Institution

The houses of the Robinwood Historic District are in many ways unique, with a variety of configurations and footprints which correspond with particular site conditions and view sheds, but at the same time they share exterior characteristics. These include: distinctive geometric massing; the use of either broad low-pitched roofs, flat roofs or, in one instance a hipped roof; the use of concrete block or brick for foundations; post and beam construction; roof rafters expressed on the deeply projecting eaves. They share large glazed expanses and the use of window bands and clerestory units. The exteriors have elevated and cantilevered porches and vertical board siding.5 Taverno Road is a wood frame one-story dwelling with a low-slung profile with flat and pitched roofs. It is sited to capitalize on a small pond which is situated behind the house. A rectangular-shaped main block extends north to a triangular shaped projection resembling the bow of a ship,cantilevered over the pond. The facade features simple rectilinear patterning with contrasting wood and stucco finishes punctuated by long window bands. While one of the more unique house designs, the architectural vocabulary of the house relates thematically to the collection of dwellings in the district and provides the enclave with a sense of cohesion.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. The houses which form this cohesive mid-twentieth century housing enclave were designed by architect Harry Wenning, a New Jersey native who was educated at the College of William &amp; Mary and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1952. The Robinwood Historic District, including 5 Tavano Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

5 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)

Director

The Robinwood Historic District is an architecturally significant and highly intact housing development consisting of a related group of mid-century Modern houses erected in the 1960s in the Town of Ossining, NY. This noteworthy developer-architect collaboration resulted in the construction of 21 dwellings, the design and setting of which was conceived as an optimal suburban community. The district was conceived and built by architect Henry Wedding during a period in which developers wee more inclined to construct houses of the ranch, split-level and traditional types.For the Robinwood houses, Wenning authored designs which were stylistically contemporary and well-integrated with their immediate site and natural surroundings; all featured signature design features such as open floor plans, clerestory windows, the extensive use of wood, and large glazed expanses. Few houses exhibiting such Modern architectural tendencies characteristic of the post-Second World War era were constructed in the town of Ossining, marking this collection as all the more distinctive, particularly since they were built as a cohesive group and thus constitute an interrelated architectural experience. The first four houses were completed in 1965. Six followed in 1966, and five more were completed in 1967. By 1968 all of the Robinwood development houses except one which was finished in 1969, had been erected. The houses were initially sold at prices ranging from $40,000 to $70,000.The nominated historic district is organized around the L-shaped spine of Tavano Road, which extends eastward from Somerstown Road and which is bordered in large measure by thickly wooded undeveloped land; while the various houses within the district feature relatively uniform setbacks from the road, their relationship to the physical traits of their individual parcel, and not their relationship to other adjacent houses, was the critical factor in the manner in which they were sited and oriented. The topography within the district is naturally undulating; as such, many of the houses are elevated on rises of land above the level of the roadway; these various properties feature landscape elements such as grassy lawns, mature deciduous and coniferous trees, and ornamental plantings.Wenning’s Robinwood houses, characterized by their straightforward geometric massing, post-and-beam construction and large window expanses, maximized the interaction between the house and landscape and lends them one of their foremost and most enduring qualities. These houses incorporated the best qualities necessary for efficient and economical construction with a design aesthetic that reads as clearly today as when the dwellings were constructed.The Robinwood Historic District remains largely as it was when first completed: an intact, cohesive and significant collection of mid-century Modern dwellings erected as part of a comprehensive development scheme within a naturally landscaped enclave. The nominated district contains a total of 22 contributing buildings—21 houses built to Welling’s design and one which was modified from an existing house constructed ca. 1920. There are no non-contributing principal resources located within the district boundary.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. The houses which form this cohesive mid-twentieth century housing enclave were designed by architect Harry Wenning, a New Jersey native who was educated at the College of William &amp; Mary and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1952.The Robinwood Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Two of Harry Wenning's Robinwood designs, 9 and 10 Tavano Road, were featured in the New York Times in an article entitled "Development in Ossining Offers Homes and Exteriors of Redwood and Glass." The house at 9 Tavano Road, a five-bedroom dwelling priced contemporarily at $48,500, featured a number of characteristics common to the Robinwood development: geometric massing in combination with a low-pitched gable roof with deeply projecting eaves, concrete block and post-and-beam construction, redwood siding, and large glazed expanses. It is a split-level dwelling with an irregular footprint. The primary entrance is located in a tall glazed expanse that rises from grade to roofline. On the west is an elevated porch creates a sheltered space below, at grade. The opposite, east elevation, has a two-by garage which is receded from the elevation of the main house and at a lower gradeOn the interior the main upper living area contains the living and dining room open directly onto a large porch with views of the landscape. Downstairs are two bedrooms and a large recreation room, along with the garage and storage area. A fireplace is a central component of the living room.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. Included in the district is the home at 9 Tavano Road. All of the houses were designed by architect Harry Wenning and were stylistically contemporary and well-integrated with their natural surroundings.The Robinwood Historic District, including 9 Tavano Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

