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Called "Uptown" by locals, this district, though smaller as an official historic district than Downtown, is probably the largest of the historic districts, though that could be difficult to say because there are also historic buildings interspersed with modern ones on streets such as Broadway in what locals call Midtown, begging the question of where Uptown stops and Midtown starts. Be that as it may, the Stockade District contains a larger quantity of ornate private houses than the historic downtown, plus Academy Green Park, the town green (bounded by Albany Avenue, Clinton Avenue and Maiden Lane), which features grand, larger-than-life statues of important personages for the European settlement and development of New York (explorer Henry Hudson; Governor of New York DeWitt Clinton; and Director-General of New Netherlands, Peter Stuyvesant). This is also the neighborhood that contains the 17th-century Old Dutch Church, the 18th-century Senate House, which functioned as New York State's first capitol, and the still functioning early 19th-century Federal-style Ulster County Courthouse where Sojourner Truth won a lawsuit that freed her son from slavery in Alabama. If you want to see some of the stone houses still standing, several of them are on Green Street. Seeing all of the historic houses and other buildings in this neighborhood in a single day by foot will take a while, but walking down several streets is itself rewarding.
Memorial Day Weekend–Columbus Day, Sa, Su & holidays, noon–5PM. Trolley rides Sa & Su, May-October, from the museum to Kingston Point Park.
90-minute Hudson River cruises are given aboard the Rip Van Winkle II. Tickets are usually non-refundable, but if they decide to sail during a thunderstorm or other severe weather, they are likely to make an exception and allow you a choice of a refund or exchange if you prefer. There is good narration about the lighthouses, mansions and other boats you'll see and the history of navigation and life on the river, and there are seats in shade on the upper deck, so along with the breezes you're likely to get on the river, it's a pleasant thing to do on a clear, hot day.