The Stanley Theatre, 261 Genesee Street in Utica, New York, was built in 1928 as a “movie palace” and seats 2,963. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb in a unique Mexican Baroque style, with terra cotta and tiled mosaics. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and today functions as a performing arts center.
During the Revolutionary War, the Mohawk Valley in central New York was the scene of brutal fighting between patriots committed to American independence and loyalists committed to remaining under the British Crown. Many settlements and homesteads were raided and burned. Stone houses became “forts” where civilians and militia would take shelter during these attacks. You can still visit the sites of these battles and skirmishes today, though several are marked only with a small sign.
The Siege of Fort Stanwix is among the most well-known Revolutionary War battles in the Mohawk Valley. British General John Stanwix ordered construction of this fort in the summer of 1758 to guard a portage connecting the Mohawk River and Wood Creek. Colonial troops under the command of Colonel Elias Dayton occupied and repaired the fort in July 1776 and renamed it Fort Schuyler. British forces besieged it from August 2-22, 1777, but were demoralized by a colonial raid on their camp and withdrew. It burned down in 1781.
Sign for Madame Oar’s and Tzer’s Gentlemen’s Club, 84 Court Street (U.S. Route 11) in Binghamton, New York. In Rocket Center, which features a neat Raygun Gothic sign. Madame Oar’s promises “…Heaven on Route 11” … Somehow I doubt that.
Reenactors dressed as French soldiers at Fort Ticonderoga, 102 Fort Ti Rd, in Ticonderoga, New York. French engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière constructed the fort between 1755 and 1757 during the French and Indian War. It was originally called Fort Carillon.
Monument to Maj. Gen. Daniel Adams Butterfield (1831-1901) in West Point Cemetery, 329 Washington Road, United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. A native New Yorker, Daniel Butterfield’s father had founded the company that became American Express. He had no military experience prior to the American Civil War, but rose from the rank of captain to major general, and even won the Medal of Honor in 1862.
Butterfield was a talented organizer. He wrote an Army field manual, introduced the use of patches to distinguish between Union Army corps, and is credited with composing the bugle call “Taps”. He later transferred to the Western Theater. After the war, he served as Assistant Treasurer of the United States, but was forced to resign for taking part in a scheme to manipulate gold prices.
Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is an iconic American short story. First published in 1820, the story has been retold and re-imagined for 200 years. It was set in the Hudson River Valley in North Tarrytown, New York. North Tarrytown changed its name to Sleepy Hollow to capitalize on the story’s notoriety in 1996. The original bridge over the Pocantico River where the Headless Horseman pursued Ichabod Crane has been replaced with a modern concrete and steel bridge, but visitors flock to this community every Halloween to retrace the steps of this famous American tale.
Monument to Maj. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (1836-1881) in West Point Cemetery, 329 Washington Road, United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. H. Judson Kilpatrick was a controversial cavalry commander in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War, earning the nickname “Kill-Cavalry” for his aggressive style. Kilpatrick was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from West Point in 1861. He came to prominence during the Gettysburg Campaign and was later transferred to the Western Theater owing to his controversial behavior. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman said of him:
“I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition.”
M.A. Kleen 
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