Boldt Castle is a grand unfinished castle on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands region of New York. It was built in 1900 by millionaire hotelier George C. Boldt as a lavish gift for his wife, Louise, but construction stopped in 1904 after her sudden death. The castle sat neglected for decades before being acquired in 1977 and restored as a tourist attraction. Today, it is one of the best-known landmarks in the Thousand Islands and is closely associated with a tragic love story. Jeanine and I spent several hours touring the castle after a boat tour of the islands and lavish homes in the area, both on the US and Canadian side of the border.

Pictured below is the Peristyle Archway through which visitors to the island would have arrived by boat.

The Power House, pictured above, described in yesterday’s post, remains my favorite architectural structure on the island, with a close second going to the Alster Tower, pictured below. The tower is a whimsical, eccentric structure, often referred to as the “Play House.” It was designed as a playroom and entertainment space for his children and guests while the massive Boldt Castle was under construction.

A quick ferry ride took us to the Boldt Yacht House, pictured below. It is a massive, historic Gilded Age boathouse built in 1903 to shelter an extensive private fleet of watercraft. It stands out as the last and largest remaining wooden yacht house of its kind on the St. Lawrence River. The main draw of the interior is a curated collection of antique wooden launches, speedboats, and skiffs. Several of these crafts were part of the original Boldt family fleet. A permanent centerpiece of the museum, the Steam Yacht Kestrel, is a 63-foot luxury steam yacht built in 1892 and sits floating directly inside one of the slips.

The US/Canadian border threads between islands along the length of the St. Lawrence River. It runs between the two islands pictured below, both owned by the same family and connected by a footbridge. Reportedly, the husband will leave the country after an argument with his wife. Incidentally, to count as an island in the St. Lawrence River, a landmass must meet three specific geographical criteria: it must remain above the water level year-round, it must be larger than 1 sq. ft. in area, and it must support at least one living tree.

Originally, we had planned to tour the Singer Castle as well as the Boldt, but had to adjust our plans after we missed our boat. We arrived thirty minutes before departure, but a lack of signage had us waiting at the incorrect slip. Had we driven to the docks, it would have been more apparent that there was an additional slip. Because we walked to the docks from the adjacent hotel, we only had a line of sight to the boat we waited on. Alas, we will simply have to visit again, something we are very inclined to do. Until then, I flew my drone out to Dark Island for an aerial photo of the castle and dock.