Edgar Allen Poe Cottage
All Work | Edgar Allen Poe Cottage, Bronx, New York
Edgar Allen Poe Cottage
Bronx, New York
Scope
The Poe Cottage in Poe Park in the Kingsbridge Road section of the Bronx is a New York City Landmark, operated by the Bronx Historical Society and maintained by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Edgar Allen Poe occupied the house for several years in the 1840s and wrote some of his most significant works there; it is also the site of his young wife’s tragic death from tuberculosis. Years of deferred maintenance compounded damage sustained during two early moves, and the City began a project to fully restore the structure.
JHPArchitects PC served as the preservation architecture subconsultant to Rogers Marvel Associates (RMA), who was hired by the City for the project as part of a term contract. JHPArchitects PC performed all survey and documentation and completed all design for the project, producing a comprehensive restoration scope intended to remedy several major issues with the building. JHPA assisted RMA in Construction Administration services and worked closely with Robert Silman Associates to minimize the impact of significant structural repairs. Aside from a complete exterior renovation, all interiors were restored and large portions of the original wood structural frame were rebuilt.
The project subsequently won a Lucy Moses Award for Preservation. The next phase of the project included a landscape restoration by NYCDPR to return the site to its original configuration.