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33-532: At the time of its construction it was surrounded by many similar houses, but it is now one of the rare remaining examples in the city of a townhouse with a surviving rear carriage house . It is one of the only remaining originally residential buildings on that section of Washington, currently used as the main offices of the New York chapter of the National Association of Social Workers . The house

66-406: A chimneypiece , originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire 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. Mantelpiece is now the general term for the jambs , mantel shelf, and external accessories of a fireplace. For many centuries, the chimneypiece

99-473: A contributing object to the house's historic character, sets off the sidewalk from the building's shallow front lawn. From the gate a balustraded brownstone stoop rises to the main entrance of the two-story five- bay structure with raised basement. It is made of brick laid in common bond with a brownstone facade on the north (front) side and topped by a gently pitched gabled roof. Two brick chimneys with recessed panels pierce it near either end. On

132-456: A vestibule with panelled walls and a tiled floor. A second set of doors open into the central hall of the double-pile plan interior. It is dominated by the main staircase, finely crafted with a carved newel and balustrade . The plaster ceiling has a cornice . To the east are two large parlors, both also with cornices on their plaster ceilings, wooden architraves and large marble mantelpieces . The original wooden shutters are still on

165-400: A mantel shelf may be called "mantel mirror", "mantel painting" and so on. Up to the twelfth century, fires were simply made in the middle of a home by a hypocaust , or with braziers , or by fires on the hearth with smoke vented out through the lantern in the roof. As time went on, the placement of fireplaces moved to the wall, incorporating chimneys to vent the smoke . This permitted

198-447: A unique opportunity for the architect/designer to create a personal statement unique to the room they are creating. Historically the mantel defines the architectural style of the interior decor, whether it be traditional i.e. Classic, Renaissance , Italian , French , American , Victorian , Gothic etc. The choice of material for the mantel includes such rich materials as marble , limestone , granite , or fine woods . Certainly

231-403: Is at the north end of the central hall with a larger bathroom with modern fixtures at the south end. The basement was extensively remodeled in the early 20th century, and no original features remain there. A yard, now mostly filled by a parking lot, separates the house from the carriage house , a two-story seven-bay brick building that fronts on Spring Street. The north (rear) facade, which faces

264-575: Is on the south side of Washington between Lark ( U.S. Route 9W ) and Dove streets, two blocks west of the tall Alfred E. Smith State Office Building and the New York State Capitol , a National Historic Landmark . It is surrounded by larger commercial and institutional buildings, some more modern, in its densely developed urban neighborhood. The largest building in the vicinity, the Washington Avenue Armory , also on

297-751: The Pastures , Mansion District and South End . Some of those made wealthy by this prosperity began settling to the west of this area, on the higher ground where their houses could overlook the city and the Hudson River . The first major house in the Merchants' future neighborhood was the Samuel Hill mansion, today home to the Fort Orange Club, built around 1810. By the 1830s more large houses would be built opposite and rowhouses owned by

330-488: The 1860s, when Merchant acquired the first of two parcels he would combine to build the house on, Albany was feeling the effects of the rapid growth brought on by the completion of the Erie Canal four decades earlier. Its population had increased almost sixfold. Most new inhabitants were immigrants, who settled in the old Dutch colonial core of the city and then spilled over from it to the south, into neighborhoods like

363-606: The Register, is across the street to the north, next to a branch of the city library. At Washington and Dove are two other listed properties, the University Club of Albany building and the former Harmanus Bleecker Library . A large parking garage is on the west; smaller commercial buildings line Washington to the east. To the south, the buildings on Spring Street are part of the large Center Square/Hudson–Park Historic District . A finely detailed cast iron fence and gate,

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396-491: The affluent lined many of the streets in the neighborhood. Merchant owned the rowhouse at 186 Washington as of the Civil War . Afterwards he bought the neighboring lot and demolished both houses. The house he built exemplifies in its basic rectangular form, minor classical details and low pitched roof the kind of Italianate urban house in style during that period, the height of the style. More specific Italianate features are

429-411: The basement level the brownstone blocks are rusticated with beveled edges. This treatment is continued in the quoins at the corners. All the other blocks in the facade are smooth and flush. All the basement windows are one-over-one double-hung sash in segmental-arched openings. Above them the similar first-story windows have an additional segmental-arched lintel as well along with a small sill. In

462-424: The center is the main entrance, recessed in another segmental arch. It has a carved stone cornice on brackets with rinceau and bead decorative patterns. Above it the second-story windows are one-over-one with a flat top. They, too, have flat stone sills and decorative lintels. At the roofline is an elaborate bracketed and modillioned overhanging cornice. The cornice continues along the east and west sides of

495-475: The chimneypiece. Towards the close of the eighteenth century the designs of the Adam Brothers superseded all others, and a century later they came again into fashion. The Adam mantels are in wood enriched with ornament, cast in molds, sometimes copied from the carved wood decoration of old times. Mantels or fireplace mantels can be the focus of custom interior decoration. A mantel traditionally offers

528-536: The chimneypieces at Hampton Court , and the shelf was omitted. In the eighteenth century, the architects returned to the Inigo Jones classic type, but influenced by the French work of Louis XIV . and XV . Figure sculpture , generally represented by graceful figures on each side, which assisted to carry the shelf, was introduced, and the over-mantel developed into an elaborate frame for the family portrait over

561-432: The design of a very elaborate, rich, architectural focal point for a grand room. At a later date, in consequence of the greater width of the fireplace, flat or segmental arches were thrown across and constructed with archivolt , sometimes joggled , with the thrust of the arch being resisted by bars of iron at the back. In domestic work of the fourteenth century, the chimneypiece was greatly increased in order to allow of

