TorontoOntario · 36 tours
Niagara FallsOntario · 25 tours
New York CityNew York · 30 tours
Las VegasNevada · 8 tours
San FranciscoCalifornia · 16 tours
VancouverBritish Columbia · 17 tours
DubaiUAE · 54 tours
Abu DhabiUAE · 5 tours
Buenos AiresArgentina · 23 tours
AthensGreece · 31 tours
AucklandNew Zealand · 38 tours
CancunMexico · 54 tours
No destinations match “”. Try searching all tours instead — that search understands full questions, not just place names.
A six-story summer residence begun in 1900 on Heart Island by hotel magnate George Boldt for his wife, left unfinished after her sudden death and now the best-known landmark in the Thousand Islands.
Visitor guide
Boldt Castle stands on Heart Island in the St. Lawrence River at Alexandria Bay, New York. It was begun in 1900 by George C. Boldt, who ran New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel, as a present for his wife Louise, and construction stopped abruptly in 1904. Today it is owned by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and is one of the best-known landmarks of the Thousand Islands.
Boldt was a German-American hotelier who also managed the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia. The architects were G. W. & W. D. Hewitt, and the design is in the Chateauesque style. Accounts describe a planned six-story castle of about 120 rooms, with tunnels, a power house, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, a playhouse known as the Alster Tower and a dove cote. The island is commonly said to be named for its heart shape, and a popular telling says Boldt reshaped it to a heart; treat that as local lore rather than documented fact.
Louise Boldt died in early 1904. A widely repeated account says Boldt telegraphed the island to stop all construction. He never returned and died in 1916. For about 73 years the unfinished buildings stood exposed to weather and vandalism.
The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired Heart Island and the nearby yacht house in 1977 for $1 according to Wikipedia, on terms that castle revenue goes toward restoration. A historical marker gives 1978 for when the Authority assumed ownership, so sources differ slightly. Wikipedia reports about $15 million spent over five decades and over $50 million by 2020, while the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority's own site says only that several million dollars have been applied since 1977, so treat any total as approximate. Milestones, according to the Bridge Authority, include completion of the Great Hall staircase restoration in 1999 and a stained glass dome suspended above it in June 2001. The first and second floors are restored and furnished, while upper floors host exhibits.
Besides the main castle, visitors see the Alster Tower with its slanted walls and the Power House that once supplied electricity, and the Yacht House on nearby Wellesley Island (reached by shuttle boat from Heart Island) is described as the last wooden yacht house of its kind and listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The basement includes a swimming pool and a tunnel toward the Power House. Check the operator for what is open each season.
Heart Island is reached only by water. Ferries and tour boats run from Alexandria Bay and Clayton and from the Canadian side at Gananoque and Ivy Lea. The castle opens seasonally, roughly mid-May to mid-October. A US Customs and Border Protection office is on the island, so visitors from Canada must carry valid passports or other accepted identification. Check the Bridge Authority and CBP for current requirements and for current hours and tickets.
Because the Canadian departure points are on the Ontario shore, a Voyzo private tour with a private vehicle and driver can take you door to door to the boat dock, so you only need to sort passports and tickets.
The Thousand Islands International Bridge passes close by, and Gananoque and Kingston are the main Ontario bases for cruises.
See every tour and attraction we cover in 1000 Islands.
