We touched briefly on the beleaguered Orange County Government Center, located within an historical building enclave in the village of Goshen, in our Upstater: Destinations post last week. Designed by Brutalist architect Paul Rudolph, the building now leaks, some sections are in disrepair, and it doesn’t exactly fit in with its environs. But one thing is certain: People feel strongly about the blocky Brutalist building. So much so, that it recently made an appearance in the “Room For Debate” section of the NY Times. You can read what supporters and detractors alike think should happen to the government center right here.

What do you think of the Orange County Government Center? Should it be razed and built anew, in keeping with its Colonial, Italianate, and Federal-style neighbors? Or should it be preserved purely for its architectural significance?

via Wikipedia

via Wikipedia

Because the current market in Goshen is heavy on the McMansions, there were slim pickings in the luxury category. We found that the house that charmed us the most wasn’t anywhere near the most expensive. This “mini-estate,” as the listing calls it, is at the end of a very long driveway and has a pool, tennis courts and an outbuilding/guest house — all the stuff of real estate porn.

Five beds, three-and-a-half baths and over 3,500 square feet, which seems pretty good for the price. It’s on five acres, a skip from the Goshen Reservoir. The taxes, at over $13,000, might cause a bit of bite, though.

174 Conklingtown Road, Goshen, NY (Rand Realty) GMAP

Consider this a Friday Real Estate Porn bonus track. This property, known as the Vail Farmhouse, was built in 1790. Clearly it’s been lovingly maintained, and the details are in keeping with the history of the property: Four fireplaces, exposed beams, and a pantry with the original Dutch oven. There’s also a stone barn on the property, which is being used as a garage.

It’s sits on an acre, which isn’t much, but it’s bordered by 10 acres of parkland. Located about 2.5 miles from the village, it’s seems fairly secluded, and the taxes on this property are not as jaw-droppingly absurd as some of the other properties we’ve seen.

The price tag is steep, for sure, for a 2800-square foot house on a single acre. But we jumped all over this property because Goshen’s high-end luxury houses consist overwhelmingly of McMansions. Nicely-appointed properties haling from the 18th century are rare find anywhere, and that’s reflected in the price. So with that, here comes the eye-candy:

19 Knoell Road, Goshen (Sotheby’s) GMAP
Asking Price: $899,000
Beds: 4
Baths: 2 full/2 partial
Square Feet: 2814
Year Built: 1790
Land: 1 acre
Taxes: $7741
Features: In-ground pool with pool house

First Presbyterian Church in Goshen, via Wikipedia

The village of Goshen is rife with historical landmarks. The Church Park Historic District, which was listed with the National Registry of Historic Places in 1980, is a triangular area in the heart of the village consisting of Church and Main Street, Park Place, Webster Avenue, and extending all the way up to the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.

The First Presbyterian Church of Goshen is a good place to start. The church was built in 1871 and features a three-panel Tiffany window. The church also the site of the Maney-Hawkins Meditation Garden.

Directly at the end of the church’s walkway on South Church Street stands the Minisink Memorial. The Battle of Minisink during the Revolutionary War was an unmitigated disaster, and the monument marks a mass grave where the militia men’s bones, which were salvaged from the battlefield site 43 years after the battle took place, were laid to rest.

Minisink Memorial via Wikipedia

Right next door to the north of the church is the Orange Blossoms Monument, erected in 1907. The monument, designed by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, commemorates a Goshen regiment that fought with valor in the Civil War. The moment is directly across the street from the Goshen Methodist Church, built in 1884, as well as the Orange County Courthouse, an impressive Greek Revival building circa 1841 that is now the home of the Orange County Historian’s office.

Orange Blossoms Monument via Wikipedia

Goshen United Methodist Church, via the GUMC website

Orange County Court house via Wikipedia

Within the triangle is the Orange County Government Center. It’s worth a look (not that you could miss it) even if to provide contrast between its architecture and the more period building surrounding it. These days, thanks to the area being designated an Architectural Design District, any new structure must be in keeping with the historical nature of the area.

Orange Co Gov't Center, via Wikipedia

The south side of Main Street, known as “Lawyers Row”, consists of a number of Federal style buildings. Follow this street up to the Orange Inn, built in 1790 and now a nice restaurant called Limoncello, and north to the harness racing museum and the Goshen Historic Track, the oldest continually operating harness racing track in America (or the oldest harness racing track in the world, according to their website).

Limoncello at the Orange Inn

The Goshen Chamber of Commerce website lays out two, much more detailed walking tours, both of which hit all of the historical high-points of the village. And just to give you give you a bird’s eye view of our recommended walking tour, we included a GMAP of the area. The “A” marks the First Presbyterian Church. Now get out there and enjoy some history!

We almost missed this house the first time sorting through listings in Goshen. It was mixed in amongst the McMansions and pictures of houses that haven’t even been built yet, not at all where it belongs.

Built in 1750, the stately Colonial is on 20 acres with ‘nary a soul around in either direction, about 2.5 miles outside of the village of Goshen. There aren’t many pictures to be found, but it seems that the interior is fairly understated with nice woodworking and details. The kitchen, however, looks a little dowdy, dark and sparse, especially compared to the rest of the interior. Looks like the outside of the front entryway might need some freshening up, too.

Here’s the other issue with this house: It’s unclear whether it’s actually on the market. Trulia and a variety of multiple listing websites show this property as active. However, when we found the house on propertyshark.com, we discovered that the last sale was in 2009 for $542,000. But it’s worth investigating for the chance to live in a piece of history. Warning: The taxes are staggeringly high at almost $13,000.

