New York Arsenal Commanding Officer's Quarters

135 Carder Road | also 135B Governors Island, 135 Governors Island, 135A Governors Island | Governors Island | built 1900

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1835

    The New York Arsenal builds two ordnance storehouses first, one of them now the south end of Building 135

    After the Ordnance Department made the New York Arsenal a separate command in 1833, its first two buildings were storehouses of stone and brick, one running north-south and the other east-west. With the shoreline they marked out a triangle that sheltered the gun yard. The north-south storehouse, estimated at $5,825.58, survives as the southern part of Building 135.

    Source: cdn.loc.gov

  2. 1839

    A Greek Revival house for the Arsenal's commander has interiors resembling Asher Benjamin's pattern-book designs

    The commanding officer's quarters went up in 1839 under Captain J.L. Smith of the Corps of Engineers, with an estimated cost of $10,336.12. Its interior woodwork resembles models in Asher Benjamin's pattern book The Practical House Carpenter. An 1876 plan shows a central hall with parlor, library, dining room and sitting room, five bedrooms, two servants' rooms and a basement with two kitchens.

    “Interior details of the quarters bear close resemblance to models shown in Asher Benjamin's, The Practical House Carpenter…”

    Source: cdn.loc.gov

  3. 1920

    The Arsenal closes in 1920 and the Army turns the commander's house into two family homes

    The building kept its original uses until the Arsenal was closed in 1920. The Army then converted the residence into two family apartments, while the old storehouse end was used to store chemical warfare supplies before becoming offices. By 1945 it held the Inspector General's office.

    “The old ordnance storehouse was used for chemical warfare storage until it was converted into office space. In 1945, it was used as the Inspector General's office.”

    Source: cdn.loc.gov

Nearby

All 81 buildings with stories in Governors Island