Taconic State Parkway
National Register of Historic Places

Taconic State Parkway

Gallatin, Columbia County, New York
Listed
December 8, 2005
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
05001398

About this property

The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP) is a 104.12-mile (167.56 km) limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines, much of its upper section along the westernmost flank of the Taconic Mountains. It is open only to passenger vehicles, as with other parkways in New York, and maintained by the state Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the fourth agency to have that responsibility. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had long envisioned a scenic road through the eastern Hudson Valley, was instrumental in making it a reality as a way to provide access to existing and planned state parks in the region. Its winding, hilly route was designed by landscape architect Gilmore Clarke to offer scenic vistas of the Hudson Highlands, Catskills and Taconic regions. The bridges and now-closed service areas were designed to be aesthetically pleasing. It has been praised for the beauty of not only the surrounding landscape and views it offers, but the way the road itself integrates with and presents them. It was completed in its present form in the early 1960s. In 2005, the entire highway, including its supporting structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historic importance in the development of parkways in the 20th century, and Roosevelt's role in creating it. It is the second-longest continuous road listed on the Register after Virginia's Skyline Drive, and the longest limited-access highway. The parkway continues to provide access to several state parks, including Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. It has also become an important regional artery, one of the primary routes to northern New England and the Capital Region of New York from the Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island. The southern sections, particularly in Westchester County, have become a commuter route into the city for residents who moved into towns that became suburbanized as a result of the parkway. The state and regional transportation planners have worked to adapt to this change since the 1940s.

Location

Gallatin, Columbia County, New York
42.01390, -73.64993

Categories

ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONTRANSPORTATIONCOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTENGINEERINGLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE
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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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
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Nearby Historic Sites

Silvernail Homestead
Industrial
1.8 mi
Pines, The
Industrial
2.2 mi
Graham-Brush Log House
Industrial
2.4 mi
Simons General Store
Industrial
2.6 mi
St. John's Lutheran Church
Industrial
2.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Taconic State Parkway listed on the National Register?

Taconic State Parkway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 2005.

What type of historic resource is Taconic State Parkway?

Taconic State Parkway is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Taconic State Parkway?

The period of significance for Taconic State Parkway is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Taconic State Parkway?

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