All Points North - Navigating the North Country

All Points North
SUNY Plattsburgh
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

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Back in the Day

It’s a tradition not like any other. This summer, Plattsburgh will be celebrating the 400 year anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s journey through Lake Champlain. The Qudricentennial will stretch nearly 400 miles, from Canada all the way to Manhattan, to commemorate the explorer’s historic journeys, findings, and place in history. Read More

As you walk past the cherry wood walls and antique fixtures it’s like stepping back in time. Located on Protection Ave in the heart of Plattsburgh’s downtown community lies the Monopole; a restaurant and bar that has been around since the turn of the century. Read More

Imagine unknowingly purchasing a historical landmark. Value, significance, and historical richness, all for sale, and you bought it. According to Don Papson, that’s what happened to Frank and Jaqulin Perusse when they purchased the Samuel Keese Smith house in Peru, NY back in 2006.
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Winston Churchill once said, “We build our buildings, then our buildings shape our lives.” This stands true for the city of Plattsburgh, NY. Throughout the 19th century, the town of Plattsburgh went through many great and significant changes. The Battle of Plattsburgh and the early development of the people began to divide, purchase, and settle into this beautiful valley are the more important examples. Currently, the city has a little over two dozen houses that are recorded on the National Registry of Historical Houses. Many of these surviving homes not only provide historical architecture but stories of war and this change. Read More

Far below the ground, five men sit in a small, dimly lit room, with all sorts of buttons bleeping and switches glowing. Radar screens flash coordinates and a telephone sits, waiting to ring. Five ordinary men, with extraordinary responsibility, sit in this room, waiting for a very specific call. Read More

In the event of nuclear war, Gregory Gibbons knows what he has to do. He’ll simply open a particular door in his Redford, N.Y. home, take his wife, two children, and three large dogs, and casually walk downstairs. Of course, Gibbons’s basement isn’t exactly your standard underground vault. It’s spacious, with 20,000 square feet at his disposal, including a two-level, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom living space. It’s comfortable, with the earth-moderated temperature always hovering around 58 degrees, no matter how raw the outdoor conditions might be. And most importantly for the security-minded dweller, Gibbons’s subterranean citadel is safe, protected by an eight-level steel infrastructure and tested by the United States Air Force to withstand even the strongest nuclear blast. Read More

The location is secluded away in a hidden section of the Old Army Base where not even taxi drivers lurk in its presence. The yellow green soil lies deserted, begging for what once was. Structures stand in their own little sections of land waiting for something to at least look their way. Empty military barracks whisper their cries out for just a touch. The Old Army Base in Plattsburgh, NY was desolated and in need of the comfort of a fellow visitor. Yet in one particular building on these historic grounds, the Battle of Plattsburgh Interpretive Center echoes the sounds of 10,000 marching soldiers that once stood on this land on September 11, 1814, waiting to fight for for their nation's liberty. Read More

There are some figures throughout time that are able to leave a mark wherever they go. Some people control cities, others give to the poor and still others wreak havoc on any population they come across. Read More