Hart-Cluett Mansion
The Hart-Cluett Mansion is a building on Second Street in Troy , New York . It was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is a Contributing Property of the Central Troy Historic District created in 1986 . Since the 1950s, it and the neighboring building have been the main office of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, which also makes it accessible to the public as a museum.
It was built in 1827 according to the plan of the Albany- born architect Philip Hooker . The federal style townhouse with an ornate marble and limestone facade is considered one of the most beautiful and best preserved houses of this architectural style in the city of Troy. It was originally a wedding gift from New York City businessman William Howard to his daughter Betsey and her husband Richard Hart, and it was built in a similar style to other contemporary houses there. These houses have since been demolished, making Troy the only place visitors can view a townhouse, as was common in New York City in the early 19th century.
At the end of the 19th century the house became the property of another local businessman, George Cluett. He expanded it at the beginning of the 20th century and donated it to the historical society in 1952.
building
The building is L-shaped, has two and a half floors and has a full basement. The short end faces the street at its eastern end and the long end encloses a brick building to the north of it. The front facade has four bays , the longer south front counts among them. With the exception of the street side, the facade of the house is made of bricks .
The street front is dominated by the entrance, which is not in the center. The recessed door with an elliptical skylight and side windows is located in a portico supported by narrow columns. The portico is surrounded by a marble architrave with keystones and corner stones .
The tin gable roof has two bay windows on each side, and two chimneys protrude at the northern and southern ends. The house has an outbuilding, a former coach house at the rear of the building.
Inside, the house follows the general federal style floor plan based on a central hall. The rooms are high and the windows are long and narrow. Much of the original furnishings and fittings have been preserved. The tiles and processed woods have not been changed, as has the marble fireplace surround and the mirror in the dining room . The kitchen in the basement is original, as is one on the first floor from the late 19th century.
history
Hart was an early member of Troy's business elite and a personal friend of Howard's, whose daughter he married. He had become wealthy by equipping the armed forces during the War of 1812 and by trading through the Erie and Champlaink canals. He later became director of the Troy-Schenectady Railroad and various other local operations. Hart also made a political career and was a member of the New York State Assembly and Mayor of Troy.
The construction of the house was commissioned to 29-year-old John Colegrove - he moved from New York City to Troy in 1826 to oversee the work and then stayed in the city, where he constructed numerous other noteworthy buildings. The obituary for him in 1860 described the Hart-Cluett Mansion as his first major work on site.
The house was originally just a square block. Four years after Richard Hart's death in 1843, Betsey added an extension to the end of the building to accommodate the 14 children she had to raise. This expansion eventually led to the current shape. In 1892 the family sold the house to George Cluett, a local textile magnate, who had a new kitchen built on the first floor, equipped with modern conveniences such as a gas stove and refrigerator . He bequeathed the house to his relative Albert in 1910. The following year, Albert Cluett extended the rear wing to its current size. This extension was the last major change in the house.
Albert Cluett and his wife donated the house to the county's newly established historical society in 1952. The company maintains it as a museum and has been using it and the neighboring Joseph B. Carr Building as offices ever since.
In 1983 a pile of Betsey Hart bank statements was found in the attic of the nearby Troy Savings Bank building . While these were not complete, they did allow the RCHS to recreate the look of the house in the second half of the 19th century.
museum
The house is open to the public during the summer months.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Cornelia Brooke: National Register of Historic Places nomination, Hart-Cluett Mansion ( English ) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . September 1971. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ↑ a b RCHS: The Hart-Cluett House ( English ) Rensselaer County Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ↑ a b c The Hart-Cluett House - The Occupants ( English ) Rensselaer County Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ The Hart-Cluett House - The Documentation ( English ) Rensselaer County Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ Rensselaer County Historical Society Visitor Information . Rensselaer County Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed November 2008.
Web links
- Rensselaer County Historical Society (English)
Coordinates: 42 ° 43 ′ 46 " N , 73 ° 41 ′ 31" W.