The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

President's Cottage

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President's Cottage (front facade), Manhattanville College

President's Cottage (rear view), Manhattanville College

Institution Name: Manhattanville College
Original/Historic Place Name: Ophir Castle Annex
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction:

pre- 1888

original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: stone

Walls: stone

Roof: slate (mansard roof)

Function:

ca. 1888-1949	other (annex to Ophir Castle)
ca. 2005	president's house

Narrative:
The President's Cottage is part of the historic complex on the property. It predates Reid Hall and relates in style to the first Ophir Castle, suggesting a pre-1888 date. It is thought that during the rebuilding of Ophir Castle following the fire of 1888, this served as a temporary residence for family members. According to Whitelaw Reid, grandson, the annex at one time housed a squash court and a bowling alley.

In 1965, the college agreed to accept the Japan Pavilion, originally built for the New York World's Fair in Queens, as a gift. This was an actual physical structure built on site from specially designed lava stones. The college proposed to demolish it and reconstruct it on campus as a framework or enclosure for an academic building. When the project began, the contractors found that it was virtually impossible to disassemble the stones without destroying them. They salvaged as many stones as they could and made a sculpture garden in front of the President's Cottage.

References:

Gold, Anne. Ophir Farm and Manhattanville College. Purchase, NY: Manhattanville College, 2005.