Located about 60 miles north of New York City, Middletown can be reached from New York City by bus and is located near the intersection of Interstate 84 and NY 17 (the future Interstate 86). State routes 17M and 211 run right through the city, and US 6parallels I-84 to the south. The Metro North Train can be picked up from the Town of Wallkill Station just minutes away.
The downtown area, particularly North Street and East/West Main Street, has a variety of ethnic eateries and various small shops. A number of churches are located in the neighborhood. The city also has movie theaters, the historic Paramount Theatre, a local arts council, bowling alleys, WALL and WOSR radio stations and Thrall Library downtown.
When you are in the mood to explore nothing beats the view from The Hawks Nest or Bear Mountain State Park. Millions of people each year travel to the destination we call home for the awe-inspiring fall foliage and apple picking in the orchards that stretch out along the country side. When summer hits-Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a must for the outside music venue, but don’t forget to go see hot air balloons take flight or even hop in for an exciting ride yourself!
Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Towns of Crawford and Shawangunk, New York, within Orange and Ulster counties in the U.S.. It is roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code. These both extend into adjacent regions of the Town of Shawangunk in Ulster County. (The Pine Bush Central School District takes in part of the Town of Mamakating in Sullivan County as well). The population was 1,780 at the 2010 census.
Pine Bush is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.The community was one of the four early nineteenth century settlements in the jurisdiction of the town. It has previously been known as “Shawangunk,” “Crawford,” and “Bloomfield.” Another community named “Crawford” is located to the northwest in bordering Ulster County. This hamlet was an early terminus for a short line railroad, the Middletown & Crawford Railroad. This line was bought by the Erie railroad, which served the town until the 1970s.
As a result of reported unusual sightings during the mid-1980s, Pine Bush developed a reputation as the UFO capital of New York. This characterization was supported by Ellen Crystall’s book, Silent Invasion: The Shocking Discoveries of a UFO Researcher.
Source: Liberty Commons
