We headed over to Alexandria Bay for our boat tour of the St. Lawrence River with a stop at Boldt Castle. We got there early and had breakfast at Rileys and toured the town.
There were some interesting old neon signs that brought back memories.
We found this small museum on a side street staffed by volunteers who gave us a history of the town.
Here is a view of the main street looking toward the docks.
Here is a view of Boldt Castle from the tour dock.
Here is a "laker" passing by. Lakers never leave the Great Lakes, Salties come from overseas.
Here is one of the 1864 islands. To be designated an island, it must be above water 365 days a year and have at least one tree on it. If the tree dies, it becomes a shoal and is no longer considered. an island.
Some islands big and not so big.
This was the arched .entrance to Boldt Castle.
When George Boldt bought Hart Island with plans to build a castle on it and give it to his wife Louise he changed the name to Heart Island. The heart shaped theme is everywhere on the island and is part of the family crest.
The first building he had built was the childrens play castle complete with a two-lane bowling alley.
George planned to present the castle to Louise on February 14th, Valentines Day which was also her birthday and their wedding anniversary but she passed away a couple of months before that. He was so heartbroken, he had all construction work stopped immediately and never set foot on Heart Island again. The castle was 95% complete when it was abandoned. For 60 years it lay victim to the elements and vandals. Since it's acquisition by the Thousand Island Bridge Authority in 1977, the castle has been slowly restored room by room.
This is the main staircase and the skylight five stories above it.
The following pictures are just a sampling of the rooms that have been restored.
The Boldt crest
We had quite a busy day was looking forward to getting back and putting our feet up.
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