The small city of Hudson lies 125 miles north of Manhattan and is located at the “head of navigation,” the farthest place on the Hudson River to which sizable ships could once sail from New York Harbor. In the last decades of the 18th century, Hudson became an increasingly prosperous port, but eventually patterns of commerce changed and decline set in. By the turn of the 20th century, its former wealth was little more than a memory, and only the surviving brick mansions served as a reminder of the city’s former glory.

In recent years, however, Hudson has found a new identity as a retreat for New Yorkers, drawn by the relatively affordable local real estate, as well as the scenic grandeur that once inspired the Hudson River School of landscape painters. Antiques shops and restaurants have opened, and Hudson is now suddenly fashionable. The city even has a summer music festival.

The Maker is the logical continuation of this trend. The hotel was the brainchild of Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, co-founders of the Boston-based beauty company Fresh, and hospitality guru Damien Janowicz. (In 2000, French luxury conglomerate LVMH took a majority stake in Fresh, and the company now has hundreds of stores in 11 countries.) The hotel’s name is intended to reflect Hudson’s newfound role as a center of creative endeavor.