The Bartow–Pell Mansion is a historic house museum at Shore Road in the northern section of Pelham Bay Park, within the New York City borough of the Bronx. The two-story building, designed in the mid-19th century by an unknown architect, has a Greek Revival facade and federal interiors and is the last surviving manor house in the Pelham Bay Park area. The grounds surrounding the mansion take up and include a three-story carriage house; terraced gardens overlooking Long Island Sound to the east; and a small burial plot for the Pell family, which once occupied the land.
The house sits on an estate that Thomas Pell purchased from the native Siwanoy in 1654; the Pell family built two previous residences on the grounds in both 1675 and 1790. Robert Bartow, a relative of the Pell family, built the third and current house at some point between 1836 and 1842. Ownership of the house remained in the Bartow and Pell families until 1888, when the government of New York City bought it, and the house remained empty until 1914 when the International Garden Club, co-founded by Zelia Hoffman and Alice Martineau, leased it. The IGC renovated the home into a clubhouse and moved in during 1915. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia used the mansion as his summer residence during 1936. The IGC opened part of the house to the public as a museum in May 1946 while continuing to use it as a clubhouse. The mansion's carriage house was restored between 1987 and 1993.
The house is oriented on a north-south axis with wings on either side, and has a stone facade with balconies and large windows. The interior of the mansion's first floor is arranged around a square central hall with an elliptical staircase; it includes two parlors, a sitting room and a small dining room. The second floor contains bedrooms, while the cellar was used for storing wine. The carriage house, which contained a stable hand's home, vehicular storage, and the hayloft, has served as an exhibition and educational space since 1993. Some of the furnishings include the desk of Aaron Burr and a Lannuier bed. The mansion's facade, interior, and surrounding grounds are designated as a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark.
Site
The Bartow–Pell Mansion is located in the northern section of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx in New York City. Although its official address is 895 Shore Road, the house is within a wooded portion of the park and is accessible only via a driveway extending off Shore Road. There is a parking lot in front of the mansion, at the end of the driveway. Rhododendrons and lilacs were planted along the driveway during the mid-20th century. The Bartow-Pell Woods and Pelham Bay Park's lagoon are to the east, while the Pelham Golf Course is to the northwest. Orchard Beach is across the lagoon. The nearest New York City Subway station is the Pelham Bay Park station, located across the Hutchinson River. Northeast of the mansion itself is the estate's carriage house. To the east of the mansion is a formal terraced garden, which slopes down gently toward the lagoon and Long Island Sound. As built, the garden is composed of several levels, with a sunken square fountain in the center and a set of steps on either side. The other terraces were planted with petunias and yew trees, The garden is surrounded by a wall, The Mary Ludington Herb Garden adjoins the terraced garden.
Just south of the Bartow–Pell Mansion was a tree named Treaty Oak. The Siwanoy Native American chief Wampage and English colonist Thomas Pell signed a treaty under the tree in 1654, in which Pell purchased all land east of the Bronx River in what was then Westchester County, New York. The oak tree, which was surrounded by a fence, was destroyed in 1906 and replanted in 1915. Approximately south of the house is a burial plot belonging to the Pell family, who had once occupied the site. This plot contains headstones dating from between 1748 and 1790. symbolizing the Pell family's coat of arms. There formerly may have been additional gravestones, but they were scattered throughout the grounds by the time the International Garden Club (IGC) took over in the early 20th century.
History
thumb|The main staircase in the mansion
In 1654, Thomas Pell purchased from the Siwanoy, comprising the land of the current Pelham Bay Park as well as the nearby town of Pelham, New York, Pell's land became known as Pelham Manor in 1666. By the 18th century, several members of the Pell family had married members of the Bartow family.
Thomas's nephew John built a residence close to Long Island Sound around 1675, about a decade after Pelham Manor was created. The house was located either east of Shore Road