Lewis Mumford House
Encyclopedia
The Lewis Mumford House is located on Leedsville Road (Dutchess County
Route 2) in the Town of Amenia
, New York, United States. It is a white Federal style
building dating to the 1830s.
Social philosopher
, historian and cultural critic Lewis Mumford
and his wife bought the house in the late 1920s, originally using it as a summer house
. By the mid-1930s, they decided to make it their permanent residence for a few years. That period extended to more than half a century, the rest of Mumford's life. His experience of living in a rural area informed some of Mumford's thinking about cities and how they should be shaped. In 1999, a few years after his death, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
and a larger 11.7 acres (4.7 ha) open field stretching back to Webutuck Creek. Both are located on the west side of Leedsville Road, a street of large semi-wooded residential lots, most formerly part of larger farms, in the eastern section of Amenia. There is a similar 19th-century farmhouse just across the street. The Mumford property is a half-mile (1 km) south of state highway
NY 343
and a similar distance west of the Connecticut
state line. The house, carriage house and landscaping on the property are all considered contributing resources
to the listing.
two-story frame
structure on a stone foundation
sided in clapboard
. It is topped with a side-gable
d roof shingled in asphalt, pierced by two brick chimneys at either end. A perpendicular rear wing, similarly sided, is one and a half stories in height, with side entrances and a single-story sunroom added to the rear.
A single-bay porch with arched pediment
and two round columns shelters the main entrance at the northern end of the front facade
. All windows have solid wooden shutters
. Semicircular windows at the attic level on either side elevation have been boarded in.
Federal-style crown moldings
, pilaster
s and fielded side panels surround the main entrance. It opens to a small main hall that gives onto a living room with exposed ceiling beams. A study, kitchen and pantry, bathroom and the sunroom complete the first floor. The flooring is wide pine boards. The brick kitchen fireplace has a large mantel
and bake oven.
Two staircases lead up to the second floor. The front one has been opened up to provide more light to the upstairs. The kitchen stair is narrow and steep. The basement has a dirt floor and the original, unfinished stone walls.
, modified for use as an automotive garage. It is a single-story post and beam wood pegged structure sided in clapboard with an asphalt-shingled roof. It has a low loft inside, a northern addition to accommodate a car, and three windows on the south side.
Stone paths lead from the driveway south to the house. They are complemented in the landscaping
by mature plantings including ornamental shrubs around the house and curvilinear flower beds in the rear yard. Intersecting paths lead through the woods to the open field in the rear.
in preparation for the Register nomination found that it might be as much as a decade older.
Mumford, a mostly self-taught
New York City
native, and his wife Sophia had lived in Greenwich Village
and Sunnyside Gardens
in Queens following their 1921 marriage. After the success of Sticks and Stones, his 1924 history of American architecture, critic Joel Elias Spingarn
invited him up to his Amenia estate, Troutbeck. The Mumfords spent the summer of 1926 there, and returned in the following years.
By 1929 they had decided to purchase a property of their own for their summers, and found the house just down the road from Troutbeck. For $2,500 ($ in contemporary dollars), they bought the house and what Mumford later called its "weedy acre". After seven more summers, the family decided to settle there year-round in 1936, and began adding additional acreage and upgrading the house with electricity
and heating to make it livable in wintertime.
It was a considerable adjustment for the Mumfords, both of whom had up to that point been city dwellers. "There," wrote one scholar three decades later, "the rural life that previously he had only glimpsed became real to him." He took up gardening
in earnest, and the Mumfords began landscaping the property, eventually adding paths that opened up vistas across the Webutuck valley to Oblong Mountain on the west. They bought a used 1932 Chevrolet
, their first car. Mumford left it to his wife to drive after he nearly crashed it into the maple trees in front of the house on one attempt to learn, and swore never to get behind the wheel again.
The Mumfords primarily socialized with the Spingarns up the road. They nevertheless appreciated their neighbors' help in lending them tools and garden equipment and watching the house when they were away from it; one large family nearby was extremely helpful with the Mumford children. The experience reinforced Mumford's belief that livable city neighborhoods needed to have "something of the village" in them.
They told their friends in New York that they initially meant to stay in Amenia for only a few years. But Lewis gradually found the quiet rural environment a good place to write, and it was in the downstairs study that he turned out many of his later major works on the role of cities in civilization and the roots of industrialization. In the early 1940s, after his son Geddes was killed in action during World War II
, Mumford recalled his son's childhood in and around the house in Green Memories.
