{"nrhp_refnum":"93000234","name":"Grainger, Percy, Home and Studio","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Cromwell Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"White Plains","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":41.02732996200007,"lon":-73.76691441099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-04-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame, shingle-clad house at 7 Cromwell Place in White Plains, Westchester County, New York, built around 1893 by David Cromwell. Percy Grainger bought it in 1921 and used it as his home, studio and laboratory.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion B for its association with composer and pianist Percy Grainger (1882-1961), who lived and worked there for forty years and developed his experimental \"Free Music\" machines in the living room. It is also significant under Criterion C as an intact example of a late-nineteenth-century middle-class suburban house with American Four-Square elements.","narrative":"Built around 1893 by local banker David Cromwell, this two-story shingled house at 7 Cromwell Place in White Plains is a typical middle-class suburban home with American Four-Square features, a pyramidal hipped roof and a full-width front porch with Doric columns. Composer and pianist Percy Grainger, born in Australia, bought it in 1921 and lived there until his death in 1961. He used the house for daily life, practice and rehearsal, with two grand pianos in the music room. From 1946 he turned the living room into a laboratory where he and physicist Burnett Cross built machines to produce his \"Free Music,\" which he considered his most important contribution. Grainger made few changes, replacing a fireplace with a large window and leaving the shingles unpainted. The house is recognized for its link to Grainger's work in America and as an intact example of its architectural type. It now serves as a museum, though nearby development has changed the street's setting.","period_of_significance":"1893; 1921-1961","architect_builder":"David Cromwell, builder","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements (American Four-Square elements)","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a museum; the house retains a high level of integrity to Grainger's period, though the surrounding Cromwell Place neighborhood has been substantially altered by downtown development.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.683696-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/93000234.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000234/690449d82b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000234/690449d82b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jesús Jiménez Flores","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Percy_Grainger_Home_and_Studio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesús Jiménez Flores</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:Percy_Grainger_Home_and_Studio.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323039","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Grainger_Home_and_Studio","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7167366"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/grainger-percy-home-and-studio-93000234/"}