Admiral's House

Admiral's House
(2014)
Location Governors Island, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°41′25″N 74°0′47″W / 40.69028°N 74.01306°W / 40.69028; -74.01306Coordinates: 40°41′25″N 74°0′47″W / 40.69028°N 74.01306°W / 40.69028; -74.01306
Built main: 1843[1]
south wing: 1886[2]
portico: c.1893-1916[2]
rear: 1936-37[2]
Architect Martin E. Thompson[1]
Charles O. Cornelius (rear)[2]
Architectural style Greek Revival
Colonial Revival (portico)
NRHP Reference # 72000860[3]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 24, 1972
Designated NYCL September 19, 1967

The Admiral's House is located in the Nolan Park area of Governors Island in New York Harbor. It was designed in 1840 by Martin E. Thompson in the Greek Revival style, and construction was completed in 1843.[4][5] A south wing was added in 1886, and a Colonial Revival entrance portico with Doric columns in c.1893-1916.[2][6][7] The rear of the house was redesigned in 1936-37 by Charles O. Cornelius, who also added ironwork to the structure.[2]

Governors Island was a U.S. Army post alternately known as Fort Columbus and Fort Jay and headquarters from the 1870s until 1965 when the structure was known as the Commanding Officer's Quarters or Quarters 1. Residents included Omar N. Bradley, Robert Lee Bullard, Adna Chaffee, John J. Pershing, Walter Bedell Smith, Leonard Wood, Jonathan Wainwright, and Winfield Scott Hancock,[4][5][6] who ran for president while living here.

In 1966 the island became a U.S. Coast Guard base and headquarters for the Third Coast Guard District and the Atlantic Area Command, and the house obtained its more recent name.

On December 7, 1988, the house was the location of a meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev, then General Secretary of the Soviet Union and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, immediately after Gorbachev's speech to the United Nations announcing "perestroika". The summit meeting helped the two countries to take steps which lead to the end of the Cold War.[4]

The Coast Guard base closed in 1996, in some part due to the peace dividend which resulted from the lessening of tensions.[8]

The Admiral's House was designated a New York City landmark in 1967.[5] and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 NPS Walking tour
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Postal, Matthew A. (ed. and text); Dolkart, Andrew S. (text). (2009) Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.) New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1 p.396
  3. ↑ Staff (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. 1 2 3 "Governors Island Admiral's House" Daytonian in Manhattan (October 23, 2010)
  5. 1 2 3 "Admiral's House Designation Report" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (September 19, 1967)
  6. 1 2 White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot with Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195383867., p.951
  7. ↑ Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee (2011) The Landmarks of New York. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-3769-9, p.82
  8. ↑ National Park Service. "Admiral's House" WiredNewYork
  9. ↑ "Admiral's House" National Register Digital Asset Management System

External links


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