A visit to the Dia:Beacon museum and the town of Beacon
May 28, 2006
I decided to take a day trip out of the city. I'd read about the town of Beacon, about 60 miles north of Manhattan, along the Hudson River. My trip began at the infamous Grand Central Station.
Metro North, Hudson Line to Poughkeepsie. Here I go!
My new camera has a fancy feature for taking shots in motion, so I gave it a try on the moving train. Look, it works!
There are little lakes up along the Hudson River.
There are a number of cute little towns up here, and many places to hike. I plan to explore some of these this summer.
I've arrived in Beacon!
The train continues along the river up to
Poughkeepsie.
Beacon is in the Lower Hudson Valley, on the east side of the Hudson River. That's the town of Newburgh across the river.
View of train station with Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in the background.
Overlooking the river
Dia:Beacon entrance. (No photos allowed inside, so you'll have to visit the museum yourself to see all the cool stuff!)
View of the gardens.
The Dia:Beacon building was formerly a Nabisco box printing plant, built in 1929. The Dia Art Foundation converted the large industrial building to house their permanent collection of large contemporary art installations. Dia:Beacon opened in 2003. The interior is all cement floors and exposed brick walls, and the ceiling consists of skylights, providing natural light for the art.
Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries
Inside the bookshop & cafe.
Beautiful landscaping in the courtyard.
Gardens
Above the Irwin west garden.
Amtrak and Metro North run along the west side of the museum.
A church on the road to downtown Beacon.
Need a "faith lift"??
Beacon's Main Street could be Anytown, USA.
Lots of old buildings, quaint shops, antique stores,
and art galleries along Main Street.
A festival in honor of the pig!
Abandoned electric blanket factory building.
Another abandoned building on the east end of Main Street.
Hudson River, on the train ride home.
