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Iconic Pre-Revolutionary Snedens Landing Colonial Farmhouse with Celebrity Pedigree Lists for $6.5 Million

The iconic Ding Dong House, a pre-Revolutionary War Dutch colonial farmhouse in the exclusive Hudson Valley celebrity enclave of Snedens Landing, New York, is on the market for $6.5 million with Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

Originally built in 1750 with an addition in 1860, the historic 3-bed, 3.5-bath residence at 35 Washington Spring Road has been home to many celebrities including actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, Margot Kidder, producer Jerome Robbins and composer Aaron Copland.

The home and property underwent a $2.5 million restoration over the last five years and is being sold fully furnished, with 18th– and 19th-century antiques, furnishings and a collection of Hudson River School paintings.

Situated on a gentle hill three houses from the river, Ding Dong House offers sweeping views of the Hudson River from inside and out. The home features three ensuite bedrooms, three living room/den areas, four working fireplaces, wide-plank pine floors, period moldings and doors and a traditional English kitchen. The oldest section of the house is constructed of sandstone blocks from a nearby former quarry. Exterior highlights include a rear porch overlooking the Hudson River, new slate roof, security system, property wide landscaping, stone retaining walls and steps leading to a private yard that features entertaining areas, arbors, pool and an outdoor shower.

“This is the ultimate Snedens Landing house: Historic, private, turnkey, with great provenance and extraordinary views of the Hudson River,” said listing agent Richard Ellis. “Nothing compares.”

The home was originally built by John Sneden, whose family ran the ferry from Snedens Landing to Westchester’s Dobbs Ferry and lived there for almost 200 years. Known as the Ding Dong House because of a great bell that hung over its gate, it also is sometimes referred to as The Watson House, after the Watson family offered the home and collection of 300 books to be used by the public as the first local library in the Palisades in the 1890s.

The secluded Snedens Landing neighborhood near Palisades is just 12 miles north of the George Washington Bridge and has been home to past and present celebrities. Laurence Olivier, John Steinbeck, Katharine Hepburn, Al Pacino, Bill Murray, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Angelina Jolie, Hayden Panettiere and Diane Sawyer are among those who have called Snedens Landing home.

Listing Contact: Richard Ellis, Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty, Nyack, New York: 914-393-0438; ellissothebysrealty.com

Written by Evy Apostolatos (Sept, 6, 2022)

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Rare Frank Lloyd Wright Home in Hudson Valley Lists for $1.525 Million

Photography by Adrian Gaut

A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed midcentury home on 2.5 private acres in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Blauvelt in New York’s Rockland County, is on the market for $1,525,000 with Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

The 1961-built Socrates Zaferiou House, a Wright prefab design produced by Marshall Erdman and Associates, can be found on Clausland Mountain at 48 Clausland Mountain Road, within the 500-acre Blauvelt State Park.

Wright passed away in 1959 before the home was completed. The project architect, who also worked on the Guggenheim Museum in New York, finished it. Wright is considered one of America’s most prolific and influential architects and played an important role in the evolution of midcentury homes. His visionary work, spanning over seven decades, cemented his place as the American Institute of Architect’s “greatest American architect of all time.”

Photography by Adrian Gaut

The premise behind Wright’s design is to be in harmony with the environment, bringing the outdoors in with ample light and open spaces. The home, built into a hill, incorporates rows of glass doors and windows to bring nature inside the dwelling. Geometric designs and patterns are repeated throughout the home. Other appointments include extensive built-in cabinetry, a period-style patio with planting areas and full walkout basement with high ceilings.

Referencing the home’s original drawings and Frank Lloyd Wright archives, current owner and architectural designer Sarah Anderson-Magness carefully renovated the home, preserving key features such as the period red Formica kitchen and handmade tile bathroom.

The home is co-listed by Brandon Wagner and Richard Ellis of Nyack-based Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

“I love the property for its classic Frank Lloyd Wright style and the drama it creates,” said Wagner.

