Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building Spend a Night in a Historic Castle on a Private Island in Upstate New York!

green design, eco design, sustainable design, Boldt Castle, Singer Castle, Dark Island, Frederick G. Bourne, castle retreat, Upstate new York Castle, Alexandria Bay, historic castle, 1000 Islands

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Singer Castle is a historic castle on Dark Island in the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence Seaway that was once enjoyed by the wealthy Bourne family — and it can now be enjoyed by you too! The red-roofed castle was built in the early 1900s and a

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Frederick G. Bourne was the fourth president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, and built this “hunting lodge” for his family, guests and a bevy of servants.

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They enjoyed many summers here, away from the city, until the late 1960s when the property taxes became too much for the last surviving heir to bear.

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Since then, the castle was an academy for Naval students, then became abandoned for several years, before it was purchased by the current owners, who began renovating the property back to the Bourne’s initial vision.

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The ground floor of the castle was designed in true Medieval form, complete with stone archways, knights, iron candelabras, and rich textiles. The piano room is flanked with a terra cotta wine cellar, which natural keeps the wine cool.

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The ground floor also has an incredible library with historic volumes, as well as a music room with vintage Victrola and another piano.

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Upstairs is a formal dining room, which has private banquettes modeled after passenger trains. Each compartment was meant for private drinking, gaming, or to look out at the beautiful views in solitude.

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As if out of a movie, a painting in the room is revealed to have the eyes cut out- this was so the servants could pass in a secret passage behind the room to look down on the table to see if any service was needed, without disrupting the meal. Bourne a

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The breakfast room was enclosed in glass so that the Bournes and their guests could watch the American sunrise to one side, and the Canadian sunset on the other, as Canada is just across the channel.

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At night, the tables were cleared for dancing under the stars, which shone through the glass curtains.

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The Bournes guest rooms and suites were capped off with the ladies dormitory for servants, which features a unique bathroom.

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The skylight room also has a frosted glass floor, so that the bathroom below it may also benefit from the natural light pouring into the skylight. The servants prepared sumptuous meals from extremely local foods- grown on the next island over, which so

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For the guests adventurous enough to sleep over, the island is their private getaway after tourists leave at 6pm. A royal suite, which mixes antiques with modern comforts, can sleep up to six people. Each guest is treated to an extended private tour a

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Singer Castle on Dark Island is not only a preservation of America’s opulent past, but also a unique getaway that combines history, luxury and the serenity of the beautiful St. Lawrence region.