View source for Chester A. Arthur Home

{{short description|Historic house in Manhattan, New York}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Chester A. Arthur House
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Chester a arthur home.JPG
| caption = The Residence of Chester A. Arthur, 2007
| location = 123 [[Lexington Avenue]],<br />[[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| coordinates = {{coord|40|44|34|N|73|58|55|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = United States Manhattan#New York#USA
| built =
| architecture = Renaissance
| designated_nrhp_type = December 12, 1965<ref name="nhlsum"/>
| added = October 15, 1966<ref name=nris/>
| area = less than one acre
| refnum = 66000534<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}{{Chester A. Arthur series}}
The '''Chester A. Arthur Home''' was the residence of the 21st [[president of the United States]], [[Chester A. Arthur]] (1829–1886), both before and after his four years in [[Washington, D.C.]], while serving as [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] and then as president. It is located at 123 [[Lexington Avenue]], between 28th and 29th Streets in [[Rose Hill, Manhattan|Rose Hill]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]. Arthur spent most of his adult life living in the residence.  While Vice President, Arthur retreated to the house after the July 2, 1881 shooting of President [[James Garfield]].  Arthur was in residence here when Garfield died on September 19, and [[Inauguration of Chester A. Arthur|took the presidential oath of office]] in the building.<ref name = nrhpinv/>  A commemorative bronze plaque was placed inside the building in 1964 by the [[Native New Yorkers Historical Society]] and [[New York Life Insurance]], and the house was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] on January 12, 1965.<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=385&ResourceType=Building|title=Chester A. Arthur House|date=September 10, 2007|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=October 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013101929/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=385&ResourceType=Building#|archive-date=October 13, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nrhpinv">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000534}}|format=pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Chester A. Arthur Home|date=1978|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=May 22, 2017}}</ref>

== Site ==
The Chester A. Arthur Home is located at 123 [[Lexington Avenue]], in the [[Murray Hill, Manhattan|Murray Hill]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Zipkin|first=Amy|date=2017-06-01|title=A guide to New York City residences that eight U.S. presidents have called home|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/a-guide-to-new-york-city-residences-that-eight-us-presidents-have-called-home/2017/06/01/142f0014-3fe4-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html|access-date=2023-12-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> or [[Rose Hill, Manhattan|Rose Hill]] neighborhood of [[Midtown Manhattan]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chester A. Arthur House |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/chester_arthur_house.html |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref><ref name="aia5">{{cite aia5|p=253}}</ref> It sits between 29th Street to the north and 28th Street to the south, facing Lexington Avenue to the west from a [[frontage]] of {{convert|21.83|ft}}. The building site covers a lot area of {{convert|1747|sqft}}, with a depth of {{convert|80|ft}} between Lexington Avenue and [[Third Avenue]].<ref name="ZoLa">{{cite web |title=123 Lexington Avenue, 10016 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/884/24 |publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]] |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref> Nearby landmarks include the [[Madison Avenue Baptist Church]] and [[New York School of Applied Design for Women]] to the north, the [[Church of Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen]] to the east, the [[William and Anita Newman Library]] and [[69th Regiment Armory]] to the south, and the [[Emmet Building]] to the west.<ref name="aia5" />

==Description and history==
The Chester A. Arthur Home is a five-story masonry structure with Romanesque Revival styling.  It is three bays wide, and has an elaborate cornice, which obscures its low-pitch or flat roof.  Windows on the upper three floors are set in segmented arch openings, with splayed stone lintels and bracketed sills.  The lower two floors have been converted into a retail space, with a modernized storefront, and the upper floors have been converted to apartments.  The interior of the house has relatively little historic integrity.<ref name=nrhpinv/>

Chester Alan Arthur moved to New York City in 1848, where he engaged in the practice of law, and in [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] politics.  He rose in the city's Republican machine to become Collector of the Port of New York, a major patronage post.  He was chosen to be James Garfield's running mate in the 1880 election, and became president after Garfield died on September 19, 1881, from wounds incurred in an assassination attempt eleven weeks earlier. [[Inauguration of Chester A. Arthur|Arthur took the oath of office]] in this house, and retired to it after his term ended in 1885.  He died here the following year.<ref name=nrhpinv/>

The house was later purchased by William Randolph Hearst.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chester A. Arthur House – 123 Lexington Avenue|url=http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-chester-arthur-house-123-lexington.html|date=March 22, 2014|website=Daytonian in Manhattan}}</ref>  It has since undergone many changes. Today, the building houses [[Kalustyan's]], an Indian and Middle Eastern grocery store, on the first two floors, and apartments on the top three.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Arthurhome.jpg|The Residence of Chester A. Arthur, 1976
123-lexington.jpg|A closer view of Chester A. Arthur House, 2007
Chester Alan Arthur's House.jpeg|123 Lexington Avenue during Chester Arthur's days
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of residences of presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]
* [[Federal Hall]], site of George Washington's inauguration in New York City.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.nps.gov/Nr/travel/presidents/chester_arthur_house.html National Park Service site on the Arthur Home]
* {{Cite web | title = Chester A. Arthur House | work = Photographs | publisher = [[National Park Service]]
| url = {{NHLS url|id=66000534|photos=y}} | format = pdf | accessdate = May 19, 2012}}

{{Chester A. Arthur}}
{{Gramercy, Kips Bay, Stuyvesant Square}}
{{New York City Historic Sites}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Chester A., Home}}
[[Category:Apartment buildings in New York City]]
[[Category:Chester A. Arthur|Home]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1886]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Lexington Avenue]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Presidential homes in the United States]]
[[Category:Rose Hill, Manhattan]]