{"nrhp_refnum":"01000309","name":"Turtle House","other_names":["Center, Joab, House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"14 Fabiano Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Greenport","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.26077721400003,"lon":-73.76746469499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal period brick country house on a two-acre lot at 14 Fabiano Boulevard in Greenport, Columbia County, New York, built between 1812 and 1821 (c. 1820) for Joab and Eunice Center. Its main block is lozenge-shaped, with two symmetrical wings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an outstanding and unusual, possibly unique, example of Federal period architecture in New York State. Its distinctive features are a lozenge-shaped main block and two semi-circular, pedimented porticoes. The designer is unknown but was clearly a talented architect or architect-builder. It is presented as a leading example of early 19th-century Hudson Valley country house architecture.","narrative":"Known locally as the Turtle House for its unusual shape, this Federal period brick residence sits on a rise in Greenport, Columbia County, New York. Built about 1820 for Joab and Eunice Center on a property of roughly 100 acres, it is now surrounded by a 1950s subdivision on a two-acre lot. The two-story main block is lozenge-shaped, with curved walls and two identical semi-circular pedimented porticoes carried on Ionic columns. Symmetrical wings flank the main block, and a double parlor survives inside. Later owners raised the wings by a half-story in the 1830s and altered windows and porches around 1903. The designer is unknown. The house is considered significant as an exceptional and possibly unique example of Federal architecture in New York, since no other known example in the state has full semi-circular porticoes with curved pediments. A 1934 survey recorded it with measured drawings, and a 1923 magazine article described it as an architectural oddity.","period_of_significance":"c. 1820 - c. 1910","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling. It stands on a two-acre lot within a 1950s suburban subdivision.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.120128-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01000309.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000309/1d3b8dd622-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000309/1d3b8dd622-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Norman R. Sturgis, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Turtle_House,_Post_Road,_Greenport_(Columbia_County,_New_York).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Norman R. Sturgis, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Turtle_House,_Post_Road,_Greenport_(Columbia_County,_New_York).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317097","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7856406"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/turtle-house-01000309/"}