Wender·Vista
Alexandria Bay village
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
on the St. Lawrence River, at the American gateway to the Thousand Islands

Alexandria Bay village

— a porch town facing a river full of castles.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Alexandria Bay sits on the St. Lawrence where the river breaks into the Thousand Islands. The downtown is three blocks of porches, ice-cream windows, and tour-boat ticket booths facing the water. Out in the channel: Heart Island and Boldt Castle, begun in 1900 and stopped in 1904 when George Boldt's wife died. The boats run May through October. Off-season, the village closes its shutters and the river takes the channel back.

from the studio
Alexandria Bay village
— bring it home

Alexandria Bay village, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Alexandria Bay village

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Alexandria Bay sits on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Jefferson County, New York, where the river enters the archipelago known as the Thousand Islands. The village was founded in 1818 and named for Alexander LeRay, the son of French settler James LeRay de Chaumont, who held title to much of the surrounding land. Its year-round population is roughly a thousand, swelling many times over between Memorial Day and Columbus Day. The Thousand Islands Bridge crosses to Wellesley Island three miles east of the village.

— the water

The river here is the upper St. Lawrence, fed by Lake Ontario and carrying its outflow toward Montreal and the Atlantic. The Thousand Islands, 1,864 of them by the binational count, sit in the channel between Cape Vincent and Brockville. The current pulls hard through the narrows, the water clear enough that the granite shoals show through. Heart Island, half a mile from the village wharf, holds Boldt Castle, begun by Waldorf-Astoria proprietor George Boldt in 1900 and halted in 1904 on the death of his wife Louise.

— the visit

The tour-boat season runs from early May through mid-October. Uncle Sam Boat Tours and Clayton Island Tours operate from the village wharf with regular runs to Boldt Castle on Heart Island and Singer Castle on Dark Island. Admission to Boldt Castle, restored by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority since 1977, is currently around fifteen dollars. Walking the village's three downtown blocks takes ten minutes; doing it slowly, with a hand-dipped ice cream and the river breeze, takes the rest of the afternoon.

— where
United States · Town of Alexandria, Jefferson County, New York
— elevation
75 m · 246 ft
— position
44.3370° N · 75.9182° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km N
Boldt Castle
historic mansion
1 km N
Heart Island
river island
5 km E
Thousand Islands Bridge
international bridge
10 km NE
Singer Castle
historic mansion
N
Alexandria Bay village
Boldt Castle
Heart Island
Thousand Islands Bridge
Singer Castle
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Alexandria Bay village — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On the south bank of the upper St. Lawrence River in Jefferson County, New York, about thirty miles north of Watertown. It sits at the American gateway to the Thousand Islands archipelago.

After Alexander LeRay, son of the French émigré James LeRay de Chaumont, who owned much of the surrounding land in the early nineteenth century. The village was laid out in 1818.

By the binational counting rule (above water year-round and supporting at least one living tree) there are 1,864 islands in the St. Lawrence between Cape Vincent, New York and Brockville, Ontario.

A six-story Rhineland-style mansion on Heart Island, begun in 1900 by Waldorf-Astoria proprietor George Boldt as a gift for his wife Louise. Construction stopped in 1904 when she died suddenly. Restoration has continued since 1977.

By boat from the village wharf. Uncle Sam and Clayton Island Tours run scheduled crossings from May through October. The crossing takes about ten minutes. U.S. and Canadian visitors need passports if they continue to the Canadian channel.

The tour-boat season runs from early May through Columbus Day weekend in October. Most restaurants and the boat operators close after the leaves drop; a few year-round businesses keep the lights on through winter.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The river is one of the most loved summer landscapes in the Northeast, and many families return generation after generation. A Small or Medium reads well in a lake-house entry or a study with river photographs.

The river-green, granite, and porch-lamp palette settles into lake-house, coastal-Northeast, and cottage-modern interiors. It pairs with beadboard, painted pine, and brass without sliding into nautical kitsch.

Yes. The quiet-coastal and old-money-lake-house directions remain strong in Northeast interiors. The piece holds the Thousand Islands' specific character rather than a generic shoreline image.

A single Large reads well above a console or river-house mantel. Above a sofa or screened-porch wall, a four-tile Mural carries the scale of the channel; a nine-tile Mural suits a great room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The Glossy is meant for framed wall art. For a backsplash, mudroom, or any vertical surface that sees moisture, ask for Dura Satin at checkout.

A soft microfibre cloth, dry or with a little water. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia cleaners. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it will not fade with cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender in our Knoxville studio and hand-finished in-house. We do not license images; each place is rendered fresh in our signature stained-glass and alcohol-ink language.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.