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'Poughkeepsie' (pronounced ) is a city in New York, U.S.A. and serves as the county seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany.
The name derives from a Native American word (roughly U-puku-ipi-sing), meaning "the reed covered lodge by the little-water place," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River, south of the present downtown area. Poughkeepsie is known as "The Queen City of the Hudson."

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Educational institutions

Transportation

Industry

Entertainment and the arts

Notable natives and residents

Trivia

External links

History

Poughkeepsie was founded in 1687. The community was set off from the Town of Poughkeepsie when it became an incorporated village in 1799. The City of Poughkeepsie was chartered in 1854. Outside of municipal designations, the City and Town of Poughkeepsie are generally viewed as a single place, and are commonly referred to as Poughkeepsie, with a current combined population of approximately 73,000.
Spared from battle during the American Revolution, Poughkeepsie became the second capital of New York. In 1788 the Ratification Convention for New York State, which included Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and George Clinton, assembled at the courthouse on Market Street, debated, and ratified the New York Version of the Bill of Rights to be included in the United States Constitution.
Early on, the city was also a major center for whale rendering, and during the 1800s industry flourished through shipping, hatteries, papermills, and several breweries along the Hudson River, including some owned by Matthew Vassar, founder of Vassar College. Due to the area’s natural beauty and proximity to New York City, families such as the Astors, Rogers, and Vanderbilts built palatial weekend homes nearby. The city is also home to the oldest continuously operating entertainment venue in the state, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House (see below).

Geography

The City of Poughkeepsie is in the western part of Dutchess County and is bordered by the Hudson River on the west and by the Town of Poughkeepsie on the north, east and south.

Demographics

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.8 km² (5.7 mi²). 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (9.65%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,871 people, 12,014 households, and 6,559 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,243.8/km² (5,806.2/mi²). There were 13,153 housing units at an average density of 988.0/km² (2,556.6/mi²).
The racial makeup of the city was 52.84% White, 35.71% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.29% from other races, and 4.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.64% of the population.
There were 12,014 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.8% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,389, and the median income for a family was $35,779. Males had a median income of $31,956 versus $25,711 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,759. About 18.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Educational institutions

The area is home to several colleges: Vassar (one of the Seven Sisters), Marist, and Dutchess Community, all of which are in the Town of Poughkeepsie. In nearby Hyde Park, to the north, is the Culinary Institute of America.
A branch of Adelphi University is also located in the city.
The Poughkeepsie City School District is the public K-12 school system serving approximately 5,000 students.

Transportation

Poughkeepsie sits at the junction of the north-south US 9 and east-west US 44 and NY 55 highways.
Commuter service to New York City is available by train, served by the MTA's Metro-North Railroad, the city being the northern terminus of Metro-North's Hudson Line. Amtrak also services the Poughkeepsie station, along the Hudson River south to New York City's Pennsylvania Station and north along the river to Albany-Rensselaer station and points further north and west; Amtrak trains serving Poughkeepsie are the ''Adirondack'', ''Empire Service'', and ''Maple Leaf''.
The Mid-Hudson Bridge, opened in 1930, carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Highland. The Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in 1888 to carry railroad traffic across the Hudson, but has remained unused since a 1974 fire damaged its decking. [1]
In nearby Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Airport services local commuter flights and general aviation. The nearest major airport to Poughkeepsie is Stewart International Airport about 25 miles south in Newburgh, with the three major metropolitan airports for New York City - John F. Kennedy International aprroximately 85 miles south, Newark Liberty International 105 miles south, and LaGuardia Airport approximately 75 miles to the south, and Albany International Airport approximately 90 miles north.
Within Poughkeepsie there are two transit bus services:

★ City of Poughkeepsie Transit, operated by the City, operates five mostly unidirectional loop routes throughout the city, town, and into Hyde Park.

★ Dutchess County LOOP, operated by Dutchess County, travels throughout Dutchess County and also serves as the main link to the Route 9 corridor including Poughkeepsie Galleria and South Hills Mall.
Both services have a quasi-hub at the intersection of Main and Market streets, adjacent to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and at the west end of the former pedestrian-only Main Mall; the Mall was removed in 2001, with those blocks being restored back to traffic and to the name Main Street. Other buses serving this area include Adirondack Trailways, Coach USA, commuter runs to White Plains, and a shuttle to New Paltz.

