Pollepel Island is an island in the Hudson River, about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. The principal feature on the island is Bannermans' Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse. It was built in the style of a castle by Gilded Age businessman Francis Bannerman VI (1851--1918), who had purchased the island in 1901.
Today, the castle is property of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and is mostly in ruins. While the exterior walls still stand, all the internal floors and non-structural walls have since burned down. Sometime during the week before Sunday, December 28, 2009, parts of the castle collapsed. Officials estimate 30-40 percent of the structure's front wall and about half of the east wall collapsed. The island has also been the victim of vandalism, trespass, neglect and decay. Several old bulkheads and causeways that submerge at high tide present a serious navigational hazard.
On-island guided hard hat tours were recently made available through the Bannerman's Castle Trust. The castle is easily visible to the riders of the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson line and Amtrak.
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