Location: 5701-5801 Palisade Avenue. Block: 5933 Lot: 55.
Status: Never landmarked or heard. In November 2011, The Passionist Fathers Of Riverdale sold the entire 13.95 acre property, including the Cardinal Spellman Retreat House, to the Hebrew Home For Aged At Riverdale (Riverspring Health) for $16,250,000.
Description from the Bronx Survey: Beautifully situated on the crest of a high hill in Riverdale, the Cardinal Spellman Retreat House was built c. 1895 as a private residence and has been occupied since 1924 by the Passionist Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. The 3½- story house makes use of classical details that derive from American Colonial architecture.
Notable features that place the residence firmly in the tradition of late nineteenth-century American domestic architecture include the full width porch on bracketed posts, a picturesquely varied roof profile of projecting gables, and an exterior of rough-cut shingles on the first and second floors. Variety characterizes the fenestration, particularly on the second floor where flat, bay, and oriel windows are topped by pedimented lintels.
The third floor lies within a framework of crossed gables handsomely clad in imbricated shingles. The large gable over the main entry boasts a triple window based on Palladian forms, while a graceful swan’s neck dormer window to the right of this gable was inspired by eighteenth-century American colonial precedent. An especially appealing feature of the house is the polygonal conservatory with multi-paned windows commanding a spectacular view of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades.
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