Reid Hall, Manhattanville College Explained

Reid Hall, Manhattanville College
Location:Manhattanville College, Purchase St., Purchase, New York
Coordinates:41.0322°N -73.7157°W
Built:1892
Architect:Stanford White
Frederick Law Olmsted
Architecture:Renaissance
Added:March 22, 1974
Area:Structure
Grounds
Refnum:74001321

Reid Hall, also known as "The Castle", is a historic academic building located on the campus of Manhattanville College at Purchase, Westchester County, New York, United States. The Renaissance Revival structure was built in 1892 as a 50000square feet private home for publisher and diplomat Whitelaw Reid, with estate landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted.

History

The Castle was designed by Stanford White and built in 1892 as a dwelling for Whitelaw Reid after he returned from Paris after serving as the 28th United States Minister to France. Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to landscape his estate. Reid Hall occupies the footprint of the previous property owner Ben Holladay's Ophir Hall, which burned down and was rebuilt by Reid with the massive granite crenellated mansion. The building was expanded in 1912 by McKim, Mead & White with a large library wing and guest cottage.

Reid Hall was at one time a potential site for the United Nations. The property was purchased by Manhattanville College in 1951.[1]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Features

It is a four-story, L-shaped building built of granite blocks in the Renaissance Revival style. It features a five-story tower and a corbelled battlement parapet that conceals a flat roof.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration:Reid Hall, Manhattanville College. March 1973. 2010-12-30 . Edna Hibbs . Joan M. Norton . Lynn Beebe Weaver . amp . New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. See also: Web site: Accompanying photo.