Thousand Islands Park on Wellesley Island NY, St Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands Region

Wellesley Hotel, Thousand Islands Park, 15 x 22 inch watercolor

    Thousand Islands Park was founded in 1875 as a Methodist Campground. There are over  100 years of rich history, tradition,  and culture. Much can be found on the internet by search so I am not going to repeat it here. It is located on the south west tip of Wellesley Island in the heart of the 1000 Islands Region. It started as a tent city and eventually cottages were added. By 1890 there were 600 cottages and 7000 summer inhabitants. A new larger Pavilion at the waterfront allowed landing of steamships. All access to the park was by water. A 1912 fire destroyed the original Columbia Hotel plus 99 cottages and the business district. The Wellesley Hotel is it's replacement and is in my painting above, as well as the Chapel called Tabernacle (at the far right, centered prominently at the head of the park on St. Lawrence Ave and below). The business district burned down in  again November 2014 and will be rebuilt. A set of  architectural as built drawings had previously been made.  It included the popular breakfast and lunch spot as well as ice cream shop know as the Guzzle, a few small businesses, US Post Office, and the fire department. The fire disrupted the electrical system and the fire fighting  equipment could not  be utilized as the electric door could not be opened. Fire departments from the mainland came to the put out the blaze and save nearby structures, During the depression years of the 1930's  some 200 cottages were torn down.

Victorian Style Home-Coastal Ave West 15 x 22 watercolor and pastel(sold)

Oil 11 x 14 inches, plein air

Coastal Ave W. at Union Ave 15 x 11 watercolor(sold)

   After the 1975 Centennial Celebration there was renewed interest in the Park and in 1976 the Landmark Society was formed to maintain architectural integrity. A number of Victorian style  cottages and homes had been constructed over time. There are numerous inspirations for painting, both en plein air and  studio work from photos and sketches. Over the years the Park has provided me many subjects and will be the source of more.

Coastal Ave West at Island Avenue 15 x 11 watercolor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Pink Cottage-Plein Air 9 x 12 (sold)

Ginger Bread 11 x 15 watercolor

                                                                          Here are two oldies from 1988. I sat on a stool in the area known as The Green  and with a pad on my lap did some ink and watercolor  renderings using binoculars. The "Iron Cottage"(green) is  a 19th century Carpenter Gothic Revival style cottage.  Turning 180 degrees provided a view of three cottages on Union Ave. My dad was still with us and visiting on vacation. We walked the four miles from our cottage. I sent him to the Pavilion swimming dock to observe the bikinis only a teenage girl would wear and later we walked up to the Guzzle for an double dip ice cream cone.

The Iron Cottage Ink and watercolor 11 x 15

Part Of Union Avenue Ink and Watercolor 11 x 15

Guzzle, Grocery and Fire Dept

Finally, here is  a photo of the Guzzle, Grocery store, and Fire Department section of the business district. Below  is  the current Pavilion which was renovated in the last 10 years.

Pavilion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 


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