Reuel E. Smith House
Reuel E. Smith House | |
Location | 28 West Lake Street Skaneateles, New York |
---|---|
Nearest city | Auburn, New York |
Coordinates | 42°56′34.4213″N 76°26′2.6581″W / 42.942894806°N 76.434071694°W |
Built | 1848–1852 |
Architect | Alexander Jackson Davis |
Additional Architect | Archimedes Russell |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 79001612[1] |
Added to NRHP | July 27, 1979 |
The Reuel E. Smith House (also known as The Cove, The Gingerbread House, or Cobweb Cottage)
The house was photographed by
In 1979, State Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Orin Lehman said that the Reuel E. Smith House "embodies some of the major currents of mid-nineteenth century thought in literature and art as well as architecture."[9]
In 1981, the Reuel E. Smith House received a federal
The home was built for Reuel Smith, partner in a New York City shipping firm. His son E. Reuel Smith inherited the estate. "E.R.", as he was called, was a prominent figure in the village having married into Skaneateles "royalty", his wife being Elizabeth DeCost. (Elizabeth DeCost's great-grandfather was William J. Vredenburg, one of the earliest settlers of Skaneateles.)[11] E.R. died at the home in 1911.[12] Their son, DeCost Smith, noted painter of the American West, was born at the Reuel Smith House. Reuel's grandson Sedgwick married Elsa Watts Smith, who in 1975 sold the property to Robert & Shirley Feldmann. The Feldmanns sold the property in April 2017.[13][14] The current owners of the home are Justin and Dr. Rebecca West Reeves.[15]
Architecture
The home is constructed of
Alexander Jackson Davis
Named by The Metropolitan Museum of Art as one of America's most notable architects, Alexander Jackson Davis's career peaked in the 1840s and 1850s, during the design of this home. Davis is admired as the preeminent designer of "country" homes. His approach to Gothic Revival was something prominent Americans sought out and cherished, from Samuel F. B. Morse and Jay Gould to successful merchants like Reuel Smith. While others of his era were building box houses, Alexander Jackson Davis pushed boundaries. His homes incorporated peaks, extensions in many directions, unique windows, and verandas, all of which can be found in the Reuel E. Smith House. Davis's unique decorative style has adorned landscapes across the Northeast and the Hudson River Valley. Many of the homes he designed have been demolished.
Davis was a friend of American landscape designer and Gothic Revival advocate Andrew Jackson Downing, who likely influenced Davis's design of the Reuel E. Smith house, including its interior design.[18]
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Onondaga County, New York
- "Edmond Reuel Smith" on Wikipedia in German
- James Reuel Smith
References
- Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#79001612)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Morrissey, Jerry. ""Nationally Recognized Architecture Here At Home"".
- ^ Monfiletto, Jonathan. "FEATURED HISTORY 'Time to let go': Feldmann family selling historic Cobweb Cottage on Skaneateles Lake shore". AuburnPub. Lee Publications, Inc. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ Feldmann, Scott. ""A Significant American Architectural Statement"".
- ^ Hardin, Evamaria (May 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: The Reuel E. Smith House / The Cove". Retrieved 2009-08-08. and Accompanying six photos, exterior and interior, from 1979
- ^ "Sedgewick House".
- ^ Barker, Jack Jr. (July 1, 1983). "Reuel Smith House" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
- ^ ""Art"".
- ^ ""Smith House on National Register"".
- ^ ""Historic Home Wins Grant"" (PDF).
- ^ ""Gothic Architecture, The Post-Standard, 9 August 1959"".
- ^ ""Artist and Writer, Edmund Reuel Smith Dead at Skaneateles Home"".
- ^ Monfiletto, Jonathan. "FEATURED HISTORY 'Time to let go': Feldmann family selling historic Cobweb Cottage on Skaneateles Lake shore". AuburnPub. Lee Publications, Inc. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ "28 W Lake St, Skaneateles, NY 13152". Zillow. Zillow. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ "Syracuse Post Standard". Advance Media New York. Post-Standard. 23 April 2017. p. 69. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ Beauchamp, William Martin (1908). ""Past and Present of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Volume 2"".
- ^ ""National Register of Historic Places Inventory File"".
- ^ ""National Register of Historic Places Inventory File"".
External links
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-5452, "Reuel E. Smith House, West Lake Road, Skaneateles, Onondaga County, NY", 18 photos, 1 data page, 2 photo caption pages (note that data page is included at end of photo captions file)
- National Register of Historic Places Inventory, National Archives
- "Two Reuel Smiths"
- Aerial video, shot by drone, of the property (Vimeo)
- Media related to Reuel E. Smith House at Wikimedia Commons