Patroon Agent's House and Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Patroon Agent's House and Office
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 15 Forbes Ave., Rensselaer, New York |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1839 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79001622 |
| Added to NRHP | August 3, 1979 |
The Patroon Agent's House and Office is a historic building in Rensselaer, New York. It is also known as the Casparus Pruyn House and Office. This special building sits right by the Hudson River. It was built in 1839.
The house is a two-and-a-half-story brick building. It has a one-story brick office attached to it. The style of the building is called Greek Revival. This means it looks like ancient Greek temples.
The Van Rensselaer family built this house. It was for Casparus F. Pruyn. He was their "rent collection agent." Think of him as the Chief Operating Officer of a big company today. His job was to collect rent from people living on the family's land.
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What is the Patroon Agent's House?
This historic house and office are located in Rensselaer, New York. They face the Hudson River. You can even see them from Interstate-787 across the river in Albany. The area was once called Bath. Later, it became part of the City of Rensselaer in 1903.
The house has a cool old system for collecting water. It used to get water from natural springs nearby. This water was used for plumbing inside the house. The system included brick and iron tanks. It also had channels with brick walls.
In 2013, something interesting happened. Workers found a large underground spring near the house. They installed a system to move this water away. This helped to dry out the basements along Forbes Avenue. The cellar of the Patroon Agent's House, which had been wet for about 175 years, finally became dry!
Inside the Patroon Agent's House
The inside of the house is very formal. It has a main hallway in the middle. On each side of the hall, there are two large rooms.
A special feature is the staircase. It goes up three stories! At the very top, there is an oval skylight. It lets light shine down into the hall. The staircase has beautiful mahogany railings.
The house was first sold by the Van Rensselaer family in 1865. After that, it was divided into two separate homes. Central heating was added later. This replaced the eight fireplaces and two kitchen hearths that were used for heat before.
Rooms and Details
The dining room on the first floor has built-in corner closets. These closets have cool curved doors. The living room and dining room are separated by sliding pocket doors.
All the doors inside the house are painted to look like mahogany wood. They still have their original brass handles. The rooms have high ceilings, about 14 feet tall. They also have fancy plaster molding. The windows have deep wood trim and folding shutters.
The floors in the formal rooms are also painted to look like wood grain. But originally, they had wool carpets. These carpets were tan, red, and black.
The house was built to be strong and warm. There's a layer of bricks between the floors. This helped with insulation and fire safety. The outside walls were built with an air space inside. This space helped air move around. It kept the house warm in winter and cool in summer.
Sadly, a part of the house was damaged in the Hurricane of 1938. The cupola, a small dome on the roof, was lost.
The Patroon Agent's Office
Next to the house is the Patroon Agent's Office. It was separated from the house property in 1865. This office has strong security features. It has heavy iron doors and window shutters. There are also iron bars and panels on the inside windows. This was probably for a vault.
The main office room is large and elegant. It has a vaulted ceiling. There used to be an open tank area in the floor. This area is now covered to make more space. In the 1990s, the office was used by a general contractor. Today, it is owned by Kot Electrical Contractors.
Casparus Pruyn and the Anti-Rent War
Casparus Pruyn lived and worked in this house from 1839 to 1844. He collected rent for the Patroon. Sometimes, people paid their rent with cash. Other times, they paid with wheat, chickens, or other farm products. Some of these old rent receipts are still around today.
Pruyn was an important person during the Anti-Rent War. This was a time when tenants in Rensselaerswyck protested against the old rent system. They wanted to own their land instead of just renting it.
Pruyn had lived in Colonie before moving here. His old house there is now known as the Casparus F. Pruyn House.
More Information
You can find more details and pictures of the house in a book called "Three Villages, One City." This book was published in 1992. The house has also been featured in newspapers like the Troy Record and the Albany Times Union.
The Patroon Agent's House and Office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This means it is a special building that is important to history.
Images for kids
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The Patroon Agent's House Dining Room, December 2012
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Living Room looking east to dining room, Patroon Agent's House
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Oval oculus atop three-story center-hall staircase, Patroon Agent's House
