House at 37 Center Street
Encyclopedia
The house at 20 Center Street, formerly 37 Center Street, in Highland Falls
, New York, United States is a frame
house built in the mid-19th century in the Greek Revival
architectural style
.
It is one of the few Greek Revival houses, and the highest in style, in the Hudson Highlands
. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
north of Mountain Avenue (state highway
NY 218
) and a block west of downtown Highland Falls. To the north and south are other houses, many dating from the same era or earlier, albeit modified over time. On the west of the street the ground rises to athletic fields and then Highland Falls Middle School. It is on a small lot with a picket fence
along the sidewalk
The building itself is a five-by-two-bay
two-and-a-half-story clapboard
-sided house on a fieldstone
foundation
. Atop is a side-gable
d roof with asphalt shingles pierced by brick chimneys at either end. A full-length porch with decorative piers and railing is on the first story of the west (front) facade
.
] expresses the style so fully.
It has remained a private residence since the time of its construction. Few changes have been made to it. The front picket fence was added since 1982, and it became 20 Center Street at the end of the 20th century when many streets in the county were renumbered for 9-1-1
service.
Highland Falls, New York
Highland Falls, formerly named Buttermilk Falls, is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,678 at the 2000 census. The village was founded in 1906...
, New York, United States is a frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
house built in the mid-19th century in the Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
.
It is one of the few Greek Revival houses, and the highest in style, in the Hudson Highlands
Hudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Building
The house is located on the east side of Center Street, a half-blockCity block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
north of Mountain Avenue (state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
NY 218
New York State Route 218
New York State Route 218 is a state highway located within Orange County, New York, in the United States. It loops off U.S. Route 9W to run closer to the Hudson River between Highland Falls and Cornwall-on-Hudson. North of Highland Falls, it is briefly concurrent with...
) and a block west of downtown Highland Falls. To the north and south are other houses, many dating from the same era or earlier, albeit modified over time. On the west of the street the ground rises to athletic fields and then Highland Falls Middle School. It is on a small lot with a picket fence
Picket fence
A picket fence is a variety of fence that has been used mostly for domestic boundaries. Until the introduction of advertising on fences in the 1980s, a Cricket field was also usually surrounded by a picket fence, giving rise to the expression rattling the pickets for a ball hit firmly into the...
along the sidewalk
The building itself is a five-by-two-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
two-and-a-half-story clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
-sided house on a fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. Atop is a side-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof with asphalt shingles pierced by brick chimneys at either end. A full-length porch with decorative piers and railing is on the first story of the west (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
.
History
The house is first recorded on an 1875 map with the initials "BK", for Bernard Kenney, its owner. Its minimal architectural detailing, particular the plain sills and lintels, link it to other nearby houses in the area built around 1850 or earlier, the oldest grouping of houses in the village. The house at 20 Center Street stands out because no other Greek Revival house in the Hudson HighlandsHudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
] expresses the style so fully.
It has remained a private residence since the time of its construction. Few changes have been made to it. The front picket fence was added since 1982, and it became 20 Center Street at the end of the 20th century when many streets in the county were renumbered for 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
service.