Industry

IBM has a large campus in Poughkeepsie (a facility still referred to by many as IBM's "Main Plant"), although this facility is actually located in the Town of Poughkeepsie. A factory on site once built the IBM Stretch Computer as well as later machines such as the IBM System/360 model 195.

Entertainment and the arts

★ The Bardavon 1869 Opera House, located near Main and Market Streets, is a theater which has an array of music, drama, dance and film events. It is also the home of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.

★ The Mid-Hudson Civic Center [2], located down the street from the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, hosts concerts, wrestling, trade shows, and has an ice rink next door for hockey events.

★ The Chance, located on 6 Crannell Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, hosts live rock concerts with local as well as major artists.

★ Popular FM radio stations in the area are WRRV (alternative rock) WPDH (album-oriented rock), WRWD (country), WSPK (top 40), WHUD (adult contemporary), and WPKF (rhythmic top 40).

★ The collections of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College chart the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprise over 15,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, and glass and ceramic wares.

★ G.A.S. (Gallery and Studio) [3] is a visual art and performance space, located at 196 Main Street. G.A.S. presents contemporary art exhibitions, along with multi-media events, such as readings, films, and musical performances.

★ Albert Shahinian Art, 198 Main Street, shows and sells original and contemporary regional art, Hudson River art, ceramics, and sculptures.

★ The Barrett Art Center [4] at 55 Noxon Street offers exhibits, art classes, lectures and demonstrations focused on the visual arts. Twice yearly it presents nationally acclaimed shows, juried by curators of notable museums. It also operates Barrett Clay Works at 485 Main Street, with studio spaces for individual artists, and a street level space devoted to instruction in various methods of "working clay" for children through seniors.

★ Locust Grove [5], the home of Samuel Morse and a National Historic Landmark, features representative paintings by Morse, as well as historically important examples of telegraph technology.

★ The Mid-Hudson Children's Museum [6], 75 North Water Street, serves the city and region as an educational resource center, family destination and tourist attraction.

★ The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center [7] at 9 and 12 Vassar Street provides venues for both professional and amateur artists to showcase their talent in music, dance, and the visual arts.

Notable natives and residents

★ Billy Name, photographer, filmmaker, artist and Andy Warhol collaborator, was born and lives in the city.

★ Director Ed Wood lived in Poughkeepsie during his early years.

★ Elfquest creators/authors/artists Wendy and Richard Pini live in Poughkeepsie.

★ Poughkeepsie was the home of the noted judge and district attorney, Raymond C. Baratta, who was associated with the ouster of drug advocate Timothy Leary from a Millbrook estate. G. Gordon Liddy, later a key figure in the Watergate Scandal, was the arresting prosecutor who was employed by Judge Baratta.

★ CBS news reporter Dave Price is from Poughkeepsie.

★ Homer Augustus Nelson, lawyer, congressman, Secretary of State of New York and colonel in the Union Army, was from Poughkeepsie.

★ Poughkeepsie was the birthplace of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker, a physician and public health worker.

★ Eleven Major League Baseball players were born in Poughkeepsie: Frank Bahret (1858), Frank Beck (1860), Bill Daley (1868), Buttons Briggs (1875), Elmer Steele (1886), Mickey McDermott (1929), Fred Lasher (1941), Tommy Boggs (1955), Ricky Horton (1959), Frank Cimorelli (1968), and Jeff Pierce (1969).

★ Bill Duke, actor and film director, was born in Poughkeepsie and attended Dutchess Community College.

★ Houston Texans offensive tackle Charles Spencer was born in Poughkeepsie in 1982.

★ Jonathan Idema, a self-proclaimed counter-terrorism expert and covert operations specialist who partially served a sentence in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Afghanistan before being pardoned by Hamid Karzai, was born in the town.

Trivia

★ Poughkeepsie is referred to in an episode of ''Law and Order'' when a character mentions a vacation home.

★ In the Broadway production of ''The Wild Party'' in 2000, the character, Nadine, tells Queenie, ''I'm Nadine. I'm Mae's little sister from Poughkeepsie. Can I have a sip?''

★ Until 1972 Poughkeepsie was home to the Smith Brothers cough drop factory. The Smith Brothers' grave site is in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.

