One Tank Adventures: Olana State Historic Site

One of the most beautiful views in the Hudson Valley can be enjoyed from the grounds of Olana State Historic Site, the former home of Hudson River School landscape painter and world traveler Frederic Church.

Olana overlooks the Hudson River, the Catskill Mountains and the Taconic Range, distinctive views that inspired many of Church’s paintings.

Located in Hudson, New York, Olana is more than its extraordinary views. The home’s architecture and interior are also uniquely memorable. Church designed the home to look like a Persian fortress. To realize his design he enlisted the help of his friend, architect Calvert Vaux, one of the designers of New York City’s Central Park. Together, they created a one-of-a-kind building featuring Victorian architectural elements, as well as incorporating Persian and Moorish motifs. Church died in 1900 and Olana stayed in his family until it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Olana’s interior has since been carefully restored and is decorated with more than 80,000 objects from Church’s world travels. Visitors can also see dozens of paintings created by Church and his fellow Hudson River School painters.

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To tour the house, you need to make a reservation then arrive 20 minutes before the tour to purchase tickets. There are different tours that visitors can take. Visitors can take a guided or self-guided tour of the main floor with studio wing and second floor with gallery tour from May 15 to October 30. The tour takes 60 to 75 minutes.

From May 20 to November 8, visitors can also take historic landscape tours on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday. There are guided driving and walking tours as well as self-guided tours. Tickets range from $5 to $25 depending on the tour.

Olana also offers revolving art exhibits.

After visiting Olana, nearby Hudson, New York offers plenty of restaurants and shops to fill the remaining hours of your adventure. You can find more information here.