79 Axworthy Lane, Goshen (Thomas E. Griffith Real Estate, Inc.) GMAP
Asking Price: $750,000
Beds: 5
Baths: 2.5
Square Feet: 3600
Year Built: 1750
Land: 20 acres
Taxes: $12,891
Features: 6-stall barn, detached garage, pond

This 1950s pink Colonial sure is a little slice of cuteness. It’s also right in the village and the taxes are low. But it’s also a short sale, which means a potential buyer could be waiting a long time for this particular slice of cuteness. Worth it? Perhaps.

It’s got a lot going for it. Renovated in 2006, it’s got wood floors, a shiny kitchen, lots of windows, new plumbing and roof. Located on a small lot in a residential neighborhood, walking distance to lots of places in the village, shops, restaurants, schools, etc. Wickham Avenue appears to be one of the main residential streets in the village, so there could be traffic.

67 Wickham Avenue, Goshen (Landmark Realty) GMAP
Asking Price: $205,000
Beds: 3
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 1146
Year Built: 1954
Land: .23
Taxes: $5400
Features: Recently renovated

And now for something completely different than a wedding cake Victorian. Ranch homes in residential neighborhoods aren’t normally our bag, but this has some good points worth mentioning: The price isn’t bad, and it’s not far from the village of Goshen. The taxes, however, are relatively low for the area. It’s also got an in-ground pool and a nice deck for entertaining.

Otherwise, it’s a straight-up asymmetrical 70s contemporary with lots of interesting angles, hard wood floors, roomy kitchen and dining room, and a family room that’s set up as a movie theater. Cathedral ceilings in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Mysteriously, the listing says that it has “2.2″ baths. We’ve encountered this type of situation before, and we are still baffled and slightly scared by its implications. We suspect, however, that it means that there are two full baths and two partial baths. Let’s just go with that.

The house located right in between the villages of Goshen and Chester. But more importantly, it’s just a couple of miles away from a place called the Castle Fun Center, which combines two of our favorite things: Roller skating and buildings shaped like castles (kidding on the last part, but not about roller skating. NEVER about roller skating).

29 South Street, Goshen (Rand Realty) GMAP
Asking Price: $259,000
Beds: 4
Baths: 2.2 (2 full, 2 partial??)
Square Feet: 1416
Year Built: 1973
Land: .35 acres
Taxes: $5,737
Features: In-ground pool, fireplace in the family room

Forget saving the best for last. Life is too short not to have dessert first, so let’s jump right into Goshen with a well-maintained 19th century Victorian.

Located just south of the center of the village, 29 South Street is neighbors with lots of other pretty houses in residential neighborhood, and the lots size is reflected therein (just a half-acre). St. John’s Cemetery is across the street.

Hardwoods floors, stone fireplace, big windows, formal dining room. Includes an in-ground pool. It could just be camera angles and trickery, but the master bedroom looks downright cavernous.

We like this house for its old-fashioned class, and $177/square foot is not a bad price for it, in spite of its lack of privacy. And Goshen is a nice village,  just a short walk away.

29 South Street, Goshen (Rand Realty) GMAP
Asking Price: $499,900
Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 2825
Year Built: 1851
Land: .6 acres
Taxes: $13,491
Features: In-ground pool

The town of Goshen, located in Orange County, has had its struggles. It was hit hard during Irene last year, and the Orange County Government Center, already leaky and troubled, suffered even more damage as the rains and wind pelted the county seat. Nonetheless, Goshen thrives and even managed to make its way onto Hudson Valley Magazine’s Best Places to Live in the Hudson Valley.

Located about 55 miles north of NYC, Goshen is an old town, settled in 1714. The area is known as an historical epicenter of harness racing in the United States, and the Goshen Historic Track is the oldest continuously operating harness race track in North America. Goshen is also the home of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.

The village of Goshen is home to a number of historic buildings, including the aforementioned County Center, the village hall, and the town hall, which used to be a school where Noah Webster (yes, the dictionary Webster) taught.

Walkable and picturesque, the village is rife with shops, restaurants, and some architectural eye-candy (think old churches and the like). There are also plenty of outdoor recreational opportunities. For the cycling enthusiasts, NYS Bicycle Route 17 runs from Westfield through the southern part of of the village. Every summer around the Fourth of July, Goshen hosts the Great American Weekend, a huge festival in Church Park that includes arts and crafts booths, food tents, rides, children’s activities, music, and, of course, harness racing.

We found the Goshen real estate market to be fairly reasonable, but the high-end housing market consists mostly of McMansions. The best, most interesting houses, we found, were right around the $200,000 range.

Town of Goshen website.

Village of Goshen website.

Hey all you MCM buffs. There is a diamond in Middletown right now for 289K. Plucked from our own listings here on Upstater, this is a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home with an attached garage. With large open windowed spaces and an exposed basement for extra square footage, you don’t have to just love MCM architecture to be impressed with this home. Modest from the front, this home has some serious visual impact awaiting you inside and from the back (see above).

The house has been renovated recently, and although the taste may sway more masculine than feminine to some, it is move-in ready nonetheless. The beamed vaulted ceilings opening out onto a balcony deck are just a few of it’s great features. It is in an established neighborhood near a park, and seems like it would make a great full-time family home for those looking to make the jump from city to suburbia/country life. Convenience, plus the bonus of Orange County school district, which is noted as one of the best in New York, should all be appealing to young families. I see major potential here, and if I hadn’t just took the plunge in Woodstock I would be booking an appointment to view this property. For the full listing, click here.