★ In the television show ''Friends'', Ross dates a girl from Poughkeepsie in the episode ''The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie''. Ross falls asleep on the train on his way to break up with her, and she attempts to wake him up by shouting at him from the Poughkeepsie station platform when the train arrives.

★ In the movie ''Meet Joe Black'' starring Brad Pitt, the Poughkeepsie fire department is referenced concerning the approval of fireworks over the Hudson River.

★ In the 2004 film '', the team that loses to Average Joe's Gym in the semi-finals is called the "Poughkeepsie State Flying Cougars."

★ The word "Poughkeepsie" is used in the TV series ''Ally McBeal'' by one of the two founding partners, John Cage (Peter MacNicol), of the law firm that Ally works for. He started using the city's name to control his stuttering and the link is laid to the city in the first season of the series in the episode "Alone Again"; this is Ally's explanation when Cage tried to use "Poughkeepsie" but settled on "New York": ''"He used to have a stutter, but he corrected it, or well I should say he controlled it but with a song, da da ta da da, and then he picked Poughkeepsie to preempt the da da ta da, but Poughkeepsie is actually a town in upstate New York so he seized upon New York instead of Poughkeepsie because it's phonetically less jarring."'' The FAQ that deals with this can be found here''

★ In an episode of the ''Daily Show'' host Jon Stewart asked guest Eric Idle (of ''Monty Python'' fame) which U.S. city was his favorite. Idle answered, "Poughkeepsie." He had recently performed at the Bardavon theater.

★ The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is the third-oldest active newspaper in the United States.

★ Poughkeepsie is featured twice in the online cartoon series ''Homestar Runner''.

★ Over the Rhine, Devendra Banhart, and The Lemonheads have each recorded unique songs titled "Poughkeepsie".

★ Poughkeepsie is mentioned in the Something Corporate song, "I Woke Up In A Car", as well as in the Soltero song, "Poughkeepsie's Always Proud".

★ In the movie ''Here Come the Waves,'' Betty Hutton performs a song called "There's a Fella Waiting in Poughkeepsie," also recorded by The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby.

★ Poughkeepsie is mentioned in the Kurupt song "I Call Shots" and the Capone-N-Noreaga song "Thug's Paradise."

★ The town is referenced in ''Poughkeepsie, Tramps & Thieves'', a ''Veronica Mars'' episode.

★ In the film ''Delovely,'' starring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, Kline, as song writer Cole Porter, mentions Poughkeepsie, when asked where he comes up with his ideas for songs: "I get them from from a little Chinese man in Poughkeepsie."

★ In Lauren Weisberger's second novel, ''Everyone Worth Knowing'', Bette, the main character, is from Poughkeepsie and at one point she and her boyfriend visit her parents there.

★ Batteries Not Included recorded a song titled "Poughkeepsie City of Sin," which was a minor local hit. It was played annually by radio station WPDH (101.5 FM) as #1,015 on their Top 1,015 Rock Songs of all Time countdown.

★ In the 2006 movie ''Night at the Museum'', the character of Teddy Roosevelt, played by Robin Williams, states that he is a mannequin made in Poughkeepsie.

★ In the movie ''The French Connection'', Gene Hackman's character Popeye Doyle quipped "Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?"

★ For many years Poughkeepsie was host to the Collegiate Regatta Race and celebration. This famous event ended in 1949.

★ The rock band Strata wrote a song titled "Poughkeepsie, NY" for their "Presents the End of the World" album.

★ In the episode ''Baby Tycoon'' of the TV series ''Bewitched'' Gladys and Abner give Tabitha a share of stock called "Poughkeepsie."

★ In an August 2006 column in ''Sports Illustrated'', Rick Reilly wrote "When a TG (Tiger Woods fan) hits his thumb with a hammer, the f-bombs can be heard in Poughkeepsie."

★ In the mid 1980s WWE recorded many of their shows, televised on Saturday mornings, from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center/Main Hall.

External links

★ The Weekly Beat

★ The Poughkeepsie Journal

★ City of Poughkeepsie, NY

★ Poughkeepsie Directory

★ Poughkeepsie Public Library District

★ "Poughkeepsie's Always Proud" by Soltero

★ G.A.S. (Gallery and Studio)