Bask in day of culture as Beacon stays open late

City galleries, shops, restaurants stay open until 9 p.m. on Saturday

By Nicole Edwards
Poughkeepsie Journal

This weekend, you'll only have to travel to one place to fulfill appetites for art, food and shopping.

Second Saturday in Beacon provides it all each second Saturday of the month. Stores that typically open from Wednesday through Sunday from around noon to 5 p.m. will extend their hours until 9 p.m. on Saturdays throughout the year. The idea was formed by the Beacon Arts Community Association, a group of city gallery and business owners.

Each month, more than 30 participating Main and Leonard street businesses plan special events to coincide with the longer hours, keeping their doors open to provide more opportunities for shopping, eating or viewing art.

''Anything that brings in tourism is better than just being a bedroom community, which is where we were heading toward,'' said Joan Van Voorhis, who has lived in Beacon for 77 years.

Florence Northcutt, president of the Board of Directors at The Howland Cultural Center, explained how attractive Beacon's mountains and the Hudson River are, but the streets didn't show much promise when she first moved to the area in 1984.

''The east end looked like a war zone,'' Northcutt said about moving to Beacon in 1984. ''The Howland Center was standing, but buildings were boarded up. There were a lot of people who didn't consider it safe.''

New sidewalks, more light and picturesque storefronts are shaping a more positive image for the city. Beacon is making its mark with music, art galleries, restaurants and antique shops. One of the city's assets is The Howland Cultural Center, an historic landmark that offers rotating art exhibits, concerts and other cultural programming.

Follow the antiques trail

Another is retailer Tess Truehart. The boutique packages a cozy juxtaposition of clothing, jewelry and home decor items with a mini cafe and gallery. A trail of antique and novelty shops, not to mention a string of galleries, feature work made by artists from the Hudson Valley and beyond.

Beacon's west end is showing more promise, as well.

Mailing lists for Cup & Saucer Tea Room and Boutique boast visitors from Poughkeepsie, Pawl

ing and Scarsdale who come for live music, tea and desserts.

''We have high teas every month, and it had been every other month,'' said owner Martha Szigethy. ''I can seat 35, now I've had to increase it to every month.''

Joan Van Voorhis notices Beacon is changing, but mentions it can never go back to the way it was, recalling mountains and rivers that once framed a stretch of farms that eventually blossomed into a manufacturing town.

Beacon's vitality was fueled by trolley cars, the Newburgh-Fishkill ferry and companies that manufactured everything from bricks to hats during the 1930s. But it suffered once businesses moved out in the 1950s. Today, it's resurgence is steeped in the arts.

''I think it's great,'' Van Voorhis said. ''It's certainly a lot better than empty storefronts. The main thing was Dia, and it helped that Tallix (Art Foundry) was already here. The arts sort of do go in with the antiques.''

Northcutt doesn't dwell on the city's checkered past but remains positive, noting the coming of the Dia Center for the Arts, a 300,000-square-foot contemporary art institution scheduled to open in May along Beacon's waterfront, will help sustain Beacon's reputation as a growing arts community.

''It's just a wonderful time for Beacon,'' Northcutt said.

IF YOU GO
SECOND SATURDAY
What -- Beacon Arts Community Association presents Second Saturday, more than 30 art galleries and businesses extend hours in Beacon.

When -- Saturday. Businesses will remain open until 9 p.m.

Where -- Along Beacon's Main and Leonard streets. A trolley will run along Main Street from noon to 9 p.m.