121 Washington Place

Elegant single family house with enchanting rear Carriage house and elevator.

Built in 1831 and completely remodeled in 1925 in the Georgian Palladian style. While houses of this period are known for their dignified, symmetrical and highly ornamented features, this splendid 22' wide house is also distinctly relaxed and inviting. There are wonderful entertaining rooms; the front drawing room has full length arched windows overlooking this quiet Village Street; there is a distinguished wood paneled library; and a stunning dining room which opens onto a romantic walled garden and an incredibly rare English styled cottage at the rear of the property.

In addition to the entertaining rooms, the main house has 4 large bedrooms and four and a half baths, six wood burning fireplaces and an Otis elevator. The cottage has a sky lit studio with a fireplace, a sleeping loft and a full bath.

This welcoming house has had a remarkable history and many of its owners have been great patrons and philanthropists.

In 1907 Clara Davidge, owned the house. She was a painter who was very interested in all the arts. She adored the poet Edwin Arlington Robinson and wanting to find an inspirational place for him to write, built the private carriage house as a sanctuary. It was here that Robinson compiled his "The Town Down the River", published in 1910. For many decades the rear cottage was home and studio to many artists. At one point in the 1920's even the front house became studios to artists of the day.

A later resident Francis Perkins went on to become the first female appointed to the United States Cabinet, serving as U.S. Secretary of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The house has been a gathering place of many artists, literary figures, musicians and luminaries including Willa Cather, Samuel Clemens, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and in more recent times Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Muhammad Ali, Steve Earle, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter and Hillary Clinton.