{"nrhp_refnum":"76001294","name":"Ward, William E., House","other_names":["Ward's Castle"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Comly Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rye","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":41.02621946000005,"lon":-73.66713757799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large reinforced-concrete residence known as Ward's Castle, on Comly Avenue in the Glenville neighborhood of Rye, Westchester County, New York, built 1873-76 by William Ward with architect Robert Mook.","why_significant":"The house is believed to be the first residence in the United States built entirely of reinforced concrete. Engineer William Ward set out to build a fireproof home using portland cement and light iron I-beams and rods. It was widely publicized and later seen as an early prototype of common building practice. It also had an innovative heating system and self-contained water supply.","narrative":"Perched on a hill above the Byram River in Rye's Glenville neighborhood, this mansion known locally as Ward's Castle was built between 1873 and 1876 by mechanical engineer William Ward with New York architect Robert Mook. Every major element, including walls, floors, stairs, towers and even the roof, is poured concrete reinforced with light iron beams and rods; wood appears only in doors, window frames and decorative trim. Ward's goal was a fireproof home. The design combines a Second Empire mansard-roofed block with two machicolated Gothic-style towers, one octagonal and four stories tall, the other a square water tower holding storage tanks. Ward also devised a warm-air heating system running through the walls and a self-contained water supply. Contemporary architectural journals publicized the work, Ward presented a paper on it in 1883, and later critics praised it. It is believed to be the first American residence built entirely of reinforced concrete. Early twentieth-century additions are minor, and the interior woodwork largely survives.","period_of_significance":"1873-76","architect_builder":"William Ward and Robert Mook","architectural_style":"Eclectic / Chateauesque, with Gothic Revival and French Second Empire elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered only by early twentieth-century additions (breakfast room, sun room, second-story bathroom); original interiors largely intact. Current use listed as private residence.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.258153-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001294.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001294/f7846b46b3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001294/f7846b46b3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_E_Ward_House,_Rye_Brook,_NY-Greenwich,_CT.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:William_E_Ward_House,_Rye_Brook,_NY-Greenwich,_CT.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323289","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Ward_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8008329"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/ward-william-e-house-76001294/"}