9 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)

Two of Harry Wenning's Robinwood designs, 9 and 10 Tavano Road, were featured in the New York Times in an article entitled "Development in Ossining Offers Homes and Exteriors of Redwood and Glass." Ten Tavano Road was another variation of the same architectural devices and features of the other homes in the district. It was a four-bedroom model priced at $52, 500. On the lower level the living room and the dining room were not connected, while the kitchen was incorporated into a family room on the opposite side of the plan from the living room. A fireplace was a central feature of the living room.The front elevation has a projecting gabled pavilion with brick siding on the first floor and vertical redwood siding on the second floor. A dramatic series of windows fill the space in the gable. The entrance to the house is stepped back on the left of the pavilion. The front door is surrounded by windows that go from grade to the roof line. Further to the left is the garage. Both clad in vertical redwood. The eave line starts at the apex of the pavilion gable and angles down continuously to the garage block. Like many of the other homes, the house has a sun deck on the rear elevation with a patio below.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. Included in the district is the home at 10 Tavano Road.  The houses which form this cohesive mid-twentieth century housing enclave were designed by architect Harry Wenning, a New Jersey native who was educated at the College of William &amp; Mary and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1952. The Robinwood Historic District, including 10 Tavano Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

10 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)

The house is a wood frame single-story building with hipped roof, built on a square plan and banked into it site, which slopes downwards to allow for at-grade access to a one -bay garage at basement level. It features a single central recessed bay where the principal entrance is situated. The house is covered by a broad hipped roof with projecting eaves which rise to a central monitor which accommodates a top-mounted skylight. There is an additional more conventional skylight located on the east pitch of the roof. There is a cantilevered porch on the rear elevation and continues on the east and south sides. It has a concrete block foundation and vertical board wood siding.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. Included in the district is the home at 18 Tavano Road. The houses which form this cohesive mid-twentieth century housing enclave were designed by architect Harry Wenning, a New Jersey native who was educated at the College of William &amp; Mary and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1952. The Robinwood Historic District, including 18 Tavano Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

18 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)

26 Tavano Road is a wood frame single-story house with low-pitched, nearly flat roof, erected above an irregular but roughly rectangular plan. The building has a low-slung profile on a rise of land at the southeast corner of Tavano Road's northern spur. The front elevation features two distinctive blocks between which is a deeply recessed entrance bay which is spanned by purlins that support a partial trellis roof. The facade fenestration is asymmetrical with a section of clerestory windows on the north of the entrance and both clerestory with triple windows below on the opposite section. The entrance accommodates double 32-panel wood doors flanked by ceiling to floor sidelight windows. The house has a concrete block and cast stone foundation with vertical board siding. Like many of the other homes, there is an elevated porch on the rear elevation.

The Robinwood Historic District consists of 21 mid-century Modern houses erected as the centerpiece of a unified housing development in the mid-1960s in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County, New York. Included in the district is the home at 26 Tavano Road. The houses which form this cohesive mid-twentieth century housing enclave were designed by architect Harry Wenning, a New Jersey native who was educated at the College of William &amp; Mary and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1952. The Robinwood Historic District, including 26 Tavano Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Robinwood Historic District

5 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)

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