Sunnyside Under Smoky Skies (7/17/26)

Bob and I have spent a good deal of time over the last few days watching the World Cup Semifinals. Unfortunately, they were played during the afternoons of the last two non-smoky days we may have for awhile. There are wildfires going on all over the world right now, but we are focused on those burning in Ontario, Canada, as the smoke from those is really impacting the air in much of the Midwest and Northeast of the US.

We water the plants every night.
The sunflowers are really blooming now,
but the sky is not usually the shade of pinkish orange.

Except for watering last night, we stayed inside to just not deal with all the fine particulates in the air. Today, is a little better, and we were a bit stir crazy, so we walked a little over 2 miles (round trip) to tour Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving.

Washington Irving (1783-1859) was born in New York City and died in Tarrytown in his home called Sunnyside. He is considered America’s first professional writer. Best known for his short stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” he was also the author of many celebrated works of travelogue and biography, including volumes on Christopher Columbus, the American West, and George Washington (for whom he is named).

We learned during the tour that he was the youngest of eight surviving children, never married (although he was once engaged to a woman who died of tuberculosis before they were to marry), and lived in Europe for about 17 years. Sunnyside was the first and only home that he owned.

A monument to Washington Irving on Broadway street
at the entrance to the road to his home.
It was created in 1927 by Daniel Chester French,
who also created the Lincoln Memorial among other works,

Walking onto the property for our 11:30 tour

A pond near the Visitor Center and gift shop.
It used to be clear and was used as a source of water for cooking via pipes that ran downhill from the pond to the house.

The Visitor Center/Museum Shop is in the background.
The marker in front of the tree as having been around
since the American Revolution.

A bookish exhibit on the patio beside the Visitor Center.
The placard tells the gist of the story of Rip Van Winkle.

Sunnyside. The original house was a two-room cottage
(the front portion of the left section of the house).
The “tower” on the right was added later
to house his female house staff.

The west side of the house and portico facing the Hudson River

The view of the Hudson from the carriage turn around area
in front of the house. The train line,
which was added after he had finished the house,
is right below the fence.

The narrow hallway that you enter immediately into.
Communal rooms are off either side of this hallway
with all of the family bedrooms upstairs.

The study, one of two of the original first floor rooms of the house. There would have been a ladder in the room
which went up to a sleeping loft.

The dining room with a table that could be added to
to accommodate 12 people.

While Washington Irving never married, he lived in the home with a widower brother and two of his older sisters.

The living room, which allows for great views of the Hudson River

A sleigh bed put into an alcove in the guest bedroom

Washington Irving’s bedroom. That is his parent’s bed.

Much of the house and furnishings remained intact after he and then his sisters passed away because the family that purchased the property thought the cottage style house was too small and built a mansion next to it without razing or disturbing the property.