National Register of Historic Places

Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden

Boiceville, Ulster County, New York
Listed
August 9, 1999
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
99000909

About this property

The Emile Brunel Sculpture Garden and Studio, also known as the Totem Indian Trading Post, Le Chalet Indien, and Brunel Park, is located on Da Silva Road, just off the NY 28 state highway, in Boiceville, Town of Olive, New York, United States. It consists of seven sculptures and three buildings. Brunel was a French immigrant and artist who had become fascinated by the Native American tribes of the West during his travels there in the early 20th century. After a successful career as a photographer he bought a tract of land in the Catskills and built a studio residence and a resort on it, decorated with sculptures inspired by the Native American art he had seen. The resort closed and the statues were relocated soon thereafter when Route 28 was widened through it at the end of World War II, but the sculpture garden remained a popular roadside attraction afterwards. In 1929 Brunel began construction of a studio residence on the site in the "neo-rustic" or French Arts and Craft style. His wife and daughter (both named Gladyse) kept the sculpture garden maintained after his death in 1944, operating a nearby souvenir shop until 1985. The artist's home and studio remain intact, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Location

Boiceville, Ulster County, New York
41.99699, -74.26402

Categories

ARCHITECTUREARTENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Held, Al, House and Studio
Listed
1.4 mi
Olive and Hurley Old School Baptist Church
Industrial
3.1 mi
Camp Wapanachki
Industrial
3.6 mi
Vosburg Turning Mill Complex
Industrial
5.3 mi
Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station
Industrial
5.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden listed on the National Register?

Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 9, 1999.

What type of historic resource is Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden?

Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden?

The period of significance for Brunel, Emile, Studio and Sculpture Garden is recorded as the industrial era.

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