{"nrhp_refnum":"74001316","name":"Potter, Judge Joseph, House","other_names":["Skene Manor"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Mountain Ter.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Whitehall","county":"Washington County","state":"NY","lat":43.55589293000003,"lon":-73.39901505899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Skene Manor, a Victorian stone mansion on Mountain Terrace, halfway up a steep hillside overlooking the village of Whitehall, Washington County, New York. It was built for Judge Joseph Potter, with construction decided on in 1874.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mansion is noteworthy for its unusual siting on a steep mountainside and its fortress-like architecture, which compares favorably with the finest homes of its day. It was designed by local architect Almon Chandler Hopson and built for Judge Joseph Potter, a prominent New York lawyer and jurist. It became the social center of Whitehall.","narrative":"Skene Manor is a Victorian mansion of local grey sandstone, quarried on its own site and set halfway up a steep hillside above the village of Whitehall, New York. Built in the 1870s for Judge Joseph Potter, a prominent lawyer who rose to the state Supreme Court, it was designed by local architect Almon Chandler Hopson. The house is roughly square, with two towers, three bracketed porches, a slate mansard roof with iron cresting, and tall arched windows. Walls are solid masonry, and the interior features marble mantels, several woods, stained glass and gas lamps. Its fortress-like look and mountainside setting made it notable, and it quickly became the social center of Whitehall. After Potter's death in 1902 it passed through several owners, was abandoned for a time, and was bought in 1946 and opened as a restaurant. Few changes were needed for that use, apart from a rear kitchen added in 1961.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1814 given)","architect_builder":"Almon Chandler Hopson, architect; Italian stone masons and slater Richard Lewis","architectural_style":"Victorian, described as \"Gothic\"","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and unaltered, with a restaurant use; a restaurant kitchen was added in 1961.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.499065-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/74001316.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001316/940421d2dd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001316/940421d2dd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Alee7457","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judge_Joseph_Potter_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Alee7457</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Judge_Joseph_Potter_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322859","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skene_Manor","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7534565"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/washington-county/potter-judge-joseph-house-74001316/"}