1 This is the incredible pedestrian walkway called Walk Over the Hudson State Historic Park. It was once the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, built in the late 19th century to link New York and New England to an extensive, nationwide railway network. For decades, it was a major rail corridor for both freight and passengers. After a fire in 1974, the bridge was abandoned for decades.

2 Here people are enjoying the magnificent views of the Hudson River. Opened in October 2009, the Walkway has attracted more than one million visitors and stimulated economic revitalization in the City of Poughkeepsie, the Town of Lloyd and the Hudson River Valley. On the walkway you can: ride a bike, walk your dog, run, walk, roller skate, or just take in the views and watch the boats go by!

3 A beautiful shot of the Hudson River facing north.

4 You can see the Mid-Hudson Bridge (officially the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge) from the Walkway. It's a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. Governor and local resident Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended the opening ceremony on August 25, 1930.

5 The Mid-Hudson Bridge is 3,000 feet (910 m) long with a clearance of 135 feet (41 m) above the Hudson. At opening, it was the sixth-longest suspension bridge in the world. The chief engineer was Polish immigrant Ralph Modjeski, who had previously engineered the strengthening of the nearby Poughkeepsie Railroad bridge.

6 The American Flag on the Walkway Over the Hudson, facing east towards the City of Poughkeepsie, NY and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church steeple showing in the distance. There is a monthly flag changing ceremony on the Walkway with local area veterans. The flag is often donated to a family who has lost a loved one in service.

7 A shot of the new Walkway Waterfront Elevator tower from its base along the Hudson River. The elevator is located on the east side of the river and can be accessed from the Walkway or from Upper Landing Park on Water Street in Poughkeepsie.

8 Design and engineering began in 2010 with Bergmann Associates as lead designer. In late 2012 BCI Construction was awarded the bid to construct the elevator. It was completed this summer.

9 Here you can see the elevator in action! It is 21 stories high (roughly 210 feet), has an 8’x10’ cab with windows providing Hudson River views, and can hold about 18 people at a time. It takes a minute and half to reach the top.

10 A closer shot of the elevator.

11 This is a photo of the new Walkway Waterfront Elevator tower from its base.

12 Here is a view of the underside of the Walkway Over the Hudson from inside the elevator.

13 This is the top of the elevator platform.

14 I took this photo from the top of the elevator platform. You can see the Walkway and the City of Poughkeepsie. On the far right you see the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church tower which is an iconic Poughkeepsie landmark.

15 This photo was taken from the deck of the Walkway. You can see Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie along the Hudson River facing south.

16 The very green city of Poughkeepsie, NY along the east side of the Hudson River. The brown steeple is the Church of the Holy Comforter.

17 This is the city of Poughkeepsie’s historic Piano Factory building, the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, and the Poughkeepsie Metro-North Railroad station.

18 This site is under construction and will be a mixed use residential area.

19 Upper Landing Park is under the Walkway along the Hudson River. The area once served as homestead, mill site, commercial dock, Revolutionary War Depot, industrial hub, and electrical power generation source. Today, the Upper Landing has become a park, open to all who wish to enjoy its beauty and its history. http://upperlanding.org/

20 This is Reynolds House, which is on the grounds of Upper Landing Park, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a Federal-style home constructed between 1807 and 1810, for the Reynolds family of Poughkeepsie. In the 19th century, the ground floor was a grocery store and the upper two floors were the family’s residence.

21 In 1911, the building was purchased by the Central Hudson Gas and Electric Company—this is when the garage bays were installed.

22 This is a view of the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum Pavilion & the Hudson River from Upper Landing Park at the base of the Walkway elevator. http://goo.gl/Vtxq0r

23 There are nice benches in Upper Landing Park.

24 And picnic tables too!

25 Local media and guests of the Walkway’s annual benefit event, Starry Starry Night, gathered to meet me and other guests at the west approach of the Walkway Over the Hudson in Highland, NY.

26 Here I am with Jim Hamilton; Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, M.D. Chair, New York State Council of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation; Elizabeth Waldstein-Hart, Executive Director of Walkway Over the Hudson; and my friend Kathy Sloane.

27 Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky (in purple), an Honorary Chair of the event and Elizabeth Waldstein-Hart, Executive Director of Walkway Over the Hudson with some of the more than 100 volunteers--called Ambassadors. They assist with special events, provide information and welcome visitors to the Walkway.

28 Standing on the Walkway with Elizabeth Waldstein-Hart, the Walkway's Executive Director.

29 This is Robert R. Dyson, an Honorary Chair of the event. He is the president of the Dyson Foundation http://goo.gl/VoVOri and is CEO of Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, a private equity firm. He also happens to own Plaid Enterprises-- one of the world's largest manufacturers of do-it-yourself products. Plaid makes the decorative line of paints for my company. http://goo.gl/lFTfRL

30 Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky with Sean Eldridge. Sean is running for Congress for New York's 19th District. He is also the president of Hudson River Ventures, a company that invests in small businesses in the region.

31 Eric Neiler, of Tinkelman Architecture, who designed Upper Landing Park; Dean Temple and Alex Tuller, both of Drake Creative, who did the graphic design for Upper Landing.

32 Walkway Over the Hudson Executive Director, Elizabeth Waldstein-Hart and Eric Neiler of Tinkelman Architecture.