Glen Tonche
title: "Glen Tonche" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1928-establishments-in-new-york-(state)", "houses-completed-in-1928", "houses-in-ulster-county,-new-york", "pitcairn-family", "tudor-revival-architecture"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Tonche" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox building"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Glen Tonche |
| alternate_names | Allaire Studios |
| status | Extant |
| image | Allaire.jpg |
| caption | Glen Tonche – Allaire Studios |
| building_type | Private family estate |
| architectural_style | Tudor |
| owner | Raymond Pitcairn and later the Pitcairn family (1928–1998) |
| Randall Wallace (since 1998) | |
| location | Ulster County, near Shokan, New York |
| location_country | United States |
| completion_date | |
| :: |
| name = Glen Tonche | former_names = | alternate_names = Allaire Studios | status = Extant | image = Allaire.jpg | image_alt = | image_size = | caption = Glen Tonche – Allaire Studios | map_type = | map_alt = | map_caption = | altitude = | building_type = Private family estate | architectural_style = Tudor | structural_system = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = Raymond Pitcairn and later the Pitcairn family (1928–1998) Randall Wallace (since 1998) | current_tenants = | landlord = | location = Ulster County, near Shokan, New York | address = | location_town = | location_country = United States | groundbreaking_date = | start_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | renovation_date = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = | floor_area = | seating_type = | seating_capacity = | elevator_count = | architect = | architecture_firm = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_awards = | url = | embedded = | references =
Glen Tonche is an estate atop Mount Tonche, in Ulster County, near Shokan, New York.
The estate's house was built in 1928 as the summer family compound of American businessman Raymond Pitcairn, whose family founded PPG Industries. Since 1999 the property has been the location of Allaire Studios, a recording facility.
Design
Under Pitcairn ownership the 18740 sqft compound on 22 acre was largely made up of two main wings connected by a covered walkway. The balance of Mount Tonche over 1000 acre is under restrictive preservation.
The property as a whole reflects a blend of Tudor-style architecture with some Arts-and-Crafts influences. The south wing was a pentagon configuration housing the main kitchen, two servants' quarters, six guest bedrooms, six full baths, and a massive glass-enclosed mountaintop porch. The wing also featured a 29-by-36-foot dining hall capable of seating 100 or more guests. The north wing housed the library, eleven bedrooms, seven full baths and two-and-one-half baths, three-room servant's quarters, as well as a great room with 30 ft floor-to-ceiling windows and 60 ft vaulted ceilings.
Transfer from Pitcairn ownership
The estate remained in the Pitcairn family until it was put on the market in 1995 for $3.9 million, then $2.9 million, then in late 1998 down to $1.95 million, at which time it was sold to photographer and musician Randall Wallace, who then opened Allaire Studios on the property.
Allaire Studios
Since its opening in 1999, Allaire Studios has encouraged recording artists to stay in residence at the facility while recording. Thanks to windows that stretch from the floors to ceilings, the studio offers expansive panoramas of the Ashokan reservoir. The first album recorded at Allaire was Harvest Home, by Jay Ungar, in 1999. Singer-songwriter Norah Jones initially recorded her debut album Come Away with Me at Allaire; the album was rejected by her record label and re-recorded elsewhere for a 2002 release. (A 2022 anniversary rerelease of the album included many of the tracks recorded at Allaire.) In September 2002 the studio reopened after a substantial renovation. In collaboration with the acoustician George Augspurger, designer John Storyk developed a program for a “Great Hall,” a 2,000-square-foot live environment with 23-foot windows that can accommodate sessions of more than 50 musicians. Storyk also designed a new control room and smaller live studio. David Bowie recorded some of his album Heathen at Allaire in 2002, as well as Reality in 2003. During five weeks in late 2006, the rock band Rush recorded the album Snakes & Arrows (2007). Grizzly Bear recorded Veckatimest at Allaire in 2009 and Shields in 2012. In 2020, the singer-songwriter Clairo spent a month in Allaire Studios recording her second album, Sling, with record producer Jack Antonoff.
The producer John Leckie reportedly said that Allaire is his favorite studio for mixing. Allaire was nominated for two Outstanding Creative Achievements by the Technical Excellence and Creativity Awards in the category of Studio Design Project in 2003.
References
References
- "Zeus of the Catskills". New York Times.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/19970329183633/http://adirondackrealestate.com/glentonche.html "Rob Grant & Associates Real Estate"].
- [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206051110/http://adirondackrealestate.com/html/glentonche.html "Rob Grant & Associates Real Estate{{spaced ndash Adirondack Real Estate, Catskills Mountains Estate, Hudson Valley Retreat, New York Real Estate, Adirondack Real Estate, Catskills Mountains Estate, Hudson Valley Retreat, New York Real Estate, Adirondack Real Estate"].
- Golson, Blair. (July 21, 2003). "Bowie's Bower". [[The New York Observer]].
- Billboard Staff. (October 10, 2022). "Recording’s Great Escapes: Inside The World’s Most Scenic, State-of-the-Art Studios".
- Carter, Clint. (April 8, 2021). "The Hidden Recording Studios of Woodstock, NY".
- (November 27, 2018). "L'histoire du studio d'enregistrement Allaire à New York".
- Benitez-Eves, Tina. (May 5, 2022). "Norah Jones Returns to Original Recordings from ‘Come Away With Me’ 20 Years Later".
- Blistein, Jon. (February 25, 2022). "Norah Jones Digs Up Unreleased Demos, Full Alternate Album for 'Come Away With Me' Reissue".
- Staff, Mix. (June 1, 2003). "The Class of 2003".
- Molho, David. "Allaire Studios".
- Smith, Jesse J.. (August 2, 2003). "Ch-Ch-Change of Scenery Awaits Bowie in Shokan". [[Daily Freeman]].
- "David Bowie – Reality (2003, CD)".
- [http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/SAlyrics.htm/ "Rush Snakes & Arrows"] {{Webarchive. link. (February 10, 2013.)
- "Plugging Into a New Synergy". New York Times.
- Martoccio, Angie. (July 8, 2021). "Clairo's Wide-Open Spaces".
- "John Storyk: Acoustics and Studio Design".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::