American ceramicist and painter Henry Varnum Poor‘s Rockland NY home – known semi-affectionately as “crow house,” after the birds that harassed Poor during the construction of the structure – has been added to the NRHP. Oddly, the town that hosts it – Clarkstown NY – either refused or was unable to purchase it themselves, so a neighbor (either richer or more interested in historic preservation), the town of Ramapo, is in the process of buying it from current owner Arthur Wagner. Wagner bought it a year ago from Peter Poor, son of the artist, for $1.15 million; let’s hope he didn’t feel a need to make a profit off the public by selling it at a huge mark-up.
The brick home includes some interesting Tudor and castle-like features, including archways, circular stairways, exposed beams, and plenty of hand-crafted furniture made specifically for the site. According to visitors, the hand-made ceramic doorknobs, tiled windowsills and other stone and ceramic inlays are especially attractive; all the decorative ceramics were made by Poor specifically for this project at a kiln on the property. Much of the furniture is American Arts & Crafts.
The New York Times ran an article in 2006 on the race to save the building, which Wagner originally planned to destroy; it includes several photographs.
photo courtesy of the Preservation League of New York State
your link to Henry Varnum Poor is not linked to the correct Henry Varnum Poor. the one in the wikipedia pop-up is not the artist but actually the grandfather of the artist.