A Grateful Hillsdale Ogles & Celebrates

It has been a big year for Hillsdale, NY. Earlier a group of concerned citizens had taken a good, hard look around and decided that the hamlet may have what it takes to be granted Historic Preservation District status. The formal study, spearheaded by Alexia Lalli with grants from the Berkshire Taconic Community Fund, the Preservation League of NYState, and the J. M. Kaplan Fund, is now complete. One hundred worthy buildings have been identified, and now the decision rests with the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Meanwhile, other groups of citizens have been sprucing and beautifying, organizing, fundraising, and coming up with a master plan. On Saturday, despite the weather, a first-ever Hillsdale House Tour was a huge success, and on Sunday patrons and sponsors turned out to give a hearty "thank-you" to the homeowners who had opened their houses for the tour. Another explanation for the big turnout: Tout la Hillsdale was dying to see the reportedly fabulous, new, Dennis Wedlick-designed, modern palazzo of the party's hosts, Disney Theatricals' president Thomas Schumacher (The Lion King, etc.) and interior designer Matthew White. Standing amidst neo-classical splendor in the two-story living room, and, through a wall of bronze-encased floor-to-ceiling glass, gazing down on the clouds that had gathered in the dales way, way below, the crowd's concensus: Shangri-La.