"We gradually fell in love with our shabby house as a young man might fall in love with a homely girl whose voice and smile were irresistible", Mumford later recalled. "In no sense was this the house of dreams. But over our lifetime it has slowly turned into something better, the house of our realities ... [T]his dear house has enfolded and remodeled our family character—exposing our limitations as well as our virtues."
Over the rest of their lives, the Mumfords sometimes took residence elsewhere for Lewis's teaching or research positions, up to a year at a time. They always returned to what they called the "Great Good Place". Mumford's biographer Donald Miller wrote:
They made some changes to it, siding the first story in shingles and removing the south chimney. Inside they put bookcases on almost every wall.
In the 1980s, when Lewis could no longer write due to his advanced age, he retreated to the house. He died there in his bed in 1990, at the age of 94. Sophia followed him seven years later.
After her death, the house was sold to a local carpenter who decided to restore it to its original appearance and resell it
. He removed all the bookcases and the nine layers of linoleum
the Mumfords had added to the kitchen floor every time one wore out. Later renovations restored the original siding and chimney.
In 1999, after being listed on the National Register, the house was again put up for sale with a list price of $375,000. The restorations
made it more difficult to sell despite the historic provenance, since it still lacked many amenities sought by contemporary buyers of country houses. It eventually did, and is now an occupied residence again.
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
Route 2) in the Town of Amenia
Amenia (town), New York
Amenia is a town in Dutchess County, United States. New York, United States. The population was 4,048 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the Latin word, amoena, which means "pleasant to the eye."...
, New York, United States. It is a white Federal 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...
building dating to the 1830s.
Social philosopher
Social philosophy
Social philosophy is the philosophical study of questions about social behavior . Social philosophy addresses a wide range of subjects, from individual meanings to legitimacy of laws, from the social contract to criteria for revolution, from the functions of everyday actions to the effects of...
, historian and cultural critic Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford was an American historian, philosopher of technology, and influential literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer...
and his wife bought the house in the late 1920s, originally using it as a summer house
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
. By the mid-1930s, they decided to make it their permanent residence for a few years. That period extended to more than half a century, the rest of Mumford's life. His experience of living in a rural area informed some of Mumford's thinking about cities and how they should be shaped. In 1999, a few years after his death, the property 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...
.
Buildings and grounds
The property listed on the Register consists of two adjoining parcels: a 1.9 acres (7,689 m²) lot with the house and carriage houseCarriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
and a larger 11.7 acres (4.7 ha) open field stretching back to Webutuck Creek. Both are located on the west side of Leedsville Road, a street of large semi-wooded residential lots, most formerly part of larger farms, in the eastern section of Amenia. There is a similar 19th-century farmhouse just across the street. The Mumford property is a half-mile (1 km) south of state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
NY 343
New York State Route 343
New York State Route 343 is a state highway located entirely within central Dutchess County, in the Hudson Valley region of the U.S. state of New York. It runs east–west from the intersection of NY 82 in the village of Millbrook to the Connecticut state line in the town of Amenia, where...
and a similar distance west of the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
state line. The house, carriage house and landscaping on the property are all considered contributing resources
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...
to the listing.
House
The main house's east (front) section is a three-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
two-story frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a stone 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:...
sided in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
. It is topped with a side-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof shingled in asphalt, pierced by two brick chimneys at either end. A perpendicular rear wing, similarly sided, is one and a half stories in height, with side entrances and a single-story sunroom added to the rear.
A single-bay porch with arched pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
and two round columns shelters the main entrance at the northern end of the front facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
. All windows have solid wooden shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
. Semicircular windows at the attic level on either side elevation have been boarded in.
Federal-style crown moldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
, pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and fielded side panels surround the main entrance. It opens to a small main hall that gives onto a living room with exposed ceiling beams. A study, kitchen and pantry, bathroom and the sunroom complete the first floor. The flooring is wide pine boards. The brick kitchen fireplace has a large mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
and bake oven.
Two staircases lead up to the second floor. The front one has been opened up to provide more light to the upstairs. The kitchen stair is narrow and steep. The basement has a dirt floor and the original, unfinished stone walls.
Carriage house and landscaping
To the rear of the house, at the end of the driveway, is the former carriage houseCarriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
, modified for use as an automotive garage. It is a single-story post and beam wood pegged structure sided in clapboard with an asphalt-shingled roof. It has a low loft inside, a northern addition to accommodate a car, and three windows on the south side.
