Carlyle House
Carlyle House is a heritage building, a large and stately mansion, in Alexandria, Virginia.[1] When it was built, in 1751-1752, it lay outside the city.[2] It was built far enough from the Potomac River, to be safe from flooding. Its front lawn provided an admirable view of the river.
Description
The two and a half storey house was built in the Palladian style. Originally it had out-buildings connected by covered passages, similar to how The White House is connected to The West Wing and The East Wing.[1] It was built of brick, with elaborate stone cornices at its corners, roofline, and entrance.
History as a mansion
By the early 1800s Alexandria expanded to near Carlyle House. In 1848 the house had been bought by the Green family, wealthy immigrants from England, who decided to erect a hotel, known as the Mansion House Hotel, on Fairfax Street that crossed in front of Carlyle House.[2] The Mansion House Hotel became known as the most luxurious in Alexandria.
The Hotel blocked Carlyle House's view of the River.[1]
In the mid-20th Century most of the Hotel was demolished, restoring the mansion's view of the River.
Union forces captured and occupied Alexandria, and the hotel was requisitioned and turned into the Mansion House Hospital.[2] The Green family fought for decades to be compensated for the income they lost in the years the hotel served as a hospital.
PBS produced a series, Mercy Street, dramatizing the Hotel's use as a Union hospital.[2]
History as a museum
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National registry of historic places nomination form: Carlyle House, 1969-11-12. Retrieved on 2024-01-05.