Standard House
Encyclopedia
The Standard House is a landmark
in the city of Peekskill
in Westchester County
, New York
. It is located on Hudson Avenue, right next to a grade crossing on the Metro-North
Hudson Line
and its Peekskill
station. The Standard House is also now the home of Dylan's Wine Cellar which occupies the first floor. Dylan's Wine Cellar has transformed the main floor of the Standard House into a retail wine and spirits store and has added to the character of the building with it's dark wooden floors and wine displays.
An Italianate
brick building, it and the Union Hotel across the street are the only two hotel buildings remaining from the period of Peekskill's industrial height as a center for the manufacture of stoves. It continued to be in use as a hotel after that industry declined, but couldn't survive the decline of the railroad in the mid-20th century. Vacant and neglected through most of the later years of that century, it was restored
early in the next. In 2000 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Currently it houses the city's economic development
offices.
is flat, reflecting the nearby Hudson River
. The fenced-off tracks are on its west; it shares a party wall with another commercial building on the east. To its north is a vacated section of the former West Street, the only fragment of Peekskill's once yellow-brick paved streets remaining in the city.
It is a three-story painted brick building, four bays
by three, with a shallow-pitched
pyramidal roof covered in bitumen roll topped by a central cupola
with a flagpole on top. Two brick chimneys rise from the western corners. The south (front) elevation of the first story has two glass storefronts, topped by a wooden cornice
. All four windows on both upper stories are round-arched with louver
ed shutters
, brick keystone
s and a stone sill supported by corbel
ed brick. "STANDARD HOUSE" is prominently painted on a wooden panel between the second and third stories.
The roofline has a dentilled wooden box cornice, with molding
and brackets
above a paneled frieze
. The cupola has roofing and trim similar to the rest of the building. Some past fire damage is still visible at its southwest corner.
Inside, the first floor has been completely gutted and rebuilt. Only the original wood siding and window framing on the west wall remain. The two upper stories have their original plans intact as well as most of their original finishings.
and tavern
, catering to the busy traffic in the industrial area of the city near what was then the New York Central railroad and the Hudson River
. The name "Standard House" is not associated with the property until a photo taking during the Blizzard of 1888
shows the name on the facade between the second and third stories as it appears today.
The origins of the name are unclear. Theories that have been advanced suggest a connection to William Jennings Bryan
. The first concerns The Standard, a society newspaper published in New York and London during the 1890s. Issues with articles highlighting Bryan and Chauncey Depew
, a Peekskill native, were found in the building during its restoration. At that time, the owner, John Galligan, was a staunch supporter of Bryan and bimetallism
(A local newspaper photo taken of Bryan campaigning from the railroad station during the 1908 presidential election
shows the Standard House prominently in the background. A photo in the same newspaper of William Howard Taft
speaking at the same spot two days later was taken from a different angle that does not show the building at all).
Throughout the early 20th century, it passed through several other owners. At the outset of Prohibition
, a man named John Carbone bought it and turned it into a successful restaurant, restoring liquor service following Repeal
. While the industry around Peekskill's waterfront
declined, Carbone's remained successful. But the building was neglected by subsequent ownership, which renamed it the Central Grill, and after suffering severe fire damage was boarded up and left to deteriorate further while the city pursued a foreclosure
action against its owners for unpaid property tax
es.
In 1998, however, it was purchased by Kathy and Rick Cerreta, longtime city residents with an interest in historic preservation
. They spent heavily on restoring the structure (rebuilding its wooden windows instead of merely replacing them), and in 2000 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
. They reopened it in March 2001, and shortly thereafter received an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the New York State Preservation League. The city has also recognized them for the effort. They have been leasing
the space inside to local businesses since then.
In 2001, Standard House was used as a police station in the 2002 movie "Unfaithful," starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The makers of the film decided to change the ending of the movie, and the scene with "Standard House" was omitted. The building can still be seen in the "deleted scenes" section of the movie's dvd.
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
in the city of Peekskill
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, 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...
. It is located on Hudson Avenue, right next to a grade crossing on the Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
Hudson Line
Hudson Line (Metro-North)
Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line is a commuter rail line running north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River. Metro-North service ends at Poughkeepsie, with Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains continuing north to and beyond Albany...
and its Peekskill
Peekskill (Metro-North station)
The Peekskill Metro-North Railroad station serves residents of Peekskill, New York via the Hudson Line. Trains leave for New York City every hour on weekdays and about every 25 minutes during rush hour. It is from Grand Central Terminal and travel time to Grand Central is approximately one hour...
station. The Standard House is also now the home of Dylan's Wine Cellar which occupies the first floor. Dylan's Wine Cellar has transformed the main floor of the Standard House into a retail wine and spirits store and has added to the character of the building with it's dark wooden floors and wine displays.
