Designs, Ornamentum, Four, Arenskjold, Neven and Neven Moderne, Regan & Smith, FINCH, Timothy Doyle, Sutter Antiques, Vincent Mulford, and The Gilded Owl.