{"nrhp_refnum":"72000837","name":"Vassar Home for Aged Men","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 Vassar St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Poughkeepsie","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.70525569900008,"lon":-73.93109325599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick home for elderly men at 1 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, completed in August 1880 on the site of Matthew Vassar's town residence.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an imposing brick building in a variety of the Italianate-Second Empire style. It incorporates interior materials and many original antique furnishings from Matthew Vassar's earlier house. It also serves as a landmark on the Poughkeepsie skyline and, together with the Vassar Institute, as a possible home for local cultural groups.","narrative":"Overlooking the Hudson River slope in Poughkeepsie, this three-story brick building at 1 Vassar Street was completed in August 1880 as a home for elderly men. It replaced Matthew Vassar's narrow wooden town house on the same site. Matthew Vassar Jr. and John Guy Vassar, sons of Thomas Vassar, founded it, and it opened on May 6, 1881, with six residents. It cost $45,000 and was meant to house fifty men, but full occupancy waited for adequate endowment funds until 1903. Its brick walls are laid in running bond with granite trim, and a deep bracketed cornice and long verandas mark the exterior. The main parlors reuse black marble mantels from the earlier house, and a carved screen with Corinthian columns divides the reception room. Described as a variety of the Italianate-Second Empire style, the building also forms part of the city skyline seen from the west, standing near the Vassar Institute.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1880)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate-Second Empire (a variety of)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, and unaltered, on its original site. It is used as a charitable private residence for aged men.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.172274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000837.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000837/ab4fd8d511-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000837/ab4fd8d511-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vassar_Home_for_Aged_Men_building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vassar_Home_for_Aged_Men_building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000537","name":"Union Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/union-street-historic-district-71000537/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317510","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassar_Home_for_Aged_Men","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2511175"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/vassar-home-for-aged-men-72000837/"}