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Boldt Castle

Boldt Castle would have been among the finest homes in all New York had it ever been completed. The estate was started by Prussian immigrant and hotel entrepreneur George Boldt in the early 1900’s, and was intended to be presented to his wife Louise on St. Valentine’s Day. Tragically she died in 1904 before the castle was completed and work on the nearly-finished home stopped. The Boldts never returned to the island.

The small island estate is impressive nonetheless. It rests in the middle of the Saint Lawrence River on what was originally called Hemlock Island in the Thousand Islands region of New York. The island was renamed Hart Island when purchased by Congressman E.K. Hart, and upon being sold to the Boldts, the spelling was changed to Heart Island.

On the island, most buildings were designed in a mock Rhineland style. In addition to the main house, there was a doocot (dovecot or hennery) for catching fowl, a fanciful small power station accessed by a bridge, and a tower. The Alster Tower, in the bottom left of the photograph below, was the first building erected on the island and contained a library, billiard room, and other rooms for entertaining. While the private rooms of the main house were still under construction, the Boldts stayed in the Alster Tower.

Behind the Alster Tower was a lagoon, which was entered by passing through an arched peristyle. The island, of course, was (and still is) only accesible by boat, and had a seperate service dock (since demolished) from which a tunnel lead to the servants quarters of the main house.

The Boldts kept their boats in a grand yacht house across the water on Wellesley Island. They had three yachts and a house boat kept in the large structure, the slips of which were 128ft long.

After construction stopped in 1904, the structures on the island, including Boldt Castle, were boarded up and left to themselves until 1977 when they were purchased by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority who have been quite successful in restoring Boldt Castle and the other structures on Heart Island. The island is open to visitors for a small fee, and can be rented out for weddings and other events. Since it is accesibly by boat from Canada as well as New York, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service maintain a small checkpoint to allow for legal access from our northern neighbors.

In the aerial photo below, one can see the Castle in the center, with the power station and clock tower on the far right, the Alster Tower in the bottom left with the curved peristyle to the left of that, and of course the large yacht house in the background, across the water on Wellesley Island.

More on Boldt Castle:
Official Website
Boldt Castle: Gift of Love
Boldt Castle/Heart Island Virtual Tour

Published at 6:10 pm on Monday 13 June 2005. Categories: Architecture New York.
Comments

My tennis buddies and our wives visited your humble castle two weekends ago. We found Boldt Castle to be simply exceptional! We are so fortunate that the foundation decided to save this wonderful landmark for others to tour. This special place gave our summer a tremendous beginning! Keep up the outstanding restoration! We will definitely return in the future! Sincerely, Penn State Tennis Crew on the Hulburtsl!

— Selden 24 Jun 2010 2:14 pm

Wonderful place, indeed! I am living in a smaller structure, known as Kajuru Castle in Kaduna state of Nigeria and have a recurring idea to build a copy of the Power House. Would be more than obliged if you could assist me with floorplans of the house since all my searches across the net returned only the main house plans.
Thanks in advance
Bela

— Bela Becker 6 Feb 2022 7:59 pm
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