“Sarah Anderson-Magness, the current owner, and Socrates Zaferiou, the original owner, share a passion about preserving this historic home, and a desire that future owners will respect it in the same way. Socrates wanted to sell his home to someone that appreciated Wright’s designs and would be a proprietor to maintain the original design intent. Accordingly, we’re looking for a caretaker as much as a purchaser,” added Ellis.

Blauvelt, a hamlet in the town of Orangetown, is 28 miles north of New York City and just three miles from the Hudson River and historic Nyack, New York.

Listing Contact: Richard Ellis, Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty, Nyack, New York: 914-393-0438; ellissothebysrealty.com

Written by Evy Apostolatos (Oct. 7, 2022)

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Annual Benefit Has Raised Over $180,000 for Hudson Valley Arts Education

Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty and the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center raised $31,285 during an annual fundraising event this month to support arts education programs benefiting more than 1,000 Hudson Valley public school students in grades K-12. The event has raised over $180,000 since its 2016 launch.

The benefit was held Oct. 9 at Treetops, a 7.5-acre private estate in Sparkill, New York, and drew over 80 attendees. Guests bid on several auction items, including original art and a tour of Edward Hopper’s New York exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Speakers included Farris Wahbeh, the Benjamin and Irma Weiss Director of Research Resources at the Whitney Museum of American Art; Eric Shiner, former senior vice president of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, who served as the event’s auctioneer; and Phil Grabsky, an award-winning British documentary filmmaker and director who debuted an exclusive clip of “Hopper: An American Love Story,” a film that examines Hopper’s art, life and relationships from his early career to his critical and commercial acclaim.

Rothko, Banksy, Alfred Hitchcock and even The Simpsons have been influenced by the unique way Hopper captured American life.

 

From left to right: Eric Shiner,Richard Ellis, Cynthia Branca, Kathie Bennewitz, Farris Wahbeh and Phil Grabsky

“Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and patrons, we have raised over $180,000 in the last seven years to nurture student engagement with the rts that foster peer interaction and socialization inside and outside of the academic setting,” said Richard Ellis, owner of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty. “This special event supports the development of creative young minds by connecting students with the art and legacy of Edward Hopper through a thriving arts education program.”

Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty currently is listing Treetops for sale at $3.99 million. The circa 1859 Second Empire-style estate near Snedens Landing hosted many Hollywood stars, including Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Helen Hayes, Joan Collins, Ginger Rogers and Brooke Shields. In recent years it was the weekend retreat of the late Arlene Dahl, a screen actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and her husband, Marc Rosen, an award-winning perfume bottle designer.

“The benefit was a tremendous success due to the generosity of event sponsor Richard Ellis of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty and the gracious hospitality of Marc Rosen, who hosted this year’s benefit at his beautiful residence, Treetops, a truly and romantic property that transported guests to another era,” said Kathleen Motes Bennewitz, Edward Hopper House & Study Center executive director.

“The energy and optimism found among the event’s attendees translated into significant support for the Edward Hopper House & Study Center as it moves forward to 2023 and grows its art education series and Nighthawks mentorship program,” she said, adding that the annual benefit helps close gaps in arts education through partnerships with public schools, family workshops and its award-winning Nighthawks mentorship program. A portion of the monies raised will fund arts education classroom space, exhibitions and teaching curriculum.

Named after a 1942 painting by Edward Hopper by the same name, the Nighthawks mentorship and arts education program helps high school students develop professional skills, assume leadership roles and facilitate engagement with artwork and historic spaces.

The arts education program initially was funded in 2016 with proceeds from a fundraiser sponsored by Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty that benefited Nyack Public Schools, Nanuet School District, Clarkstown Schools, East Ramapo Schools, South Orangetown Middle School and Sleepy Hollow School District. The program expanded to Orange and Bergen counties in New Jersey this year.

Additional donations toward this initiative can be made by visiting https://www.edwardhopperhouse.org/donate.html.

Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty is a leading luxury real estate broker located in the Hudson Valley village of Nyack, approximately 22 miles from New York City.

By Evy Apostolatos

NYACK, N.Y. (Oct. 18, 2022)

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