594-432: The early seventeenth century, when the purer Italian style was introduced by Inigo Jones , were extremely simple in design, sometimes consisting only of the ordinary mantel piece, with classic architraves and shelf, the upper part of the chimney breast being paneled like the rest of the room. In the latter part of the century the classic architrave was abandoned in favor of a much bolder and more effective molding , as in

627-434: The five- bay plan, entrance detailing and decorative cornice . The tightly fit brownstone blocks on the front show the influence of the rising Renaissance Revival style. It is believed that the carriage house was built at the same time. Sometime around 1900, its south facade was remodeled in the contemporary Queen Anne style , with hints of the emerging Colonial Revival mode. At the same time renovations were made to

660-460: The grandeur of an interior space rather than as a heat source. Today, fireplaces of varying quality, materials and style are available worldwide. The fireplace mantels of today often incorporate the architecture of two or more periods or cultures. In the early Renaissance style, the chimneypiece of the Palais de Justice at Bruges is a magnificent example; the upper portion, carved in oak, extends

693-412: The hood; the stone flues are carried up between the tracery of an immense window above. The history of carved mantels is a fundamental element in the history of western art. Every element of European sculpture can be seen on great mantels. Many of the historically noted sculptors of the past i.e. Augustus St. Gaudens designed and carved magnificent mantels, some of which can be found on display in

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726-604: The house. It has four narrow windows at the basement level, a stained-glass oval window depicting the Merchant family crest in the first story, a single central window on the second story and an arched one at the attic level. At the southwest corner is a small wood-frame addition. The east side has a larger addition, a single story office wing. There is a single window on each of the upper two stories. The south facade has many different additions, some of which are enclosed porches. Two arched wooden doors with glazed panels open into

759-488: The interior of the house, in particular the basement. At the end of the 20th century, the social workers' association acquired the house and remodeled it to serve as their state headquarters. [REDACTED] Media related to Walter Merchant House at Wikimedia Commons Carriage house A carriage house , also called a remise or coach house , is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that

792-465: The main door in the fourth bay. The second story has two bay windows . Both they and the other windows are set with six-over-one double-hung sash. On the inside, a main hall divides the garage bays into three on each side. They are open and unpartitioned. Portions of the original steam heating system remain. Upstairs there are many small rooms connected by narrow hallways. All are done with polished oak. Some have built-in cabinets with glazed doors. In

825-449: The main hall is a kitchen that has been expanded through the enclosure of some of the original porches. Upstairs the rooms echo the first-floor layout. Each side has two large chambers connected by a small dressing room , each with closet and a small sink. Other than a fireplace with marble surround, the rooms are generally plainer than their downstairs counterparts, but the northwest chamber has an elaborate ceiling cornice. A small chamber

858-465: The members of the family sitting on either side of the fire on the hearth, and in these cases great beams of timber were employed to carry the hood; in such cases the fireplace was so deeply recessed as to become externally an important architectural feature, as at Haddon Hall . The largest chimneypiece existing is in the great hall of the Palais des Comtes at Poitiers , which is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, having two intermediate supports to carry

891-432: The most luxurious of materials is marble. In the past only the finest of rare colored and white marbles were used. Today many of those fine materials are no longer available, however many other beautiful materials can be found worldwide. The defining element of a great mantel is the design and workmanship. A mantel offers a unique opportunity in its design for a sculptor/artisan to demonstrate their skill in carving each of

924-419: The rear of the house, has irregular fenestration with a variety of double-hung sash window patterns, from six-over-six to one-over-one. Its main feature is an enclosed porch on the second story. The south facade appears to have been modified at some time since its construction along Queen Anne - Colonial Revival lines. Its brick is red with mortar joints. Along the street are six garage doors interrupted by

957-567: The whole width of the room, with nearly life-size statues of Charles V and others of the royal family of Spain . The most prolific modern designer of chimneypieces was G. B. Piranesi , who in 1765 published a large series, on which at a later date the Empire style in France was based. In France, the finest work of the early Renaissance period is to be found in the chimneypieces, which are of infinite variety of design. The English chimneypieces of

990-405: The windows. Doors and moldings are painted to match the plaster. The rooms to the west are decorated very differently, with dark stained wainscoting going midway up the walls. Their fireplaces have wooden mantels , tilework and wooden overmantels . Intersecting polished dark wooden beams and panels create a coffered ceiling. In the rear the windows have several stained glass panels. South of

1023-403: The world's great museums. Exactly as the facade of a building is distinguished by its design, proportion, and detail so it is with fine mantels. The attention to carved detail is what defines a great mantel. Up until the 20th century and the invention of mechanized contained heating systems, rooms were heated by an open or central fire. A modern fireplace usually serves as an element to enhance

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1056-806: Was originally built to house horse -drawn carriages and their related tack . Carriage houses were often two stories, with related staff quarters above. In modern usage, the term "carriage house" has taken on several additional, somewhat overlapping meanings: Because of the prestigious nature of some large, elaborate carriage houses, the term "carriage house" is commonly used as part of the name of businesses such as antique shops and restaurants. Sometimes these businesses are housed in former carriage houses. Property developers are now including coach houses in their portfolios. The unique architectural features and integrated space for potential car parking make it an attractive offering to many clients. Mantelpiece The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece , also known as

1089-415: Was the most ornamental and most artistic feature of a room, but as fireplaces have become smaller, and modern methods of heating have been introduced, its artistic as well as its practical significance has lessened. Where the fireplace continues up the wall with an elaborate construction, as in historic grand buildings, this is known as an overmantel . Mirrors and paintings designed to be hung above

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