Tag: Exploring Irvington NY

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House 45 West Clinton Avenue Irvington, NY 10533

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House 45 West Clinton Avenue Irvington, NY 10533

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House

45 West Clinton Avenue

Irvington, NY 10533

(914) 817-5763

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour%E2%80%93Stiner_House

Hours: Sunday-Saturday Seasonal please check their website

Admission: Depends on the Tour/Times of the year-Please check the website

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47953-d15523741-Reviews-The_Armour_stiner_Octagon_House-Irvington_New_York.html

The outside of the house during the Christmas holidays

The outside of the house decorated for Christmas

The tour of the Amour-Stiner Octagon House was so amazing. The house was decorated to the hilt for the Christmas holidays but done tastefully and not over the top. All the decorations enhanced the house and its beauty.

The other side of the porch decorated for Christmas

History of the House:

(From the Visit Westchester County blog):

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House is one of the most visually unique homes in the world. It is the only known residence constructed in the eight-sided, domed colonnaded shape of a classic Roman temple. The Octagon House was originally built in the 1860s following the precepts of Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist, sexologist, amateur architect and author of The Octagon House, a Home for All. Fowler advocated octagonal instead of rectangular houses on the supposition that the shape enclosed more space, created rooms which received more sunlight and had greater accessibility to each other (Visit Westchester blog).

The statuary in the yard

The carriage and greenhouse on the yard

The family currently live in the Carriage House and use the Greenhouse so these were not in the tour.

The Gazebo in the front yard

The Birdhouse that looks like the house

The formal gardens that are dormant this time of year

The grounds will be amazing when the Spring comes and everything is in bloom.

The porch was so beautifully decorated for the holidays

The railing for the porch

The insignia of the porch

The front door so beautifully decorated for the holidays

The planter decorations around the porch

The decorations around the porch were really whimsical

History of the House:

(From the Visiting Westchester blog)

In 1872, the house was purchased by Joseph Stiner, a prominent New York City tea merchant. His alterations created the present lyrical structure. The exterior embellishments are extraordinarily festive with floral detailing in the cast iron cresting and railings and elaborately carved wood scrollwork and capitals – all painted in shades of rose, blue, violet and red. The interiors are equally decorative with painted and stenciled ceilings, trim with gold, silver and bronze leaf and unique eight-sided motifs in the plasterwork, woodwork and etched glass (Visiting Westchester blog).

Walking into the entrance foyer to see the Table Tree of the early German period

Each floor was decorated with lights, garland and a series of large and small Christmas trees. The ornaments were all of the period included glass ball, homemade paper ornaments and some flowers and other plantings.

The staircase in the main foyer was decked out either garland and lights

The Arbotorium in one side of the hallway

Normally even in Victorian times a house would not be this decorated but the volunteers did a wonderful job accenting each room.

The small office to the other side of the main foyer

The beautiful details of the office on the first floor

We then moved into the formal parlor where the family would have entertained everyone before dinner. The room was decorated with a beautiful tree and garlands.

The hand chandelier in the study

The formal Parlor

The Christmas tree in the formal parlor

The formal table decorations of the Parlor

The elaborate decorations on the side table

The picture of the original house when it was completed

The house when Mr. Stiner bought it and added the dome

We next moved into the formal Dining Room that was set for Christmas lunch. The Victorians followed a lot of the English traditions of multi-courses and Christmas poppers at the table.

The Dining Room set for Christmas luncheon

The table beautifully set for the holidays

The sideboards decorated and stocked for the holidays

The service silverware ready for use for the Christmas meal

We then moved onto the kitchen where the feast would be prepared

The working stove from the original house

The sink and toilet prep areas

The side board with the coffee grinder

The Kitchen area with cookbook and desserts

We then left the more public areas of the house to the family’s living quarters. This was the experience extreme and not the exception in Victorian times to have this much room.

The second floor Reception Room where the family would have gathered for more casual events

The Second Floor Reception Room

The ceiling is the only original part of the house left intact by each owner. It has been cleaned and restored to its original beauty.

The room beautifully decorated for the holidays

The Egyptian Room which was once a wellness

One of the upstairs bedrooms ready for guests

The Curio Room was a place where Victorians showed off their collections from their travels. These small items were displayed to show off the places they had been and some of the collections they were forming along the way.

The Table tree in the Curio room

All the interesting collections in the Curio Room

Even the small tree is covered with antique ornaments and old Christmas cards

The third floor landing

The Table tree in the landing

The antique train set

The Christmas tree on the third floor

Above is on the third floor, we could peek upstairs and see the bottom of the dome that had been added by Mr. Stiner. The was interesting. We made our way back downstairs to finish the tour and wrap up our discussion.

The Gift Shop

As you exit the house, there is an interesting Gift shop stocked with ornaments, toiletries, stationary and other gift items. This is where we concluded our tour.

