Little Chapel on the River

Pledges from 16 different states have come in to support the history - and the future of #7 Garrison's Landing - better known as the former "Guinan's" building. That's a huge sign of support - thanks to all of you who have pitched in! The new fundraising deadline is Feb. 17th to keep a cafe/pub in the old Guinan's spot. If you are able to pledge, please email your tax-deductible pledge to Mary Ellen Yannitelli at landingcommunity@gmail.com. No monies will be collected unless the final goal amount is met - but these are serious pledges of intent. For more on the history of this effort, click here. Photo by Gwendolyn Bounds. All rights reserved. Please do not redistribute without permission.

From Betsy Hays : "Here is a painting I did of Guinan's back in the 70s (when I didn't know it was Guinan's or even that a bar was in the back of the country store where I used to occasionally stop on my way up to see friends who lived on a lake up in that general area. I fell in love with the look and feel of the building...little did I know that its fate would come back into my life decades later! ... The original is hanging in my kitchen and has been coveted by many but never given away."

UPDATE: $50,005 = NEW TOTAL Nearly $40,000 raised in just two days. This is incredibly generous. On Thursday, January 21, the Philipstown Planning Board will hold a meeting at the VFW Hall, Kemble Avenue, Cold Spring, NY @ 7:30 p.m. The Garrison Station Plaza board is scheduled to ask for site plan approval for offices in the old Guinan's space. So time is short to raise funds to help establish a new pub/cafe. Thanks for all you've done to spread the word, and all you can do.

Many of you have emailed asking what will become of the building that formerly housed Guinan's. You've graciously asked whether there's anything you can do to help keep its longtime history as a public gathering spot alive. First, thank you for caring and for your patience waiting for answers. Second, yes, now there is a way to help. For several months, a small group has met with the owners of the building - Garrison Station Plaza - to determine if a new cafe and/or pub would be possible. The Station Plaza agreed to accept proposals for such a business, and one was submitted by Fresh Company , a local well-established Garrison catering company, and tentatively accepted. Fresh Company's vision, in essence, is to operate a new cafe, restaurant and pub in the old Guinan's space. The last hurdle is money: there's a shortfall of about $300,000 in funds needed to renovate the space, originally built in the mid-1800s, so it can be brought up to current building codes ...

"I went to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD along the timeline of your book. September 11 happened during the fall of my Freshman year and changed everything. We were only about 50 miles from the Pentagon and also received several threats in the coming weeks. I remember the February 2003 President's Weekend snowstorm and the East Coast blackout. But Guinans rang truer to me than anything else because there was a bar in Annapolis that I went to for four years, that reminded me exactly of the place. It was an Irish pub called Sean Donlons. Quirky regulars with wonderful stories, live Irish music several nights a week, Guiness and Harp on tap, darts, a soft spot for us Mids, a warm place during cold winter nights, always a bite to eat ready, and a million other fond memories. Unfortunately, shortly after I graduated in 2005, the bar was sold and changed into some "American" pub, presumably a sports grille. I have not returned since, nor will I. I guard thos...