Rushlight Club Spring Meeting
May 14th to 17th, 2026 The Lower Hudson Valley, NY and New York City
The 2026 Spring meeting will be held in the lower Hudson Valley of New York and the New York City Area. Saturday activities start in the morning so plan your arrival accordingly. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hawthorne-Elmsford NY 10532. The address is 20 Saw Mill River Road. Details on room reservations and rates are shown on the enclosed registration form. The cutoff date for our rate is April 14, 2026.
Thursday Afternoon / Evening members begin to arrive. Members are welcome to gather in the hotel lobby and breakfast area for socialization. Dinner is on your own.
Friday is a day for individual exploration of the surrounding area. Some suggestions are listed on the next page. Additional ideas will be in your registration packets. They will also be posted on the Rushlight Club Facebook page. A list of historic sites and antiquing options for the lower Hudson Valley and a similar list for New York City will be provided.
Friday Evening dinner will be on your own. Suggestions will be in your registration packets. In the evening, registrants will be able to gather in the hotel lobby and breakfast area for socialization.
Saturday Morning at 11:00 am we will tour Lyndhurst Mansion, a Gothic Revival Mansion on the Hudson River. A National Trust Property, Lyndhurst is considered one of the premier Gothic Revival Mansions in the United States. The mansion was designed by Alexnader Jackson Davis in 1838 and was completed in 1842. The mansion and grounds were originally owned by New York City mayor William Paulding Jr. In 1864 businessman, George Merritt, acquired the mansion and doubled its size. In 1880, railroad tycoon, Jay Gould, purchased the property to use as a country house.
Saturday Noon we will gather for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Depending on the size of the group multiple restaurant locations might be selected. The cost of lunch is not included in the registration fee.
Saturday Afternoon we will tour the Armour-Stiner Octagon House. The private tour will start at 2:30pm. This house is a former National Trust Property and was restored by preservation Architect Joseph Lombardi. The house is currently the only historic house museum privately owned in the United States. The house is furnished in the Neo-Roman style of the 1870’s. Almost all rooms on two floors of the mansion are fully restored. They include fantastic examples of period gas lighting and victorian furnishings. A digital guide for the rooms and property can be downloaded at www.armourstiner.com .
Saturday Evening we will have a buffet dinner and program at the Holiday Inn Express hotel. The buffet dinner will be catered by the Italian American Club of White Plains. Jeff Smith, aka “The Burner King”, will be our speaker for the evening. Other events will include the usual show and tell session and a silent auction. Buying opportunities will also be available as we are expecting several lighting dealers to attend the meeting.
Sunday Morning we will gather for lunch in Brooklyn, New York at the home of one of our members. Lunch and drinks will be provided at no cost for everyone. The home is a three-story brick and brownstone house decorated in the eclectic styles of the 19th Century. Visitors will see working gas lights and heavy oil lamps, all in original condition. The house has four floors and climbing up and down the stairs will be required. In the collection are some 15 lamps illustrated in the Gowitt book 19th Century Elegant Lighting. The collection also includes rare clocks, furniture and Civil War items.
Rushlight Club Spring Meeting
Friday, May 15th, Local Area Sites and Activities
Friday is planned as a day for individual explorations of the Hudson Valley and/or New York City. We encourage all members who attend the meeting to include this day in their weekend plans.
Listed below are just a few of the many historic sites and activities found in the two areas. Additional ideas will be in your registration packets and posted on Rushlight Club Facebook page. All sites and activities costs are not included in the meeting registration.
Depending on how many attend the meeting, a Friday evening gathering may be arranged at the hotel or a local pub/restaurant.
The Hudson Valley
· Vanderbilt Mansion (Hyde Park, NY). This is run by the National Park Service. It was the home of Fredrick Vanderbilt. A 54 room Beau Arts masterpiece designed by McKim Meade & White and built between 1896-1899. A fabulous home with beautiful gardens.
· Beekman Arms Inn (6387 Mill Street Rhinebeck, NY). The inn is the oldest Inn in America. They have a fabulous lunch which is not expensive. A great place to relax and have a drink. A nice antique center is adjacent to the Inn. The Beekman Arms Antique Market & Gallery is located at 28 West Market Street.
· Wilderstein Historic Mansion & Gardens. The house is a 1870’s Victorian stick style house. It was the home of Mary Suckley, a cousin of FDR. The home is located at 330 Morton Road, Rhinebeck, NY.
· Boscobel House & Gardens, a beautiful Federal style house with early lighting. The house is located at 1601 Route 9D Garrison, NY.
· Olana Historic Home and Garden. The home of renowned artist Frederick Edwin Church near Hudson, NY. It is a bit of a drive from the hotel but well worth the trip. There are also numerous antique shops and restaurants in the Town of Hudson.
New York City
· Hamilton Grange National Memorial. The Alexander Hamilton mansion is located at 414 West 141st Street. The house is maintained by the National Park Service and tours are free. See www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm for more information.
· The Merchant House Museum is located at 29 East 4th Street. This house has fabulous lighting along with two original parlor gas chandeliers. This home was visited by the Rushlight Club during a past meeting. If you missed the house the first time do not miss it again.
· The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York City’s grandest museum highlighting classical architecture and artifacts from around the world. The American wing has fantastic period rooms showing early furnishings and lighting for specific periods of the 18th and 19th Century.