Claremont Riding Academy facts for kids
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Claremont Stables
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Claremont Riding Academy, April 2008
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 Location in New York City
Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 173–177 W. 89th St., New York, New York |
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| Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
| Built | 1892 |
| Architect | Rooke, Frank A. |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Flemish |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002683 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1980 |
The Claremont Riding Academy, originally called Claremont Stables, was a famous horse stable in New York City. It was located at 175 West 89th Street in Manhattan. The building was designed by Frank A. Rooke and finished in 1892.
Claremont was the oldest horse stable in New York City that was always open. It was also the very last public stable in Manhattan. It closed its doors in 2007. The building is important to history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was also named a New York City Landmark in 1990. Since 2010, the building has been used by the Stephen Gaynor School.
Claremont Stables: A Home for Horses
Back in 1892, horses were the main way people traveled. Cars didn't even appear on New York City streets until six years later! That year, a builder named Edward W. Bedell, an architect named Frank A. Rooke, and a construction company built the Claremont Stables. It was a four-story building with a basement.
The stable had special areas for horses on the basement and second floors. Carriages were stored on the third, fourth, and top floors. The main floor was used to get horses ready to pull carriages. People could rent horses and carriages, or they could pay to keep their own horses there.
Frank A. Rooke also designed three smaller, two-story stables next door. These were for private families. Today, these buildings are at 167, 169, and 171 West 89th Street. They are also on the National Register of Historic Places. Later, in 1989, these buildings were updated to become the home of Ballet Hispanico.
The building's style is called Romanesque Revival. This style was popular in the 1880s. You can see it in many buildings on the Upper West Side. The outside of the stable is made of beige brick, limestone, and terra cotta.
The stable floors were made of concrete. They had drains to help clean up horse waste. Ramps connected the basement, first, and second floors. This made it easy to move horses and carriages between levels.
Edward Bedell sold the building in 1893. For the next 34 years, different companies rented and ran the stable.
Claremont Riding Academy: Learning to Ride
In 1927, the Claremont Stables became a riding school. This was done to encourage people to use the bridle paths in nearby Central Park. These paths were special trails for horses. In 1943, a man named Irwin J. Novograd bought the building. He had worked as a bookkeeper for Claremont.
In 1961, the City of New York planned to tear down the building. This was part of a big city project. However, the riding academy was allowed to stay as a renter for 37 years. Irwin's son, Paul J. Novograd, became the academy's president in 1984. He continued to offer horse boarding, riding lessons, and horse rentals. The city later changed its plans, and the building was never torn down. The academy was even able to buy the building back from the city in 1998.
Sadly, the bridle paths in Central Park started to get old and worn out. They were also no longer just for horses. This made it very hard to ride horses there. Because of this, the academy lost a lot of business. Also, fixing up the old building to keep its historic look was very expensive. These reasons led to the academy closing in 2007. At that time, Claremont was the oldest stable building in New York City that was still being used.
In 2010, the Stephen Gaynor School bought the building. The school's main building is right behind the stable. The school changed the stable into an arts center and an early learning center for young students. They even added a new section to the roof in 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Claremont Riding Academy para niños
