Upstate House

Beacon: Art, Action, and ADUs

By Anne Pyburn Craig  |  David McIntyre  |  Summer 2025   |  Community Spotlight

When Molly Rhodes moved to Beacon in 2018, she didn’t anticipate getting into politics. “I was looking for ways to get involved, but I vaguely expected it would be more in the arts or social services bucket, since that’s my background,” she says. “And my husband’s in the performing arts. But I sort of lucked into politics and found that I enjoyed it.” Elected to city council in 2021, she won a second term in 2023 and has now set her sights on the County Legislature’s District 18 seat, where she’d be representing three-fourths of Beacon instead of just Ward 1.

What she’s found is that in a place like Beacon, people don’t tend to stay put in just one bucket. “If there’s something that interests you, if you don’t already know the person doing it, you probably know someone who does know them,” she says. “And people are fairly approachable, especially when you’re interested in what they’re doing. People come here and say, ‘Okay, this is a great place to get involved in this cause I support, or organize an event, or open my small business,’ and find allies. Things change—we used to love the Second Saturday art scene, and Covid ended it. But that spirit of creating something together hasn’t gone anywhere. Beacon is very fortunate, both in the people from here and the ones who choose to come here and dedicate their energy to maintaining that.”

As a council member, Rhodes has wrestled with the issues generated by that powerful magnetism, and helping pass the Good Cause Eviction law a couple of years ago, getting state funds opened up for homeowners who want to build accessory dwelling units, looking at ways for the city to improve its communication around both the constant flood of current events and the supports available to struggling folks, and letting people vent their frustrations about Saturday traffic on Main Street. “Housing costs aren’t going to revert back unless there’s a major financial crisis, in which case people would still be unable to afford homes,” she says. “We need to keep getting creative.”

The Beacon Cultural Scene

Beacon Bonfire, says actress America Olivo Campbell, was an idea that first sparked to life around socially distanced backyard campfires in the chill of the pandemic. “We were dreaming of a day when we could really get together again, and Tim Parsaca—he worked at Madison Square Garden for decades and knows how to build stages—was so antsy during Covid that he just immediately said, ‘Yes, yes!’ and started drawing things up,” she says. “It was so much fun conjuring it up.” A stellar group came together and started throwing “baby bonfires” to practice; the resulting Main Street music and art bash has, at this writing, been nominated among the five favorites in the Hudson Valley by readers of our sister publication Chronogram. The 2025 event will happen in November.

Campbell, like Rhodes, has found that cultural and political issues in this little city are interwoven and rootsy. “My husband Chris really likes to be involved, so he found the Beacon Dems and was knocking on doors right away, meeting a ton of people,” she says. “In the city, at a meeting or a demonstration, you’re part of a huge crowd. In the arts, you hear ‘no’ a lot and you feel like a little kid trying to walk around in Mommy’s high heels. Here, we’ll walk down Main Street together to meetings because every voice counts so much, and the support for projects is so generous. It just feels like everybody’s up for figuring stuff out together. We didn’t necessarily intend to be here full time at first—we both hold multiple passports, and we’ve been all over. But wherever we go, we just always find ourselves eager to get back to Beacon.”

The Beacon Real Estate Market

Emmanuel Jiminez, an agent with Upstate Curious, says that while inventory is still tight, there’s a bit of healthy cooling in progress. Not a lot, mind you. “Beacon has become a premium destination, and you do see homes past the million-dollar range,” he says. “And you still see some homes getting multiple offers and bidding wars. But in other neighborhoods—maybe not as close to Main Street, but still close enough—you’ll find properties under $500,000. And if you’re a first-time homebuyer who’s serious about Beacon, but can’t quite afford it, I’d recommend looking at condos for a start.”

As is the case throughout the Hudson Valley, properties that are prepped for market and realistically priced don’t last long. “Houses that don’t need a lot do get swallowed up pretty fast, because there’s a line of buyers waiting. You need to have your financing all set, and it’s a really good idea to work closely with someone who knows the local market well. I think that Beacon, with more residential properties coming into the pipeline and more condos being built, has found the right formula for growth. Beacon real estate isn’t hot because it’s a prestigious zip code—it’s hot because people get sold on being part of the community and fall in love, want to make a life here. Beacon has transformed from a hidden gem to a full-on destination, and the real estate market reflects that.”

At press time, there were seven Beacon condos offered on Realtor.com, ranging from under $500,000 (four choices) to a three-bedroom on Main Street at $1,390,900, featuring all the modern conveniences amid original beams, exposed brick, original steel fixtures, soaring ceilings, and 12-by-12-foot windows. A move-in-ready two-bedroom Cape Cod on a dead-end street “minutes from Main Street” and dating to 1872 was listed for $385,000; a 2,570-square-foot three-bedroom, in need of “a little” TLC but close to Main Street, was priced at $475,000. A “meticulously maintained” four-bedroom Victorian, a block from Main Street and walkable from the train, featuring original 1900 crown moldings and floors along with a chef’s kitchen and yard full of flowering trees, was pending at $749,000 after just 11 days on the market.   

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