Vassar Home for Aged Men
The former Vassar Home for Aged Men is a former retirement home for men at the intersection of Main Street and Vassar street in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. It is located directly opposite the Vassar Institute architecturally similar design.
It was founded in the 1880 by the nephew of Matthew Vassar, founder of Vassar College, as a dormitory for male seniors, but was not fully utilized until 1903. The property was used for most of the 20th century as a nursing home and was on April 13, 1972 one of the first building, which was registered in the City of Poughkeepsie in the National Register of Historic Places. It has been a contributing property of the Mill Street - North Clover Street Historic District which was also later added to the National Register. Today it is considered as the building of the Vassar Institute, a local group of artists who rented a portion of the space in the building to nonprofit organizations.
Building
The house is a three storey building on the west side - has nine bays, the base of the house is free - the front of the house. The facade consists of brick in running bond with ornamental stone rows of granite. It covers the truss structure of the house. The tin roof sits above a wide cornice with large, vertically elongated corbels at the corners and smaller in between.
On the east side sprint out a pavilion with five bays, a porch leads over its full length with a balustrade leading down the stairs. It is supported by free-standing columns at the front and tied at the front page. There are similar but smaller verandas On the other sides of the house.
Inside the building, the rear staircase is equipped with a large carved newel post. The lounges are equipped with neo-classical black fireplace surrounds that come from an older building. Two similar mantelpieces in the reception room have arisen later. This room is equipped with a carved Spanish wall in Louis XVI style, which is supported by four Corinthian columns.
History
The house was built by Vassars nephew at the site of his old house and used a part of the original interiors, such as fireplace surrounds in black marble. The cost was 45,000 ( adjusted for inflation 1,100,000 ) dollars, the construction was completed in 1880. Officially, the dormitory was opened in it.
Designed for the recording of 50 men building was originally home to six persons who met the conditions - a minimum age of 65 years, the Protestant faith and a resident in the state of New York. Until 1903, the residence has not been fully exploited. Only the death of Matthew Vassars widow made sufficient free funds.
For most of the 20th century, the house remained a retirement home. In the 1970s it was acquired by the Cunneen - Hackett Arts Center, which. , The ground floor as an art gallery and venue for public and private events The upper floors were rented out as office space to other nonprofit organizations.