* Description of the East
End Arts Council buildings as submitted for the National Register Main Street
Historic District application
Davis-Corwin House Date: 1840's
Address: 133 East Main Street
Tax
Lot No. 129.-1-15
Description: The two-story free-standing wood frame Davis-Corwin House is
the oldest house on Main Street This house combines both Federal and Greek
Revival architectural details. From the Federal period (late 18th and
early
19th centuries) comes the overall shape and the three-bay side-hall side
gable plan, while the Greek Revival style is represented on the facade by
corner pilasters, a broad entablature (across the top of the front façade)
and the door surround of these same elements. The front porch, bay window
and “L” at the rear are later additions. For many years the grounds,
which
ran south to the Peconic River, were beautifully landscaped with unique
trees and shrubs, flowerbeds, wisteria vines and a low boxwood garden, now
partially restored. Parts of the carriage house in the rear may
date to
the 1870s or earlier. It was substantially renovated in the early 2000s,
with a major addition on the second floor of the middle section, by
architect Gary Jacquemin.
Moses Benjamin House Date: Pre-1870
Address: 141 East Main Street Tax
Lot No. 129.-1-16
Description: Two story free-standing wood-frame house is a modest example
of the Italianate style. The clapboard structure is an asymmetrical plan
that suggests later additions. The building includes un-bracketed
overhanging eaves and four-over-four windows with modest casings. The
generous front porch curves around to west side of house giving the building
significant street presence and assisting in drawing the five roofs into a
coherent building mass. The wrap-around porch may be a later addition, as
probably are the bay windows on the west side. The house was built
sometime before 1870 by Moses Benjamin, who owned the well-known Benjamin’s
Drug Store at the corner of Roanoke Avenue.
Moses Benjamin Carriage House Date: Pre-1870
Address: 141 East Main Street (Rear, Behind Moses Benjamin House) Tax Lot No. 129.-1-16
Description: The 19th-century Benjamin carriage house sits behind the
house. It is two-story, timber framed and covered with vertical wood
siding. The roof has a slight hips on the gable ends. There
are hinged
plank doors of various sizes and a few small utilitarian windows. The
exterior of the building appears to be entirely original, except for the
dramatic painting of a farmer on his tractor that graces the south wall.
Resource: Fresh Pond School
Date: 1821, moved 1977
Address: 141 East Main (Rear, Behind Moses Benjamin House) Tax Lot No. 129.-1-16
Description: The Fresh Pond Schoolhouse is located on the rear portion of
the Benjamin house lot. The structure is one-story with front
gable. The
exterior is shingled. Built in 1821 on Sound Avenue in the
Riverhead Town
hamlet of Baiting Hollow, this structure was the minimum necessary to comply
with a recently passed state law requiring public education. The front
entrance and wood storage shed are later additions and show typically
late-Victorian period details such as the scallop patterned decoration
around the top.
After almost 100 years of service, the building was replaced by a more
up-to-date structure. In 1918 it was moved across the street to the Sabat
farm for housing and storage. In 1977 it was given to the town, moved to
this spot, and restored to its former likeness as a one-room schoolhouse.
** Before its redevelopment into Mitchell Park, the site was a vacant and blighted waterfront lot that had been empty since a fire destroyed Mitchell's Restaurant, Bar and Grill in 1978. Mitchell's was a popular local landmark restaurant that had opened in an old automobile shop in 1941 and grew to include a large bar and marina.
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