b'Matters heart of thematterThingsthat Matter Since 1990 In Praise of the Featuring Local People, Places and PUBLISHER Day Trip & EDITOR IN CHIEF Appreciating nearby small townsEllen DonkerBY ELLEN DONKERSOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERRachael EntineADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene Conlon A t the endforatart museum housed in a former H. Leslie GilmanAmy PowerGIFT GUIDE EDITOR of a busyNabiscobox-printingfactory. Anne Mandell week,IThemuseumopenedinBea-COPY EDITORS lovethecon in 2003, and according to Tia Swanson sightofWikipedia thats when the town Mark Yawdoszyn ablankstarted perking up.CONTRIBUTORS calendarToward the end of the day, when Adrianna Donat the coming weekend. A homebodyRob and I stopped to look at the Fishkill Karen Donovan heart, I enjoy hanging around the house, tak- Creek waterfall by the East Main Street bridge, Malia Rulon Herman ing care of the odd chore or catching up on a good book. we spied a bronze plaque honoring Ron and Ronnie Sauers Donny Levit I have found, though, that taking a day trip can befor their work revitalizing Main Street. I was intrigued.Tia Swanson equally restorative. Although it takes a bit of planning, IWhen I got home, an online search told me that the Julia Maloof Verderosa usually have a few ideas in my head already, so its just aSauers had been private developers and longtime residents matter of pulling the trigger when a nice-weather day is onof Long Island and New York City. Looking for an upstate the horizon. community in need of revitalization, they chose Beacon That was the case earlier in November when I saw thatand, starting in the early 1990s, turned three burned-out the coming Saturday would reach a high of 57 degreesstructures in the citys East End into high-end apartment with no rain. My husbands calendar was free as well, andbuildingswithdesirablestorefronts.Thecouplebecame we agreed on a destination that required no more than 90knownforcombininghistoricallyaccuratefacadeswith minutes of driving: Beacon, New York, it was. elegant modern interiors. They continued to acquire and Please address all correspondence to: The town is situated along the east bank of the Hudsonrestore vacant and abandoned buildings while encouraging Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. River at the foot of Mount Beacon. It got its name duringothers to invest in Beacon. Later, when Beacon was chosen P.O. Box 198 the American Revolution when Colonial troops burnedas Dias upstate site, other developers saw the towns pos-Maplewood, NJ 07040 signal fires atop the mountain to alert local militias of Brit- sibilities and rushed in to buy and restore old buildings.973-763-4900 ish ships heading north along the river. Seeing what Beacon looks like now reinforces the idea mattersmagazine.comIn the 1800s, Beacon enjoyed a long stretch as a fac- that great downtowns dont happen by accident. They need info@mattersmagazine.com tory town, but by the 1970s its industry had dried up.ardent supporters with vision and a commitment to the Matters Magazine is owned and publishedThe towns steep decline resulted in boarded-up buildingsplanning and hard work it takes to realize an area that is by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.covered in graffiti.relevant to residents and visitors alike. Just ask anyone on Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Matters Magazine is free, with editions direct mailedBut Beacon has had a rebirth, and I was anxious to see it. the boards of the Maplewood Village Alliance, South Or-7 times a year to the residents of MaplewoodWe set out at about 10:30 a.m., and 70 miles later weange Downtown, Springfield Avenue Partnership and the and South Orange and distributed to busi- were looking for parking near a surprisingly large and busyotherspecialimprovementdistrictsinourtowns.They nesses and surrounding communities total-ing 16,000. Subscriptions are available todowntown. Main Street is quite the hub of Beacon, with allcan tell you about the work that goes into transforming non-residents for $30 (U.S.), $40 (Foreign)sorts of interesting shops and restaurants. It even boasts astreetscapes into magical places, especially at holiday time annually. No part of the publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced withoutcat caf; I was eager to visit, but the wait was several hourswith Maplewoods Dickens Village and horse-and-buggy writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactlong. Despite cloudy skies, the sidewalks were jammed withrides and South Oranges street fairs and markets.Advertising, Inc. people like us strolling along and enjoying the day. Beacon,On the way home from Beacon, Rob and I drove through CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY a mere 100-minute train ride from Grand Central Station,Cold Spring, an adorable town full of antiques shops. Per-U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. attracts many a city dweller eager for some fresh air. haps that will be our destination the next time a warmish READ & RECYCLE After popping in and out of shops and grabbing lunch,day is in the forecast. Im sure Cold Spring will look lovely we took a short ride to visit Dia Beacon, a contemporaryduring the holidays. The chores at home can wait. 8/ matters magazine / holiday 2023'