While this site is focused on twinning the ins of London and New York, as any urbanite knows, to keep up one’s city momentum going, it is important to take jaunts outta town.  Especially as the trees start showing signs of fall folliage, now is a proper time to hop the train or grab a lift up to the idyllic town of Beacon, New York, just 80 miles out of New York City.

Why Beacon?
Not only is Beacon home to some of the most picturesque views of the Hudson, but it is also home to the famous Dia:Beacon.  This museum is a hidden gem, a space where architecture and art work seamlessly, creating a most calming and spacious ode to acclaimed European and American Minimalists, Conceptualists and Post-Minimalists.  What is also perfect about this excursion is the fact that the museum is quite “doable” – not overwhelming large, where one can tackle the entire collection and keep to a wandering pace.

Also in Beacon, another hidden gem, though quite different from the sharp, minimal setting of DIA, is the Retro Arcade Museum, located on a the edges of Main Street in downtown Beacon.  This corner-shop-turned-retro-arcade-museum was established by the obsessive collector himself, Fred Bobrow, who has filled the space with arcade classics from the 60’s and 70’s with a 10-dollar-all-you-can-play  admission.  A time warp for sure, this place is a trip down memory lane, even if the games themselves are older than you are…

Photo courtesy of JohnWilliamsPHD under Creative Commons License