The house and grounds were lit when we left and everything was so nicely decorated for the holidays.

The house fully lit at twilight

The Carriage House and grounds at twilight

The house at closing time was picturesque

Touring the Amour- Stiner Octagon House is a step back in time to when society was slower and life a bit more gentle. you relished life and slowed down to enjoy it.

The Irvington Historical Society presentation on the Armour-Stiner Octagon House

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside 3 West Sunnyside Lane Irvington, NY 10533

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside 3 West Sunnyside Lane Irvington, NY 10533

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

3 West Sunnyside Lane

Irvington, NY  10533

(914) 591-8763

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

Admission: Please see their website

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48720-d3680157-Reviews-Sunnyside-Tarrytown_New_York.html?m=19905

The front of Sunnyside in the Fall of 2024

Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside is open during the warmer months of the year, closing at the end of October. The house looks like a enchanted cottage with almost a fairy like appearance right on the banks of the Hudson River with the most spectacular views of the river valley and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the distance.

Sunnyside during the Fall of 2024

The house was designed by architect George Harvey and reflects the Dutch Colonial Revival, Scottish Gothic and Tudor Revival influences with wisteria growing up and around it and a jagged crow stepped gable.

The front of Sunnyside in the Fall of 2024

When walking through the home, you will see the study where Washington Irving conducted the business of the house and did his writing. To the other side of the house, you will see the living room and small dining room where the family used to entertain.

Washington Irving’s Study

The Dining Room set for a formal lunch

The Dining Room in the Fall of 2024

The formal meal at the afternoon

The hallway between the Dining Room and the Living Room

The Living Room where the family gathered and entertained visitors

The Living Room of Sunnyside

The upstairs contains small bedrooms where Washington Irving, his brother, Ebeneezer and his five nieces lived on and off when they were living at the house. Washington’s brother’s business had failed and the family came to live with him. Two of the nieces never married and ran the home for their uncle.

The Guest bedroom at Sunnyside

The Guest Bedroom

The Children’s Bedroom that catered to the little guests

The house is nicely furnished in the most modern decor of its time but is not an elaborate house. It is a home and not a weekend mansion and this ten acre estate was a once a  working farm. In the back of the house, there is an ice house and a barn show where the people who worked on the estate kept the house running.

Ebenezer’s daughter’s room

Ebenezer’s Room in Sunnyside; Ebenezer was Washington Irving’s Older Brother

Washington Irving’s bedroom

Washington Irving’s bedroom

The view of the river is one of the most spectacular in the Hudson River Valley as its at the widest part of the Hudson River. You can see the cliffs of New Jersey on the other side with views of Nyack and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the background.

The grounds of Sunnyside

The grounds of Sunnyside

During the Fall season there are all sorts of activities going on at the estate and the tours are a very interesting look at life at that time. The Kitchen staff ran the home for social calls and main family meals as well as all the things it took to run the household.

The Sunnyside Kitchen

The kitchen and pantry area

The stove in the kitchen

The delicious items that were prepared in the Country kitchen

The sink area of the kitchen

The Cooks Kitchen

The Pantry

The Linen Room

The Sewing Room for the family

The History of Sunnyside:

The estate was once the home of Wolfert Acker called Wolfert’s Roost and was part of the Manor of Philipsburg and this home was once a simple two room stone tenant farmhouse built around 1690.

The patio view from the back of the house

The property came into the hands of the Van Tassel family, who were married into the Eckert family and owned it until 1802. That year, 150 acres were deeded to the family of Benson Ferris, one time clerk of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, whose wife, Maria Acker, was a descendant of Wolfert Acker’s.

The grounds of Sunnyside

In 1832, Washington Irving visited his nephew, Oscar Irving, who lived near the old stone farmhouse and was looking for a home at the time. He purchased the property on June 7, 1835 and would add to the property.

The view of the house of the Hudson River

Irving wrote a story, “Wolfert’s Roost”, about Acker and the site. In a letter to his brother Peter, he described it as “a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise…I have had an architect up there and shall build upon the old mansion this summer. My idea is to make a little nookery somewhat in the Dutch style, quaint but unpretending. It will be of stone.” He asked his neighbor to help him remodel the house and landscape the grounds in Romantic style adding a brook and waterfall.

The grounds of Sunnyside

The house became a major spot of people visiting the area to meet the author. In 1842, he was appointed to be the Ambassador of Spain and left the estate in the care of his brother and four daughters. He returned in 1846 and added to the home the ‘Spanish Tower” in 1847. This added four more bedrooms to the home.

The Smokehouse

The Ice House at Sunnyside

The Ice House

The Fruit Cellar

Irving died in the house in 1859 of a heart attack at age 76.

The house was purchased from Louis Irving by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and was restored for historic preservation. It was opened to the public in 1947.

The grounds has a very nice gift shop