The “old” or first Tuxedo Club golf course mural at Taverna Tuxedo

Displayed in Taverna Tuxedo on Route 17 South in Tuxedo are two large murals illustrating a scene of the “old” or first golf course of Tuxedo Park. They were painted by Lindsay Prescott, a well-known artist of his time, who lived in the park. These murals were painted in the mid- to late-1950s and were purchased by Renard and Kathleen Barone. The Barones are part of the illustration - Kay is seated playing chess and Ray is standing over her. The murals survived several owners of the restaurant since their creation. The Barones started the business in 1950, where they rented the old building known as the Tuxedo Inn. This was a restaurant and a tavern with rooms upstairs that were rented. Many of the clientele who rented these rooms were construction workers building the New York State Thruway. In 1953, the Barones bought the property. Three years later, a fire damaged parts of the original inn, so in 1956 they tore down what couldn’t be salvaged and rebuilt the structure to the dimensions that remain today. They ran the inn for the next 10 years, selling it in 1966 to Sam Burris and Billy Maginello after Barone passed the New York State Bar exam. In the next 30 years, the property would change hands four more times - to Basil Fassano, to Andy and Margaret Carmody, to Bill “Moon” McMullen, and finally to its current owners, Jennifer and Jimmy Hartley, Ray’s grandchildren. Another mural painted by Prescott was a carnival scene that was displayed for years at the Duck Cedar, a few miles north of Taverna Tuxedo. The carnival mural was much larger than the murals of the Tuxedo Golf Course, and was sold to a current resident of the park after Jim Latini purchased the Duck Cedar. Another Prescott mural is displayed at the West Point Museum. The “Golf Course of Tuxedo Park” murals have historical significance and are family heirlooms. They can be seen any time at Taverna Tuxedo.