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Nuits (Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York)
Encyclopedia
Nuits, also known as the Cottenet-Brown House, is an Italian
villa
-style house located in the Ardsley-on-Hudson section of the village of Irvington
, New York
, United States
. Built in 1852 for Francis Cottenet, a wealthy New York merchant, it was later owned and renovated by Cyrus West Field
, John Jacob Astor III
and Manhattan College
. It remains a private residence, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1977 as the only surviving example of the early residential architecture of Detlef Lienau
.
in 1822 and started an import-export business, Cottenet & Co., in New York. After 30 years, he contracted Detlef Lienau
, one of a number of European-born architects working in America, to design a riverside villa for him. It was originally located on 65 acres (26.3 ha), the sole house between the Albany Post Road
(now US 9) and the river in what has since become the Ardsley-on-Hudson section of Irvington.
Lienau insisted on French stone to be true to the appearance of its Continental models. Cottenet called on him again to remodel and expand the house in the late 1850s, just a few years after moving in. The locally-based Lord and Burnham
Company built the conservatory. The resulting structure was often pointed out to passengers on steamships going up the Hudson, with the implication that it was the ideally tasteful home of a man of wealth.
After Cottenet's death in 1884, it passed to another wealthy local, Cyrus West Field
, who had to sell a year later due to some unexpected financial setbacks. During his brief ownership, he placed in the deed
restrictions on the property's future use, banning it from being used for certain purposes, such as industry, education, or sale to "disreputable" individuals. These remain in place, and ensure that it has been used only as a residence ever since.
His buyer was John Jacob Astor III
, who lived out the few years remaining in his life on the property. During that time, he managed to spend $100,000 on improvements, and built the stone gateway that still stands at Route 9 (now known as Broadway). His heirs sold the house to Manhattan College
, which spent the next few years trying to clear Field's restrictions from the deed and convert the home to institution
al use. Failing, the college sold to Amzi Lorenzo Barber, the "Asphalt
King", a pioneer in paving
as well as other businesses that would become prominent in the coming century. He sold off most of the surrounding acreage, clearing the way for the development of Ardsley-on-Hudson.
Since then, Nuits has been the home of Robert Hewitt, Jr.
, engineer John Wiley and Gillies Coffee Company owner James Henry Schmelzel. It was extensively renovated from 1980 to 2000.
As of June, 2009, the property was being offered for sale for the price of $12.285 million.
http://www.coldwellbankermoves.com/Property/PropertyDetails.aspx?PropertyID=980331&WT.MC_ID=371810000000000
stone, stones laid so tight that even over a century after it was originally laid it is impossible to put a penknife
between them. The roofs are low-pitched with overhanging bracketed
eaves.
The arched main entrance is located in the middle of the south elevation, a three-bay
facade with central tower
and balustraded balcony
with hooded window above. It has been compared to the entrance John Notman
designed for Princeton University
's Nassau Hall
after that structure was damaged by an 1855 fire. Verandas run the length of the south side.
On the east the most notable feature is an octagonal, conical
-roofed conservatory that was added a few years later, and likewise the north elevation has had a billiards
room, now used as a family room
, added to it. The west, which overlooks the nearby Hudson River
, is unchanged.
Inside, the entrance leads to a central hall that runs the length of the house. To its east is a library
with French doors; opposite is the main living room
.
There is only one outbuilding, a caretaker's
cottage that was added later. It is considered a contributing resource
to the property's historic character.
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
-style house located in the Ardsley-on-Hudson section of the village of Irvington
Irvington, New York
Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is an affluent suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a station stop on the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Built in 1852 for Francis Cottenet, a wealthy New York merchant, it was later owned and renovated by Cyrus West Field
Cyrus West Field
Cyrus West Field was an American businessman and financier who, along with other entrepreneurs, created the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858.-Life and career:...
, John Jacob Astor III
John Jacob Astor III
John Jacob Astor III was the elder son of William Backhouse Astor, Sr. and the wealthiest member of the Astor family in his generation...
and Manhattan College
Manhattan College
Manhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
. It remains a private residence, and 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...
in 1977 as the only surviving example of the early residential architecture of Detlef Lienau
Detlef Lienau
Detlef Lienau was a German architect born in Holstein. He is credited with having introduced the French style to American building construction, notably the mansard roof and all its decorative flourishes...
.
History
Francis Cottenet, the first resident and owner of the property, came to the U.S. from FranceFrench American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
in 1822 and started an import-export business, Cottenet & Co., in New York. After 30 years, he contracted Detlef Lienau
Detlef Lienau
Detlef Lienau was a German architect born in Holstein. He is credited with having introduced the French style to American building construction, notably the mansard roof and all its decorative flourishes...
, one of a number of European-born architects working in America, to design a riverside villa for him. It was originally located on 65 acres (26.3 ha), the sole house between the Albany Post Road
Albany Post Road
The Albany Post Road was a post road - a road used for mail delivery - in the U.S. state of New York. It connected the cities of New York and Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by US 9.The rough route was as follows:...
