Poughkeepsie Attractions

For its first fifty years the Bardavon Opera House was known as the Collingwood Opera House. Construction of the new music hall began in June, 1868. The Bardavon has managed and presented the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1999.

Clinton House was built in 1765 and then rebuilt after a fire in 1783. The house served as an official headquarters when the new state government was in Poughkeepsie. It now houses the Dutchess County Historical Society and the Franklin Butts Library with more than 10,000 books and documents.

Located on the Vassar College campus, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center contains more than 12,500 art objects. Some of the artists on display include the Younger, Alexander Calder, Georgia O'Keeffe and Jackson Pollock.

Highlights of the permanent collection feature photographs, prints, drawings and antiquities.

Over 50 hands-on exhibits are available at Mid-Hudson Children's Museum that allow for exploration, discovery and creativity. Highlights of the museum include the Hudson River Dive Bell, a bubble machine, the Health Center features the wonders of the human body as well as a toddler area.

Home of artist, educator and telegraph inventor Samuel FB Morse. The house was designed by AJ Davis and is on 150 acres with hiking trails, formal gardens, carriage and ice houses and a visitor center. Period furniture, china, art, and original telegraph equipment are found throughout the house.