An Italianate
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...
brick building, it and the Union Hotel across the street are the only two hotel buildings remaining from the period of Peekskill's industrial height as a center for the manufacture of stoves. It continued to be in use as a hotel after that industry declined, but couldn't survive the decline of the railroad in the mid-20th century. Vacant and neglected through most of the later years of that century, it was restored
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
early in the next. In 2000 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...
. Currently it houses the city's economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
offices.
Building
The building's small lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
is flat, reflecting 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...
. The fenced-off tracks are on its west; it shares a party wall with another commercial building on the east. To its north is a vacated section of the former West Street, the only fragment of Peekskill's once yellow-brick paved streets remaining in the city.
It is a three-story painted brick building, four bays
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:...
by three, with a shallow-pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
pyramidal roof covered in bitumen roll topped by a central cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with a flagpole on top. Two brick chimneys rise from the western corners. The south (front) elevation of the first story has two glass storefronts, topped by a wooden cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. All four windows on both upper stories are round-arched with louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
, brick keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s and a stone sill supported by corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
ed brick. "STANDARD HOUSE" is prominently painted on a wooden panel between the second and third stories.
The roofline has a dentilled wooden box cornice, with molding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and brackets
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...
above a paneled frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. The cupola has roofing and trim similar to the rest of the building. Some past fire damage is still visible at its southwest corner.
Inside, the first floor has been completely gutted and rebuilt. Only the original wood siding and window framing on the west wall remain. The two upper stories have their original plans intact as well as most of their original finishings.
History
Built in approximately 1855, it was originally used as a boarding houseBoarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
and tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
, catering to the busy traffic in the industrial area of the city near what was then the New York Central railroad and the 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...
. The name "Standard House" is not associated with the property until a photo taking during the Blizzard of 1888
Great Blizzard of 1888
The Great Blizzard of 1888 or Great Blizzard of '88 was one of the most severe blizzards in United States' recorded history. Snowfalls of 40-50 inches fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of over produced snowdrifts in excess of...
shows the name on the facade between the second and third stories as it appears today.
The origins of the name are unclear. Theories that have been advanced suggest a connection to William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. The first concerns The Standard, a society newspaper published in New York and London during the 1890s. Issues with articles highlighting Bryan and Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Mitchell Depew was an attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt's railroad interests, president of the New York Central Railroad System, and a United States Senator from New York from 1899 to 1911.- Biography:...
, a Peekskill native, were found in the building during its restoration. At that time, the owner, John Galligan, was a staunch supporter of Bryan and bimetallism
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
(A local newspaper photo taken of Bryan campaigning from the railroad station during the 1908 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1908
The United States presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring a promise not to seek a third term, persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft, his close friend and Secretary of War, to become his successor...
shows the Standard House prominently in the background. A photo in the same newspaper of William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
speaking at the same spot two days later was taken from a different angle that does not show the building at all).
Throughout the early 20th century, it passed through several other owners. At the outset of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, a man named John Carbone bought it and turned it into a successful restaurant, restoring liquor service following Repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
. While the industry around Peekskill's waterfront
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
declined, Carbone's remained successful. But the building was neglected by subsequent ownership, which renamed it the Central Grill, and after suffering severe fire damage was boarded up and left to deteriorate further while the city pursued a foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
action against its owners for unpaid property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es.
In 1998, however, it was purchased by Kathy and Rick Cerreta, longtime city residents with an interest in historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
. They spent heavily on restoring the structure (rebuilding its wooden windows instead of merely replacing them), and in 2000 it was added to 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...
. They reopened it in March 2001, and shortly thereafter received an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the New York State Preservation League. The city has also recognized them for the effort. They have been leasing
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
the space inside to local businesses since then.
In 2001, Standard House was used as a police station in the 2002 movie "Unfaithful," starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The makers of the film decided to change the ending of the movie, and the scene with "Standard House" was omitted. The building can still be seen in the "deleted scenes" section of the movie's dvd.
External links
- Standard House in portfolio of architect Stephen Tilly.