Sharon Springs photo tour (Callicoon, Richfield: hotels, work, houses)

[geos]

What a sad, melancholy little town. The most forlorn looking Main St. I've ever seen. It seems to be in a perpetual state of carefully maintained decay. It's like someone gave a garden party 150 years ago and nobody came and it was never canceled. It's like a ghost town except some people forgot to leave. Fall is the perfect time if you want to wallow in the melancholy of it all. Sulpher springs is the whole premise of SS. There's a spring with lots of dissolved sulpher that runs thru town. It was thought that bathing and inhaling it's aroma was curative. I took a few gulps to give it a try. I'm still alive. It's actually quite tasty, almost like seltzer. Huge hotels and sanitariums were built with bathing houses and aroma rooms to service the clientele.

I hope you can read the information plaques.


My new friend Mr. Puddy Cat. Amazing what a piece of cheese from a pizza can do.



Main St. sigh...




You can see the stone quarry is behind this house on the left.










Sulpher Springs, YUMMM!






My kind of town.

[acornsower]

Thank God nobody's restored it to the hilt to attract the upscale crowd. Many thanks for posting--makes me want to jump in my car and experience all that poignant decay and authenticity before it's too late

[NYS of Mind]

A Korean investment group from NYC has plans to restore the baths and resorts in the very near future. You may want to visit soon before they begin the construction.

[geos]

Originally Posted by acornsower

Thank God nobody's restored it to the hilt to attract the upscale crowd. Many thanks for posting--makes me want to jump in my car and experience all that poignant decay and authenticity before it's too late

Authenticity - that's the perfect word. There's not a McDonalds, Walmart, Home Depot or similar eyesore withing miles at least that I could see. The thought of a glitzy, plastic restoration is truly sad. See it while you can before it's "improved".

[geos]

What a gorgeous house. Look at the detailing! With a little sprucing up it easily be brought back to it's former glory.


Garden party...




Two lonely lawn tennis net posts.






Propped up. The perfect metaphor for Sharon Springs.

[ScranBarre]

Incredible images, George! I LOVE seeing the sleepy potential in communities like this. If you liked Sharon Springs, you'll also like both Narrowsburg and Callicoon, both of which are just a shell of their former selves, and both of which have gorgeous rural locations along the Delaware River. History just oozes out of your images. I'll have to beat the hustle and bustle of Scranton sometime to scope out this cute town! Thanks for sharing!

[artyst]

thanks for the photo tour! i wish i could visit in person. i won't be in upstate ny until 2009

[Canadarago]

Wow! I've passed through Sharon Springs many times on the way to my folks' place in Richfield Springs, but never took the time to get off Rt 20 to look at the main street.

Upstate NY is beautiful. I just hope that the rise and fall of home prices in NYC is paced as well upstate. Looking to get out of here (Long Island) to places where there is still faded beauty instead of ugly sprawl.

Geos, this is some of the best upstate architectural photography ever! If you decide to make a coffee table book, I'll be first to buy it.

[geos]

I have to go back to Sharon Springs. There's something ghostly about it. It does feel like it's haunted. Halloween is the perfect time to see it. I don't know why nobody's used it as a setting for a horror movie.

Architectural photo tip - use the Distort tool to correct perspective.

SWB - Thanks for the Narrowsburg and Callicoon tips. I'll have to check them out. Scranton is for lovers???? WOW! I'm looking for one. Where do they keep them?

artyst - "i won't be in upstate ny until 2009" It'll still be here just a few years older like the rest of us. No matter what happens to Sharon Springs there's no shortage of scenery elsewhere.

Canadarago - Thank you. You'll get an autographed copy of my imaginary book. I used to be a photog in a previous life.

[JOHN PERRY]

Hiya from Australia, Brisbane, Queensland, to be exact. I'll do a tour and put it here when I can. What a great concept. I was in Sharon Springs in October of 2006 and wandered round a little while. Nothing much was open, but my friend, Linda Worth (from Schuyler Lake) and I wandered the facades, reading the info on the tour boards and visiting the tumbledown shops selling cheap junk, etc and very little of historical significance. I love these places and you can almost feel the souls of past inhabitants and visitors carressing you as you pass. We spent that day visiting grave yards and towns in the general area. It was heaven. Good work and thanks. John