(now US 9) and the river in what has since become the Ardsley-on-Hudson section of Irvington.
Lienau insisted on French stone to be true to the appearance of its Continental models. Cottenet called on him again to remodel and expand the house in the late 1850s, just a few years after moving in. The locally-based Lord and Burnham
Lord and Burnham Building
The Lord & Burnham Building is located at the corner of Main and Astor Streets in Irvington, New York, United States, right across from the village's train station...
Company built the conservatory. The resulting structure was often pointed out to passengers on steamships going up the Hudson, with the implication that it was the ideally tasteful home of a man of wealth.
After Cottenet's death in 1884, it passed to another wealthy local, Cyrus West Field
Cyrus West Field
Cyrus West Field was an American businessman and financier who, along with other entrepreneurs, created the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858.-Life and career:...
, who had to sell a year later due to some unexpected financial setbacks. During his brief ownership, he placed in the deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
restrictions on the property's future use, banning it from being used for certain purposes, such as industry, education, or sale to "disreputable" individuals. These remain in place, and ensure that it has been used only as a residence ever since.
His buyer was John Jacob Astor III
John Jacob Astor III
John Jacob Astor III was the elder son of William Backhouse Astor, Sr. and the wealthiest member of the Astor family in his generation...
, who lived out the few years remaining in his life on the property. During that time, he managed to spend $100,000 on improvements, and built the stone gateway that still stands at Route 9 (now known as Broadway). His heirs sold the house to Manhattan College
Manhattan College
Manhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
, which spent the next few years trying to clear Field's restrictions from the deed and convert the home to institution
Institution
An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
al use. Failing, the college sold to Amzi Lorenzo Barber, the "Asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
King", a pioneer in paving
Pavement (material)
Road surface or pavement is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past cobblestones and granite setts were extensively used, but these surfaces have mostly been replaced by asphalt or concrete. Such...
as well as other businesses that would become prominent in the coming century. He sold off most of the surrounding acreage, clearing the way for the development of Ardsley-on-Hudson.
Since then, Nuits has been the home of Robert Hewitt, Jr.
Robert Hewitt, Jr.
Robert Hewitt, Jr. was a successful real estate investor in Manhattan, New York, and a notable numismatist. Hewitt began collecting coins as a young man while serving a mercantile apprenticeship and compiled a comprehensive Abraham Lincoln medal collection considered by numismatists as one of the...
, engineer John Wiley and Gillies Coffee Company owner James Henry Schmelzel. It was extensively renovated from 1980 to 2000.
As of June, 2009, the property was being offered for sale for the price of $12.285 million.
http://www.coldwellbankermoves.com/Property/PropertyDetails.aspx?PropertyID=980331&WT.MC_ID=371810000000000
Building
Nuits is built in a sophisticated interlocking arrangement of cubes built of smooth-faced CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
stone, stones laid so tight that even over a century after it was originally laid it is impossible to put a penknife
Penknife
A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding pocket knife, originally used for cutting or sharpening a quill to make a pen nib. Originally, penknives did not necessarily have folding blades, but resembled a scalpel or wood knife by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle...
between them. The roofs are low-pitched with overhanging bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
eaves.
The arched main entrance is located in the middle of the south elevation, a three-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:...
facade with central tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
and balustraded balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
with hooded window above. It has been compared to the entrance John Notman
John Notman
John Notman was a Scottish-born American architect, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is remembered for his churches, and for popularizing the Italianate style and the use of brownstone.-Career:...
designed for Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Nassau Hall
Nassau Hall
Nassau Hall is the oldest building at Princeton University in the borough of Princeton, New Jersey . At the time it was built in 1754, Nassau Hall was the largest building in colonial New Jersey. Designed originally by Robert Smith, the building was subsequently remodeled by notable American...
after that structure was damaged by an 1855 fire. Verandas run the length of the south side.
On the east the most notable feature is an octagonal, conical
Cone (geometry)
A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
-roofed conservatory that was added a few years later, and likewise the north elevation has had a billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
room, now used as a family room
Family room
A family room is an informal, all-purpose room in a house similar to a living room. The family room is designed to be a place where family and guests gather for group recreation like talking, reading, watching TV, and other family activities. Often, the family room is located adjacent to the...
, added to it. The west, which overlooks the nearby Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, is unchanged.
Inside, the entrance leads to a central hall that runs the length of the house. To its east is a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
with French doors; opposite is the main living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
.
There is only one outbuilding, a caretaker's
Property caretaker
A Property caretaker is a person, group or organization that cares for real estate for trade or financial compensation, and sometimes as a barter for rent-free living accommodations...
cottage that was added later. It is considered a contributing resource
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the property's historic character.
External links
- Nuits, at Irvington Historical Society