{"nrhp_refnum":"82001151","name":"Mount Beacon Incline Railway and Power House","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Howland Ave. and Wolcott St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Beacon/Fishkill","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.491021642500044,"lon":-73.95656837358104,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-11-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An inclined cable railway on the west side of Mt. Beacon, with a brick power house at the summit, in Beacon and Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York. The railway was built 1901-1902 and engineered by Otis Elevator Co.","why_significant":"The railway is cited as significant in the history of engineering and recreation in the Hudson Highlands. It was reported to be the steepest cable railway of its kind in the world when built in 1901. It also helped the public appreciate the region's scenic qualities, and it retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship despite the loss of supporting structures.","narrative":"Mount Beacon Incline Railway climbs the west face of Mt. Beacon above the Hudson Highlands, with a brick power house at the summit. Engineered by Otis Elevator Co. and built by Mohawk Construction Co., it entered service in 1901 or 1902, since the opening date is reported both as July 4, 1901 and Memorial Day 1902. Two cars on iron rails with wood ties ran on a single cable over a drum in the power house, rising about 2,364 feet at an average incline of 64 degrees. It was reputed to be the steepest cable railway of its kind in the world. The power house is a one-story brick building on a stone foundation with a stepped gable roof. It is the only survivor of the summit complex, which included the Beaconcrest Hotel and two casinos. The railway ran until 1971 and was valued for engineering and for bringing visitors to the Highlands' views.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Railway engineered by Otis Elevator Co. of Yonkers, N.Y.; built by Mohawk Construction Co. of Mohawk, N.Y.","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as abandoned; the incline stopped running in 1971, and the base entertainment building and the second casino burned in 1981. Deterioration is marked as a threat.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.015315-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82001151.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001151/1d9e1dec8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001151/1d9e1dec8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Coasterlover1994","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Beacon_Incline_Railway_Powerhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Coasterlover1994</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Beacon_Incline_Railway_Powerhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312656","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Beacon_Incline_Railway","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6919649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/mount-beacon-incline-railway-and-power-house-82001151/"}