I am not in Salem for Small Business Saturday but I promise to make it up to my city’s small businesses when I return from my Thanksgiving holiday.  Today I’m going to feature another historic small city which is experiencing dramatic revival and redevelopment:  Hudson, New York.  Like Salem, Hudson was a bustling commercial port in the first half of the nineteenth century, only to realize a similarly spectacular decline in the twentieth.  Hudson is now being refashioned as an antiques center in particular and a distinct interiors shopping mecca in general.  Strolling up and down a historic city street while browsing carefully choreographed windows at merchandise that you don’t see anywhere and everywhere is my idea of shopping, and yesterday’s very civilized experience was highlighted even more by the repellent scenes from the mall that I saw on the evening news when I returned.

Some scenes from yesterday’s Hudson shopping excursion, all taken on Warren Street, the main street that runs right through the center of town:

Streetscapes, including the Hudson Opera House and a very carefully restored Greek Revival House just off Warren Street.

Some shop windows and signs, along with a really beautiful metal Christmas wreath in the center.

Shop interiors and merchandise:  Rural Residence, Hudson Home, Moderne, and (unfortunately) a few shops whose names I did not jot down.  EVERY shop in Hudson is worth a visit.