Portal:Hudson Valley

The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned. Today it remains a popular attraction for hikers climbing the mountain. After it fell into disrepair in the 1990s and was recommended for removal by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which had operated the tower, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Local enthusiasts were able to raise money, matched by DEC, to restore the tower and adjacent observer's cabin to serve as a museum, with volunteers in the cab on some weekends.

Panoramic views of not only the mountains but the adjacent Hudson Valley, Massachusetts, Connecticut and sometimes southwestern Vermont are available from it. Likewise, it can be seen from many of the surrounding mountains, the village of Hunter and the upper slopes of the ski area. It is the highest fire tower still standing in the state and the second-highest in the entire Northeast.

• ... that the Shandaken Tunnel reaches its 2,215-foot (675 m) maximum depth below the surface at Deep Notch (pictured) in Lexington, New York?
• ... that the Dubois-Sarles Octagon in Marlboro, New York, has a recessed entrance and sidehall interior plan, both unusual in mid-19th century octagon houses?
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James Guerdon Howes (born 1945) is an American businessman in the aviation and communications fields and former United States Air Force traffic management officer. He holds a ‪commercial pilot's license with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and a Master of Business Administration. Howes has been a consultant to the Bermuda government since 2002. He is a member of the American Association of Airport Executives and the Southeastern (U.S.) Airport Managers' Association (president 1993–94). He was president of the Florida Airports Council (1989–1990) and is currently a director of Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society. Howes continues to work as a consultant to the transportation industry.