Boldt Castle

George Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City and his family for several summers enjoyed an earlier frame cottage on Hart Island (the original name) which they greatly expanded. In 1900 the Boldts launched an ambitious construction campaign to build a huge masonry structure, one of the largest private homes in America. They engaged hundreds of workers for a six-story "castle," a major international landmark. In addition four other masonry structures on the island are architecturally notable. Equally distinctive is a huge yacht house on a neighboring island where the Boldts had another summer home and a vast estate, incorporating farms, canals, a golf course, tennis courts, stables, and a polo field.

The construction of Boldt Castle ceased abruptly in early 1904 after the death of Boldt's wife, Louise Kehrer Boldt. Today, Boldt Castle is accessible by ferry from Alexandria Bay, Gananoque, Ontario, Rockport, Ontario, and Ivy Lea, Ontario, and most of the grounds and buildings can be explored by the public for a fee. The boat-owning public may also dock on Hart Island for free and there is a US Customs and Immigration office on Hart Island. International visitors coming from Canada should have appropriate identification.

Heart Island and the nearby yacht house have been owned by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority since 1977.

References

Malo, Paul. Boldt Castle: In Search of the Lost Story. Fulton, N.Y.: Laurentian Press, 2001.

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