Carlyle House: Difference between revisions

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'''Carlyle House''' is a heritage building, a large and stately mansion, in [[Alexandria, Virginia]].<ref name=CarlyleHouseNominated/>  When it was built, in 1751-1752, it lay outside the city.  It was built far enough from the [[Potomac River]], to be safe from flooding.  Its front lawn provided an admirable view of the river.
'''Carlyle House''' is a heritage building, a large and stately mansion, in [[Alexandria, Virginia]].<ref name=CarlyleHouseNominated/>  When it was built, in 1751-1752, it lay outside the city.<ref name=sociallogicEmmaGreen/> 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==
==Description==
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[[Union forces]] captured and occupied Alexandria, and the hotel was requisitioned and turned into the [[Mansion House Hospital]].<ref name=sociallogicEmmaGreen/>  The Green family fought for decades to be compensated for the income they lost in the years the hotel served as a hospital.   
[[Union forces]] captured and occupied Alexandria, and the hotel was requisitioned and turned into the [[Mansion House Hospital]].<ref name=sociallogicEmmaGreen/>  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 (TV series)|''Mercy Street'']], dramatizing the Hotel's use as a Union hospital.
[[PBS]] produced a series, [[Mercy Street (TV series)|''Mercy Street'']], dramatizing the Hotel's use as a Union hospital.<ref name=sociallogicEmmaGreen/>


==History as a museum==
==History as a museum==

Revision as of 16:52, 9 February 2024

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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 National registry of historic places nomination form: Carlyle House, 1969-11-12. Retrieved on 2024-01-05.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Don DeBats, Margaret-Ann Williams. Emma Green: The Making of a Southern Identity, University of Virginia. Retrieved on 2024-02-09. “A decade earlier (in 1848) James had acquired the grand Carlyle House mansion on North Fairfax Street, built in 1753 and originally, before land filling commenced, fronting the banks of the Potomac.”