I had been driving around Bear Mountain in New York and decided to cross the river and head down to Peekskill – you’re going to laugh when you read this – as I was in search of a Shamrock Shake on St. Patrick’s Day, and figured there had to be a McDonalds in Peekskill somewhere. My Dad used to buy us kids all Shamrock Shakes on St. Patrick’s Day when we were little as it was also his birthday, and that was something we used to do together. So, in recent years, to honor his memory, I’ll often seek out a Shamrock Shake on that day.
But once I got the shake – which was delicious, by the way – where to enjoy it? I took a quick look at Google Maps for a spot near the water and saw Charles Point Park and decided to drive there. The view above is what I saw as I pulled into the small parking lot just off of Louisa Street on the north end of the park. Let’s take a look at what else is in this park …
One of the first things I noticed (other than the fantastic river view) was this sculpture, titled “Liquid Mechanics by Peekskill artist Wilfredo Morel. As you can see in the plaque below right, it says it was made with materials taken from the “Standard Brands Molasses Pipe System,” while another source found says it’s recycled piping from the old Fleischmann’s Gin Plant. Further research explains that both are correct, as the Fleischmann Company plant here later became a division of Standard Brands (sometime in the early 20th Century). They used the plant – a sprawling complex consisting of seven buildings – to manufacture vodka, gin, yeast, vinegar and molasses. According to one report, the plant caught fire on August 1st in 1918, and local firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the flames. As you can see, Morel’s sculpture suggests water cannons that might be found on a fire truck or fire boat, which provides us with the starting point for this little history lesson.
To continue the history lesson, it would seem the Fleischmann’s plant was rebuilt, later became the Standard Brands complex, but was shut down in 1975, with the company demolishing most of the buildings. As is typical in these situations, hundreds of jobs were lost and it was a serious blow to Peekskill’s economy at the time. In 1984, Westchester County claimed the former factory site and built the county’s garbage-to-energy plant, which you can see below.
But there’s much more than industrial sites and sculptures here – the Charles Point Park also includes a brewery, a restaurant or two, a climbing park, a small marina, and more riverside park area with benches and places to hang out by the water.
As I was walking around the park area some more, I noticed these bird houses with messages painted on the front: “have faith” and “love” were two of them … I’m not sure if this is the work of another artist, or if someone just added the words to existing bird houses in the park, but it caught my attention.
You know what else is at the Charles Point Park area? A giant octopus made of beer kegs! See more here …