Tarrytown

Tarrytown is the liveliest of Westchester County’s Hudson River towns.

For centuries, the village has been a hub of activity. It was a rural port, and home to factories and mills that made shoes, silk, flour, cider, cars—even wings for torpedo bombers. Today, General Motors, Kraft Foods, and Hitachi still have offices in town and the buzzing commercial heart of Main Street and Broadway continue to draw restaurateurs and shop-owners. And the steady stream of business has led to a steady surge of buyers from New York City and a boom of new housing construction.

Tarrytown, named “two towns” (or wheat town) by the Dutch in the 1600s, sits at the widest stretch of the Hudson River. Over the next couple of centuries, the village drew everyone from wealthy industrialists, who built majestic estates in its hills, to factory workers, who lived in brownstones and townhouses closer to the waterfront. Today, few of these historic homes still stand, but buyers will find plenty of new construction inspired by those original dwellings.

What to Expect

City vibes mixed with small-town charm

The village is just a few square miles, so it’s entirely possible to walk from your front door to the train, a coffee shop, a park, or a store. (And if you want to spend a Saturday night bar-hopping, you can.) You’ll find thriving family-run bodegas as well as a 7-Eleven—as well as enjoy undeniably delightful local traditions, like the Rotary Club’s annual Rubber Ducky Derby.

The Lifestyle

Outdoorsy adventures, cultural delights.

Spend your days ambling along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail or biking, hiking, kayaking – even cross-country skiing or ice skating – at Tarrytown Lakes, a 72-acre nature preserve. Stone Barns Center, a nonprofit farm and mecca for locavores from across the state sits just a few miles northeast. At night, catch a concert, ballet, or spoken word event at the famous Tarrytown Music Hall or sunset jazz on the lawn of Lyndhurst, a grand 1938 Gothic Revival mansion.

Unexpected Appeal

An exploding, five-star food scene.

Tarrytown cuisine is eclectic and exalted. Whether you want seasonal fine dining in a castle or inventive takeaway tacos, you’re in luck. On Main Street alone, you’ll find a Greek taverna, craft beer and waffles, a Portuguese bistro, and Korean fusion.

The Market

Options old and new.

While there are options for homes with history—like 1890s colonials and 1920s Tudors—Tarrytown also offers a plethora of new construction. The Wilson Park neighborhood, once dubbed “Millionaires’ Colony” for the wealthy families who built mansions there, is now home to Westchester Estates, a development of multi-million dollar dwellings on wooded lots of at least an acre. And Hudson Harbor, a stretch of brownstone townhomes and luxury condos on the water, offers jaw-dropping river views just steps from the train station.

You'll Fall in Love With

The local lore.

Washington Irving—whose home, Sunnyside, is nestled in the southeast corner of the village—references Tarrytown in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He says housewives from the county next door gave the village its name because their husbands were constantly lingering at the village tavern. Another famous Tarrytown tale involves the capture of a British Revolutionary War spy by three militiamen—the site of which is marked by a towering monument in Patriot’s Park.