Constructed in 1795, the house was perceived locally to have historic significance as one of the oldest colonial houses along the Hudson River. Bellefield was remodeled between 1909 and 1911 by prominent architects McKim, Mead & White, enlarging the house from 16 to 29 rooms. The new facade in the restrained, neoclassical style was typical of country place architecture at the turn of the century. McKim, Mead & White transformed the original two-story three-bay house by adding two symmetrical two-bay wings to either side and tying the entire front facade together by the addition of a raised brick and stone terrace with a one-story Doric portico sheltering the center entrance. The gable roof features pedimented dormer windows and prominent chimney stacks, the eaves are detailed with mutules and guttae (recalling the style of the original Federal house), and the walls are simply treated in stucco, with long shuttered casement windows as the primary design elements. A large stair hall lit by a Palladian window was incorporated into the north wing. The rear of the house features flush board siding, quoins, and tall six-over-six double-hung sash windows that may have been remnants of the original house. Eaves that continued the same classical detailing found on the front tied the facade together with the rest of the house. The renovations also left intact a mid-nineteenth-century wrought-iron veranda at the rear. The McKim, Mead & White design of the interior featured restrained neoclassical paneling and mantelpieces in the living room, entrance hall, and stair hall, while leaving intact most of the earlier rooms. |
Last updated: February 13, 2023