The Grove, Renaissance Revival mansion in Cold Spring, United States.
The Grove is a Renaissance Revival mansion in Cold Spring built with brick walls on stone foundations, arched windows, and a low-pitched square hipped roof. The four-and-a-half-acre estate displays Italian villa design with French windows specified in the original architectural plans.
Frederick Lente, a surgeon at West Point Foundry and founder of the American Academy of Medicine, commissioned architect Richard Upjohn in 1852 to design this mansion. The residence was built during the mid-19th century as a private family home reflecting contemporary architectural tastes.
From 1901 to 1977, the house served as a Franciscan convent and school run by the Our Lady of Loreto parish. This religious purpose shaped the property and its role in the local community for many decades.
The property was donated to the village of Cold Spring in 2002, and preservation work has been ongoing since then, including roof replacement and structural repairs. Visitors should be prepared for the conditions typical of historic buildings of this age and construction style.
The French windows in the original design were negotiated between Frederick Lente and architect Richard Upjohn through correspondence and remain a defining feature of the house. These details reveal how owners and architects of the era deliberated over specific design choices.
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