Act Three: Air

The remarkable evolution of the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge from industrial corridor to pedestrian walkway reminds us of the Hudson River’s eternal capacity to adapt and innovate to changing times.Rusting factories, abandoned rails, and empty bridges conjure mixed emotions for most Hudsonians – nostalgia for a faded era, tempered by our understanding of the environmental legacy left us by the Age of Coal and Steam. Efforts spearheaded by groups such as Scenic Hudson the Sloop Clearwater have brought the River back from the brink of environment ruin and provided a template for ecological restoration across the country.

Celebrating our slow but inevotable move away from the Age of Coal toward renewable power from wind and sun, Act Three manifested the power of air with a circus of wind-born elements – whirling turbines, soaring kites, and gyrating windsocks. Here the procession comes full circle, as the very air that filled the sails the Half Moon, now propels a change toward local economies and clean air.