The 4 Best Museums in Cortlandt

The town of Cortlandt in Westchester County, New York, contains residential villages, hamlets, and a variety of historical attractions, from museums and manor houses to modern art exhibits. These attractions feature a variety of art, landmarks, and cultural showcases that you can enjoy on your own or during group outings. Whether you plan on visiting Westchester County or are a resident, planning a trip to these museums and attractions in and around Cortlandt could be a fun and informative experience for you and your friends.

Van Cortlandt House Museum

The Van Cortlandt House Museum is located in the southwestern portion of Van Cortlandt Park and is the oldest surviving building in the Bronx. With a collection of historic arts and furniture, the Van Cortlandt House Museum gives visitors a view of how the Van Cortlandt family lived during the 18th century. The exterior of the building, constructed with brick and rough-hewn stone, features original keystones and carvings reminiscent of European-style architecture. You can tour the various rooms of the prominent Van Cortlandt House Museum and explore all three stories to see all that it has to offer.

The surrounding grounds of the Van Cortlandt House Museum include the second-largest park in New York, which allows you to experience the grandness of the entire estate. Within the feet is a Colonial Revival herb garden for you to walk around and smell the fragrant freshness of fruit trees and flowering bulbs. The Van Cortlandt House Museum offers self-guided tours, along with online educational resources to guide you as you look and learn about the history of the house and its land.

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House is a historic home with a vast landscape designed in the fashion of ancient classical temples. A prominent feature of the Armour-Stiner Octagon House is the octagonal dome as the house’s roof, which is a replica of the Tempietto in Rome, designed by Donato Bramante in 1502. The exterior of the house and its grounds reflect the original style implemented by Joseph Stiner in 1872 to create a classical and whimsical appearance that visually engages the home’s visitors. Inside the house are original decorations and furnishings from the 1870s.

With various elaborately designed and decorated rooms, some of the most important areas include the greenhouse, studio, and Egyptian Revival Room. The Armour-Stiner Octagon House is open for tours for limited times throughout the year and also offers its space for film or photography projects. With all of the intricate details of the house, you can find something new and intriguing no matter how many times you’ve visited. The rich history and thorough preservation make the Armour-Stiner Octagon House a must-see attraction.

Hudson Valley MOCA

The Hudson Valley MOCA is a contemporary art center that showcases exhibitions and programs featuring international artists. Within its 12,000 square feet of exhibition space, artists demonstrate installations, sculptures, and forms of musical art. The Hudson Valley MOCA aims to educate and connect communities through artistic efforts and collaborative projects. One of the Hudson Valley MOCA’s notable collaborative art projects is its Writing the Walls performance, which combines written word, spoken word, and visual art mediums to create an enhanced experience that allows you to absorb the art and understand the voice behind it fully.

With rotating exhibitions, the Hudson Valley MOCA offers new educational and cultural experiences with every visit. The Hudson Valley MOCA also conducts virtual events, open discussions with artists, and art workshops to provide you with in-depth and engaging receptions. Some of their drop-in events include creating paper portraits, yarn pictures, or unity quilts. The Hudson Valley MOCA also collaborates with other local organizations to present limited-time community projects for you to explore when you have the chance.

Hudson River Museum

The Hudson River Museum is the most important cultural institution in Westchester Country and houses art galleries, a planetarium, history and science exhibits, and a theater. This museum features an extensive collection of art that showcases its local heritage with works from the Hudson River School. The Hudson River School highlights a romanticist-inspired aesthetic established in the mid-19th century with landscape art that captures the Hudson River and its accompanying valley as it was during that time. These artworks provide viewers with a snapshot of history with what these natural landscapes used to look like.

Another part of the Hudson River Museum is the Glenview Mansion, with six rooms that reflect the style of its era through period decorations and furniture. The rooms within the Hudson River Museum feature original carved woodwork with extraordinary details and intricate styling representative of late Victorian architecture. In addition to the historical offerings of the Hudson River Museum, you can purchase tickets for the planetarium exhibits with different shows and audio commentary for varying age groups. Visiting the Hudson River Museum offers numerous activities to satisfy various interests and age levels for an eventful experience.

These are some of the best museums in Westchester County, New York, near the town of Cortlandt. Visiting these locations and taking part in tours in and around Cortlandt can be a fun experience for an individual or group trip. If you’ve been to these locations before, tell us how your experience was and whether you have any recommendations for first-time visitors. If there are any museums or other historical attractions we might have missed, let us know, and we will be sure to add them to our list.

At Bill Volz Westchester, we are committed to serving our community and supporting local businesses, from museums to tourist attractions. Along with our commitment to the community, we are dedicated to helping you find the right vehicle at the right price. While in the Westchester County area, stop by our Bill Volz Westchester location to see our inventory. You can reach out to us in advance to schedule an appointment or drop in to test-drive our massive selection of new cars and get information on some of our specials.

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