Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie redirects here. See also Town of Poughkeepsie, New York and Poughkeepsie, Arkansas.Poughkeepsie (
pronounced ) is a
city in
New York,
USA and serves as the
county seat of
Dutchess County, located in the
Hudson River Valley roughly midway between
New York City and
Albany. As of the 2000 census, the city of Poughkeepsie had a population of 29,871. The name derives from a Native American word (roughly U-puku-ipi-sing), meaning "campsite by small water," referring to a stream feeding into the
Hudson River.
Poughkeepsie is located in the western part of Dutchess County, bordered on the west by the Hudson River and in all other directions by the
Town of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie calls itself the "Queen City of the Hudson."
IBM has a large campus in Poughkeepsie (a facility still referred to by many as IBM's "Main Plant"). A factory on site once built the
IBM Stretch Computer as well as later machines such as the
IBM System/360 model 195. However, the main IBM campus is actually in the
Town of Poughkeepsie, a separate municipality from the City, though both are generally viewed as one place.
Poughkeepsie was founded in
1687. The community was set off from the Town of Poughkeepsie when it became an incorporated village in
1799. The City of Poughkeepsie was chartered in
1854. Until 1972 Poughkeepsie was home to the
Smith Brothers cough drop factory.
The city was the site of the ratification of the
U.S. Constitution by
New York in 1788.
In 1900, the population of the City of Poughkeepsie was 24,029.
The City of Poughkeepsie is bordered by the
Hudson River on the west and by the
Town of Poughkeepsie on the north, east and south. Outside of municipal designations, the City and Town of Poughkeepsie are generally viewed as a single place.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.8
km² (5.7
mi²). 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (9.65%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 29,871 people, 12,014 households, and 6,559 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,243.8/km² (5,806.2/mi²). There were 13,153 housing units at an average density of 988.0/km² (2,556.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.84%
White, 35.71%
Black or
African American, 0.39%
Native American, 1.62%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 5.29% from
other races, and 4.10% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 10.64% of the population.
There were 12,014 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.8% were
married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,389, and the median income for a family was $35,779. Males had a median income of $31,956 versus $25,711 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $16,759. About 18.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
The area is home to several colleges:
Vassar (one of the
Seven Sisters),
Marist, and
Dutchess Community, all of which are in the Town of Poughkeepsie. In nearby
Hyde Park, to the north, is the
Culinary Institute of America.
A branch of
Adelphi University is also located here.
The
Poughkeepsie City School District is the public K-12 school system serving approximately 5,000 students.
Poughkeepsie sits at the junction of the north-south
US 9 and east-west
US 44 and
NY 55 highways.
Commuter service to New York City is available by
train, served by the
MTA Metro-North Railroad, the city being the northern terminus of Metro-North's
Hudson Line.
Amtrak also stops at the
Poughkeepsie station, continuing north along the
Hudson River to
Albany-Rensselaer station; Amtrak trains serving Poughkeepsie are the
Adirondack,
Empire Service,
Ethan Allen Express and
Maple Leaf.
The
Mid-Hudson Bridge, opened in 1930, carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to
Highland. The
Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in
1888 to carry railroad traffic across the Hudson, but has remained unused since a
1974 fire damaged its decking. [
1]
In nearby
Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Airport services local commuter flights. The nearest major airport to Poughkeepsie is
Stewart International Airport about 18 miles south, in
NewburghWithin Poughkeepsie, there are two transit bus services:
*
City of Poughkeepsie Transit, operated by the City, operates five mostly unidirectional loop routes throughout the city,
town, and into
Hyde Park.
*
Dutchess County LOOP, operated by Dutchess County, travels throughout Dutchess County and also serves as the main link to the Route 9 corridor including
Poughkeepsie Galleria and
South Hills Mall.Both services have a quasi-hub at the intersection of Main and Market streets, adjacent to the
Mid-Hudson Civic Center and at the west end of the former
Main Mall until its destruction in 2001. Other buses using this area include
Adirondack Trailways,
Coach USA, commuter runs to
White Plains, and a shuttle to
New Paltz.
The
Bardavon 1869 Opera House located near Main and Market is a theatre which has an array of music, drama, dance and film events. It is also the home of the
Hudson Valley Philharmonic.
The
Mid-Hudson Civic Center located down the street from the Bardavon 1869 Opera House hosts
concerts,
wrestling,
trade shows, and has an
ice rink next door for hockey events.
The Chance, located on 6 Crannell Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, hosts live rock concerts with local as well as major artists.
Popular FM radio stations in the area are
WPDH (album-oriented rock), WRWD (country),
WSPK (top 40),
WHUD (adult contemporary) and
WPKF (rhythmic top 40).
Poughkeepsie was the home of the noted judge and district attorney,
Raymond C. Baratta, who was associated with the ouster of drug advocate
Timothy Leary from a
Millbrook estate.
G. Gordon Liddy, later a key figure in the
Watergate Scandal, was the arresting prosecutor who was employed by Judge Baratta.
The city is twice referred to by the character of "Popeye" Doyle (
Gene Hackman) in William Friedkin's feature film
The French Connection (1971
20th Century Fox). It is called out as a stop along the route of a train about to depart the station in
Superman: The Movie. Various references to someone's "maiden aunt from Poughkeepsie" exist in literature, film and TV.
The city has been referred to on countless occasions in
MAD magazine, to the point where a citizen wrote a letter questioning them about their ongoing ridicule of the city.
Poughkeepsie is home to many fine establishments that are central to the happiness and general good times of many people, from locals to students from the nearby campuses. A favorite is the Renaissance Pub located on Verazzano, a small bar where people can go to be sure to know someone. Within walking distance is the Foxhole, a popular Marist College spot, on Washington between Orchard and Parker, close to houses of friends in case you need to crash. Many friends have had to use the 6 inch alley next to Foxhole to chill for a bit. Farther into town on Market Street is the Mad Hatter, a favorite location for formal events, and it is always a bonus if you know Bobby so you can skip the line in winter. If you have the means, it is highly recommended that you head a couple miles out of Poughkeepsie north on Route 9 to Hyde Park. To the right is Hobnobbin, popular for karaoke on Wednesday night, where you may run into a karaoke pro named Lou. Off to the left, just past the CIA are Darby O'Gills and The Toucan Grill. Unfortunately, Toucan is no longer standing, closed by its owners on May 5th 2006 to the dismay of many students and local fans. The closing celebration was one to be remembered.
The word Poughkeepsie is used in the TV series Ally McBeal by one of the two founding partners in the law firm that Ally works for, John Cage (Peter MacNicol). He started using the city's name to control his stuttering and the link is laid to the city in the first season of Ally McBeal in the episode "Alone Again," this was Ally's explanation when Cage tried to use "poughkeepsie" but settled on "New York.":
"He used to have a stutter, but he corrected it, or well I should say he controlled it but with a song, da da ta da da, and then he picked poughkeepsie to preempt the da da ta da, but Poughkeepsie is actually a town in upstate New York so he seized upon New York instead of Poughkeepsee because it's phonetically less jarring."
The FAQ that deals with this can be found
here*
The Weekly Beat*
The Poughkeepsie Journal*
City of Poughkeepsie, NY
