Kingfisher Tower

This is the third in a series of posts by guest blogger, Michele Harvey. Fenimore Art Museum will exhibit new work by Harvey in the exhibition Watermark: Michele Harvey & Glimmerglass, beginning April 1, 2010.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel… Halfway up Glimmerglass (Otsego Lake) lies Kingfisher Tower. A romantic, 60-foot, gothic revival folly, built by Edward Clark in 1876. Jutting out on a tiny spit of land, it seems to float somewhere off shore. Dreaming over old postcards and internet images wouldn’t do. I had to see it myself.

At the southern tip of Otsego Lake lies The Glimmerglass Queen. A small, lovely tour boat, she skims across the water, affording spectacular views and long approaches to Kingfisher Tower. Glimmerglass is 168 feet deep (some say much deeper) and 9 miles wide, surrounded by unspoiled hills that come to drink at the water’s edge. The sense of time and space is different here. The glitter of the lake’s light cast its spell, not just upon me, but on all my fellow passengers too. There is something primal about the horizontal lines of a lake or plain surrounded by forest. Something that harks back to our ancestors’ and hunters' roots. Here it still is found, preserved, with an unlikely, romantic, miniature castle to dream on. One where dragons, damsels and knights may play in ageless imagination.

One may view the tower from land, from Lakefront Park, at the southernmost tip of the lake. It's also there you can purchase tickets for The Glimmerglass Queen's daily (in season) boat tours. Kingfisher Tower is difficult to view from other public spots; although it's across the lake from Brookwood Garden, it's hidden by a fringe of trees. The beauties of Otsego Lake are best seen (including the grounds of The Fenimore Art Museum) from the top of this little tour boat. It travels at a leisurely pace half way up the lake, close to the Tower and back down the other side. The size and the depth of the lake, Kingfisher Tower, the skies and marvelous views are well worth the admission.

Above: Watercolor sketches of Kingfisher Tower on Otsego Lake. Courtesy of Michele Harvey.