Olana State Historic Site
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Frederic E. Church House (Olana) | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | Greenport, NY |
| Nearest city: | Hudson |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | 250 acres (1 km²) |
| Built/Founded: | 1872 |
| Architect: | Calvert Vaux |
| Architectural style(s): | Persian, Victorian |
| Designated as NHL: | June 22, 1965 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000509 |
| Governing body: | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
Olana State Historic Site, also known as Frederic E. Church House, is located in Columbia County, New York, USA. The site is the former estate of artist Frederic Edwin Church. Olana is located in the south part of the Town of Greenport and is south of Hudson, New York and east of Catskill, New York.
The house is a mixture of Victorian and Persian styles. A collection of 40 paintings by Church is on exhibit. Church was a prominent member of the Hudson River School of painting. Olana means "our church on high" in Arabic.[2]
The grounds, now more than 250 acres (1 km²), exceed the amount of land that Church had purchased for his home. Extensive scenic views of the Hudson Valley can be seen from the property and the house.
The interior remains much as it was during Church's lifetime, exotically furnished and decorated with objects from his extensive travels, and by paintings by Church and his friends. The house is intricately stencilled inside and out; Church designed the stencils based on his travels in the Middle East. The house contains Church’s last studios, built as an addition in 1888-1890. Working over a 40-year period, Church designed the entire estate to complement the picturesque landscape with its views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.
Olana is one of the few intact artists’ home, studio and estate complexes in the United States; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[1][2]
Olana was featured in Bob Vila's A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America.[3] It is also the inspiration for a song by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, Olana, from his 1998 album Burning the Daze.
[edit] Visiting Olana
The grounds are open during the day and there are organized tours of the house and studio.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Frederic E. Church House (Olana). National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service (2007-09-11).
- ^ a b Richard Greenwood (December 12, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Frederic E. Church HousePDF (442 KiB), National Park Service and Accompanying 8 photos, exterior, from 1975 and 1964.PDF (834 KiB)
- ^ Bob Vila (1996). "Guide to Historic Homes of America." (html). A&E Network.
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Olana (33 photos), at Historic American Buildings Survey
- Olana State Historic Site at NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
- Summary information about Olana
- Olana information
- American Memory from the Library of Congress
- Olana sample page from a coffee-table book
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