Dubois-Sarles Octagon
Encyclopedia
The Dubois-Sarles Octagon is an octagon house
located on South Street in Marlboro
, New York
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2002.
First built around 1850 by the Dubois family, it was renovated in 1872 by the Sarleses. As a result it reflects two different architectural style
s: Italianate
and Second Empire. Unlike most other American octagon houses of the period, its interior follows a sidehall plan, rather than the radial center plan advocated by Orson Squire Fowler
.
foundation
. It is sided
in asphalt
, with overhanging bracketed
eaves and a decorated frieze
at the roofline. Above it is the mansard roof
, covered in fish-scale slate
shingles
.
The main entry is located at the southeast facet of the house. Unusually for an octagon house, it is recessed
to create a porch
, extending outside of the house, overlooking the Hudson River
roughly a mile to the east. A two-story rectangular kitchen wing projects from the west facet, with a sympathetic contemporary octagonal hip-roofed
porch wing attached to it. The remains of an earlier porch project from the east facet.
Inside, the house follows a sidehall plan not seen in most octagon houses. Instead of being located in the center, the stairs are off to the side, allowing the eastern side of the first floor to be used as a large parlor with a fireplace
on the west wall. This is echoed upstairs, with the master bedroom occupying the large eastern space and the other bedrooms to the west. Most finishings and trim are original, many representing the Greek Revival
era in American architecture, which was winding down around the time the house was built.
There is one other building on the property, a garage. It is of modern construction and not considered a contributing resource
.
then popular from the Second Empire style, and the kitchen wing.
It remained in their descendants' ownership until the late 20th century. At some point during that time, the original small eastern porch was removed and a bay window
put into the wall on that facet. A Colonial Revival
porch was then built out from the entrance recess. Other than that, there have been no major changes to the house.
Octagon house
Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round...
located on South Street in Marlboro
Marlboro, New York
Marlboro is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 2,339 at the 2000 census.Marlboro is in the southeast part of the Town of Marlborough and also the southeast corner of Ulster County.- History :...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2002.
First built around 1850 by the Dubois family, it was renovated in 1872 by the Sarleses. As a result it reflects two different architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s: Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
and Second Empire. Unlike most other American octagon houses of the period, its interior follows a sidehall plan, rather than the radial center plan advocated by Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler was a phrenologist who popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century....
.
Building
The two-story house sits on a stoneStonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. It is sided
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
in asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
, with overhanging bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
eaves and a decorated frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
at the roofline. Above it is the mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, covered in fish-scale slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
shingles
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
.
The main entry is located at the southeast facet of the house. Unusually for an octagon house, it is recessed
Alcove
Alcove , a vault) is an architectural term for a recess in a room, usually screened off by pillars, balustrades or drapery.In geography and geology, the term Alcove is used for a wind-eroded depression in the side of a cliff of a homogenous rock type, famous from sandstones of the Colorado Plateau...
to create a porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
, extending outside of the house, overlooking the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
roughly a mile to the east. A two-story rectangular kitchen wing projects from the west facet, with a sympathetic contemporary octagonal hip-roofed
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
porch wing attached to it. The remains of an earlier porch project from the east facet.
Inside, the house follows a sidehall plan not seen in most octagon houses. Instead of being located in the center, the stairs are off to the side, allowing the eastern side of the first floor to be used as a large parlor with a fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
on the west wall. This is echoed upstairs, with the master bedroom occupying the large eastern space and the other bedrooms to the west. Most finishings and trim are original, many representing the Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
era in American architecture, which was winding down around the time the house was built.
There is one other building on the property, a garage. It is of modern construction and not considered a contributing resource
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
History
The Dubois family bought the property where the house now sits in the mid-19th century. Shortly afterwards they began building the house. The original had no projections, and was a pure octagon in keeping with Fowler's theories, save for the sidehall interior and recessed entrance. In 1872 they sold it to the Sarleses, who renovated the house extensively, adding the mansard roofMansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
then popular from the Second Empire style, and the kitchen wing.
It remained in their descendants' ownership until the late 20th century. At some point during that time, the original small eastern porch was removed and a bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
put into the wall on that facet. A Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
porch was then built out from the entrance recess. Other than that, there have been no major changes to the house.
See also
- List of octagon houses
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York