Current Events

A great looking building on the West Side. Apparently, just a measley Carraige House (where they kept the horses) next door to its’ mansion (299 Broadway). Looks like somoene lives here, or uses it occasionally. Hard to tell.

History

From the RIHPHC West Side Report, 1976:
Another highly original example [of the Second Empire style; inspired by mid-19th century Parisian design] is the Eddy Estate brick carraige house of 1875, at 159 Sutton Street, displaying a robust monumentality through oversized eclectic architectural detail while retaining the formal symmetry of a mansard roof with a central pavilion and spire (since removed). Distinctly Moorish in flavor, the surface is replete with carved granite, polychromed tiles, and a rose window. The central pavilion formerly contained a clock and was topped by a tall spire, stressing its verticality. The Eddy mansion at 299 Broadway, begun in the 1870’s was extensively remodeled in the following decade.

Anecdotes

m simone  friends of mine bought the carriage house in approx 1999 and fully renovated the top floor following the character of the building. they were married in front of the big round window. he was hit and killed by a car in 2002 and his wife was forced to sell the building. there is an office downstairs that was a former tack shop finished with mahogany paneling and intricate mosaic tile floor. my friend stripped the paint from the walls and refinished the mahogany and brought in some old time craftsmen to repair the mosaic. i know who bought the property but do not know what she has done with it since the purchase.

Emily  When I bike around the neighborhood looking for a place for starting a progressive (Jewish) congregation/learning center/garden/kids’ cafe of some sort, I keep coming back to this carriage house. Anyone interested in funding my dream?

Mike Cote  The carriage house is used in conjunction with the private club across the street. The house’s garage is used by a woman who drives a blue or black BMW, and man in, if I recall, a black Lincoln Town Car. When the big doors are opened, inside looks like any ol garage, with dusty stuff strewn about. Upstairs is functional and might be someone’s private apartment. I think it’s more of a high-end private party space for the high-end people of the club. I have seen on more than one occasion through the big round window lit chandeliers and people in suits holding drinks. Also, the mansion next door is a private residence – one old man lives in it. It was apartments in the 70s and 80s (this is a local rumor – but the side door has several door bells, and at night only one or two rooms are lit on the second floor. so the rumors have a little support).

Corey  This is one of the really outstanding examples of why groups like SWAP are so important. Both the carriage house and the palace it’s attached to are some of the most fabulous examples of Victorian architecture you’ll find anywhere, right on a busy commercial and residential strip, in an up-and-coming district, yet the main house sits there vacant and the carriage house seems rarely used. Being a stylish piece of architecture that happens to be owned by a long time resident who has a sentimental attachment to it, in my opinion, doesn't make it much different from a triple decker with hardly any paint left on it, or a brick-and-granite turn of the century mercantile block sitting empty on Weybosset Street. It's still empty, still taking up space for nothing, and still a waste of valuable real estate (by this I mean mainly the house, not this carraige house, as it seems to be occipied. Just my two cents.

Add your Anecdotes

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