Stone paths lead from the driveway south to the house. They are complemented in the landscaping
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
by mature plantings including ornamental shrubs around the house and curvilinear flower beds in the rear yard. Intersecting paths lead through the woods to the open field in the rear.
History
There is some uncertainty about the age of the house. In his 1982 autobiography Sketches of Life, Mumford gives its construction date as 1837. Research done by New York's State Historic Preservation OfficeNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation operates :*168 state parks*35 state historic sites*76 developed beaches*53 water recreational facilities*27 golf courses*39 full service cottages*818 cabins...
in preparation for the Register nomination found that it might be as much as a decade older.
Mumford, a mostly self-taught
Autodidacticism
Autodidacticism is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός and διδακτικός...
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
native, and his wife Sophia had lived in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and Sunnyside Gardens
Sunnyside Gardens, Queens
Sunnyside Gardens, in the Sunnyside neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, was one of the first developments to incorporate the "superblock" model in the United States...
in Queens following their 1921 marriage. After the success of Sticks and Stones, his 1924 history of American architecture, critic Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn was an American educator, literary critic, and civil rights activist.-Biography:Spingarn was born in New York City to a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1895...
invited him up to his Amenia estate, Troutbeck. The Mumfords spent the summer of 1926 there, and returned in the following years.
By 1929 they had decided to purchase a property of their own for their summers, and found the house just down the road from Troutbeck. For $2,500 ($ in contemporary dollars), they bought the house and what Mumford later called its "weedy acre". After seven more summers, the family decided to settle there year-round in 1936, and began adding additional acreage and upgrading the house with electricity
Mains electricity
Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...
and heating to make it livable in wintertime.
It was a considerable adjustment for the Mumfords, both of whom had up to that point been city dwellers. "There," wrote one scholar three decades later, "the rural life that previously he had only glimpsed became real to him." He took up gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
in earnest, and the Mumfords began landscaping the property, eventually adding paths that opened up vistas across the Webutuck valley to Oblong Mountain on the west. They bought a used 1932 Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, their first car. Mumford left it to his wife to drive after he nearly crashed it into the maple trees in front of the house on one attempt to learn, and swore never to get behind the wheel again.
The Mumfords primarily socialized with the Spingarns up the road. They nevertheless appreciated their neighbors' help in lending them tools and garden equipment and watching the house when they were away from it; one large family nearby was extremely helpful with the Mumford children. The experience reinforced Mumford's belief that livable city neighborhoods needed to have "something of the village" in them.
They told their friends in New York that they initially meant to stay in Amenia for only a few years. But Lewis gradually found the quiet rural environment a good place to write, and it was in the downstairs study that he turned out many of his later major works on the role of cities in civilization and the roots of industrialization. In the early 1940s, after his son Geddes was killed in action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Mumford recalled his son's childhood in and around the house in Green Memories.
"We gradually fell in love with our shabby house as a young man might fall in love with a homely girl whose voice and smile were irresistible", Mumford later recalled. "In no sense was this the house of dreams. But over our lifetime it has slowly turned into something better, the house of our realities ... [T]his dear house has enfolded and remodeled our family character—exposing our limitations as well as our virtues."
Over the rest of their lives, the Mumfords sometimes took residence elsewhere for Lewis's teaching or research positions, up to a year at a time. They always returned to what they called the "Great Good Place". Mumford's biographer Donald Miller wrote:
They made some changes to it, siding the first story in shingles and removing the south chimney. Inside they put bookcases on almost every wall.
In the 1980s, when Lewis could no longer write due to his advanced age, he retreated to the house. He died there in his bed in 1990, at the age of 94. Sophia followed him seven years later.
After her death, the house was sold to a local carpenter who decided to restore it to its original appearance and resell it
Fixer-Upper
A fixer-upper is a real-estate property that will require maintenance work though it usually can be lived in as it is....
. He removed all the bookcases and the nine layers of linoleum
Linoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from renewable materials such as solidified linseed oil , pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing; pigments are often added to the materials.The finest linoleum floors,...
the Mumfords had added to the kitchen floor every time one wore out. Later renovations restored the original siding and chimney.
In 1999, after being listed on the National Register, the house was again put up for sale with a list price of $375,000. The restorations
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
made it more difficult to sell despite the historic provenance, since it still lacked many amenities sought by contemporary buyers of country houses. It eventually did, and is now an occupied residence again.