Nelson House

Located on Main Street in the City of Poughkeepsie

The original building on Main and Market Street was built in 1777 and operated as an inn and then a hotel until 1861 under various owners and names.  Mrs. Catherine E. Taylor purchased the property from her brother Homer A. Nelson, a prominent judge, congressman and New York State senator.  She did extensive rennovations to it.  In 1876 it opened as Nelson House, named in honor of her brother.   The building continued to operate as hotel and underwent an extensive expansion in the 1920s and 1930s with the addition of 5th floor, parking garage, new kitchen and a 55 room annex, known as Pomfret. 

Walter Averill II, established an eatery known as The Regatta Room in 1947 in honor of the Poughkeepsie Regatta.  In 1963, Dutchess County purchased half of the original building to make way for County offices.  The remainder of the buiding and the annex continued to operate as the Nelson House Motor Inn until 1969 when both buildings were purchased by the County for offices.

The building served as County offices until 1996 and then abandoned.  In December 2012, the building was demolished.  A park now exists on the site with markers commemorating the Nelson House's contribution to Poughkeepsie history.