Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Poughkeepsie's Waterfront

The Great Connector

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2019

1. Poughkeepsie's Waterfront Marker

Inscription. Poughkeepsie's waterfront was an active construction staging area for the bridge with a constant flow of boats, barges, building materials, and workers.

Background photograph from the B.L. Rudberg collection in memory of the late Austin McEntee, who preserved these photographs for posterity.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Industry & Commerce.

Location. 41° 42.632′ N, 73° 56.343′ W. Marker is in Poughkeepsie, New York, in Dutchess County. Marker can be reached from Parker Avenue (New York State Route 9G) ¼ mile east of Washington Street (New York State Route 9G), on the left when traveling east. Marker is mounted at knee-level on the south railing of the old Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, about 7/10 mile west of the Parker Avenue parking lot for Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 49 Parker Avenue, Poughkeepsie NY 12601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Hudson River Day Line (within shouting distance of this marker); Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge (within shouting distance of this marker); Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge: Eastern Overland Approach (about 400 feet away, measured

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in a direct line); Poughkeepsie Waterfront (about 500 feet away); The Poughkeepsie Whaling Company (about 500 feet away); Lange Rack (about 600 feet away); North River Steamboat of Clermont (about 800 feet away); Poughkeepsie's Little Italy (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Poughkeepsie.

More about this marker. Originally built in 1889, today the repurposed Poughkeepsie Highland Railroad Bridge carries a scenic pedestrian walkway over the Hudson River.

Also see . . . The Poughkeepsie Bridge Company. From the 1840s to the 1870s, most railroad work was done by Irish immigrants, but by the 1880s construction laborers were more likely to be Italian, as most working on the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge were. In a debate paralleling the contemporary controversy, The Poughkeepsie News-Telegraph defended this hiring practice as not taking jobs away from Americans, but hiring out the “mean” and “hard work” no one else “could or would do.” (Submitted on February 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Poughkeepsie's Waterfront Marker<br>(<i>wide view looking south • Hudson River in background</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2019

2. Poughkeepsie's Waterfront Marker
(wide view looking south • Hudson River in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 126 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.