Standard House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Standard House
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(2014)
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| Location | 50 Hudson Avenue Peekskill, New York |
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| Built | c.1855 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 00001158 |
| Added to NRHP | September 22, 2000 |
The Standard House is a special old building, known as a landmark, in Peekskill, a city in Westchester County, New York. It was built around 1855. You can find it at 50 Hudson Avenue, right between South Water Street and the Metro-North Hudson Line train tracks.
This building has an Italianate style, which means it looks a bit like old Italian villas. It's made of brick. The Standard House and the Union Hotel across the street are the only two hotel buildings left from a time when Peekskill was a big industrial city, famous for making stoves.
The Standard House kept working as a hotel even after the stove industry slowed down. But it couldn't survive when train travel became less popular in the mid-1900s. For many years, it was empty and uncared for. However, it was restored in the early 2000s. In 2000, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which is a list of important historical places. Today, a store is on the first floor, and the city's economic development offices are also there.
Contents
What Does the Standard House Look Like?
The Standard House sits on a flat piece of land, close to the Hudson River. Train tracks are on its west side, and it shares a wall with another building to the east. To its north, there's a small part of an old street that used to be paved with yellow bricks.
Outside the Building
The Standard House is a three-story building made of painted brick. It has four sections of windows on the front and three sections on the side. The roof is gently sloped and covered with a material called bitumen. On top of the roof, there's a small tower called a cupola with a flagpole. Two brick chimneys rise from the western corners of the roof.
The front of the first floor has two glass storefronts, with a wooden trim piece above them. All the windows on the second and third floors are round at the top. They have louvered shutters, brick keystones (wedge-shaped stones at the top of the arch), and stone sills. You can clearly see "STANDARD HOUSE" painted on a wooden sign between the second and third stories.
The roofline has a fancy wooden trim with small block-like decorations. It also has decorative molding and brackets (supports) above a flat, decorated band called a frieze. The cupola on the roof has similar roofing and trim. You can still see some damage from a past fire on its southwest corner.
Inside the Building
The first floor inside the Standard House has been completely redone. Only the original wooden walls and window frames on the west side are still there. However, the two upper floors still have their original layout and most of their old decorations and finishes.
A Look at the Standard House's History
The Standard House was built around 1855. It first served as a boarding house (a place where people could rent a room) and a tavern (a place to eat and drink). It was a busy spot because it was near the New York Central train tracks and the Hudson River, which were important for industry.
How Did It Get Its Name?
The name "Standard House" didn't appear right away. A photo taken during the Blizzard of 1888 is the first time we see the name painted on the building, just like it is today.
No one is completely sure how the name came about. Some people think it might be connected to William Jennings Bryan, a famous American politician. One idea is that it relates to The Standard, a newspaper from New York and London in the 1890s. During the building's restoration, old copies of this newspaper were found, and they had articles about Bryan. At that time, the owner, John Galligan, was a strong supporter of Bryan.
Another interesting fact: a local newspaper photo from the 1908 presidential election shows Bryan giving a speech from the train station, with the Standard House clearly in the background. A photo of another politician, William Howard Taft, speaking at the same spot two days later, was taken from a different angle and doesn't show the building.
Changes Over the Years
In the early 1900s, the Standard House had several different owners. When Prohibition began (a time when alcohol was illegal), a man named John Carbone bought it. He turned it into a successful restaurant. When Prohibition ended, he started serving alcohol again.
Even as the industries near Peekskill's waterfront declined, Carbone's restaurant stayed popular. However, later owners didn't take good care of the building, and they renamed it the Central Grill. After a serious fire, the building was boarded up and left to get worse. The city even started legal action because the owners hadn't paid their property taxes.
Restoration and Recognition
In 1998, Kathy and Rick Cerreta, who had lived in Peekskill for a long time and cared about historic preservation, bought the building. They spent a lot of money to restore it, even rebuilding the old wooden windows instead of just replacing them. In 2000, their hard work paid off when the Standard House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
They reopened the building in March 2001. Soon after, they received an award for their excellent work in historic preservation from the New York State Preservation League. The city also recognized their efforts. Since then, they have been leasing out the spaces inside to local businesses.
