Concert barge intrigues Hutton owner
Head of MWest Holdings confirms interest in bringing vessel to river at brickyards site
The head of the company that owns the Hutton Brickyards property along the Hudson River confirmed Friday that the company is interested in bringing an Illinois-based floating concert venue to the site.
The word from Karl Slovin, president of MWest Holdings Inc., came on the heels of reports by a Chicago newspaper and the Freeman that the Point Counterpoint II, a barge-like vessel that opens like a clam shell to reveal a concert stage, could relocate to Kingston from its current home in Ottawa, Ill.
“The Point Counterpoint II ... is a stunning architectural gem, and the possibility of reimagining this giant floating concert hall at Hutton Brickyards is intriguing,” Slovin said in an email Friday. “Similar to Hutton Brickyards, it has a rich history and is well poised to redefine its next
chapter.”
MWest, based in California, bought the longdormant Hutton Brickyards property in 2014, and the site has become the home of the Smorgasburg Upstate outdoor food and flea market on occasional summer weekends. The site also hosted two concerts by folk-rock music legend Bob Dylan last month.
“As we evolve the cultural and entertainment offerings we bring to Hutton Brickyards and the Kingston community, we are open to exploring all possibilities,” Slovin said in response to questions about the Point Counterpoint II. “Following the two successful Bob Dylan shows with 3,500 people each night, it’s very exciting to explore what might be next as
we are re-creating Hutton Brickyards.”
Kingston Mayor Steve Noble said Thursday that he “was contacted by interested citizens last week regarding this potential opportunity” and that he agreed to participate in an “informational meeting” on Aug. 4 with Point Counterpoint II owner Robert Bordeau, founder of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra.
The vessel is for sale for $2 million, and while Kingston does not have the money to buy it, “there may be an opportunity to help facilitate a public/private partnership with other parties who express interest in such a unique idea,” Noble said.
Noble did not identify any potential investor, but the website worldarchitecture.org this week reported the possibility of the Point Counterpoint II winding up on the Hudson River at the Hutton
Brickyards property.
Bordeau, who’s 90, told the Chicago Tribune that Kingston “is a perfect place” for the Point Counterpoint II because the community is “going through a very creative time.”
The Tribune said Kingston emerged as a likely location to save the 41-year-old vessel from the scrapyard after cellist Yo-Yo Ma campaigned to preserve it. Ma’s plea drew the attention of Peter Wetzler, a Kingston-based composer, the newspaper said.
The Point Counterpoint II, described by the Tribune as “resembling a spaceship as much as a barge,” currently is docked on the Illinois River in Ottawa, Ill., about 80 miles southwest of Chicago.
The Point Counterpoint II was designed by Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn and was unveiled in 1976, two years after Kahn died.