5 Tavano Road (Robinwood Historic District)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
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 & 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.
Images
Street view 5 Taverno
![Plant, Sky, Window, Tree](https://storage.googleapis.com/clio-images/medium_9791_5%20Taverno.jpg)
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
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.
Sources
- “Robinwood Historic District #100003632.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service.
- "Ship-Shape House for Water Site," New York Times, June 25, 1967.
- "Development in Ossining Offers Homes and Exteriors of Redwood and Glass," New York Times, July 31, 1966.