Elephant Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elephant Hotel | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | 335 Route 202, Somers, NY |
| Nearest city: | Peekskill |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | 1.67 acres [1] |
| Built/Founded: | 1820-1825 |
| Architect: | Hachaliah Bailey |
| Designated as NHL: | April 5, 2005 [2] |
| Added to NRHP: | April 05, 2005 [3] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 05000462 |
| Governing body: | Town of Somers |
The Elephant Hotel is a National Historic Landmark located in Somers, New York, a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. It is a contributing property to the Somers Hamlet Historic District.
The Elephant Hotel was established by Hachaliah Bailey after he bought an African Elephant, which he named "Old Bet". Bailey intended to use the elephant for farm work but the number of people it attracted caused Bailey to take her throughout the northeast. Bailey's success caused numerous others to tour with exotic animals, and during the 1830's the old style circus and Bailey's attractions merged to form the modern circus. Due to this, the Elephant Hotel is known as the "Cradle of the American Circus."
Old Bet died on tour in 1827. Bailey later erected the Elephant Hotel in Somers in honor of Old Bet, and it was purchased by the town in 1927. It is a town landmark and was dedicated a National Historic Landmark in 2005.[2][1]
The Elephant Hotel is currently the Somers Town Hall. It is located at 335 US 202, across from the northern end of NY 100. The Somers Historical Society occupies the third floor of the building. The Society operates the Museum of the Early American Circus.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Neil Larsen (2005), National Historic Landmark Nomination: Elephant HotelPDF (108 KiB), National Park Service
- ^ a b Elephant Hotel. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Elephant Hotel history at Somers Historical Society
- Elephant Hotel, State Route 116 Vicinity, Somers, Westchester County, New York: 5 photos, 11 drawings, 7 data pages, and supplemental material, at Historic American Building Survey
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