517-519 Washington St

This picturesque Hudson home is one of the finest examples of French second-empire style, in a city known as "a dictionary of American architecture.'' It features a prominent mansard tower with bullseye (oeil-de-boeuf) dormer windows and tall arched paired windows. At the second-floor level, the curved mansard slate roof is pierced by ornate crowned dormer windows. Decorative brackets adorn the main cornice, bay window, and elaborate front porch. Enter this handsome house from the porch through ornate double doors to the spectacular curved black walnut staircase in the soaring entrance hall with 12-foot ceilings matching the height of all the first-floor rooms. Hall doorway on the right leads to a double parlor with fireplace and tall windows. The front parlor joins the rear parlor through a large opening and another wide opening joins the rear parlor to the dining room and its sunny bay window. Adjacent to the dining room, at the back of the house, is a spacious kitchen with floor to ceiling cabinets, ample granite counters, and large sink overlooking the long porch and gardens. At one end of the kitchen is a half bathroom, laundry, and stairs down to the basement and stairs up to a second floor back hallway. The formal front stair and informal back stair lead to the second floor sitting room or library, a total of three bedrooms, and two baths. The spacious primary ensuite bedroom has a charming sunny alcove (part of the tower with its tall windows), a fireplace heater, a luxurious jacuzzi bathtub, and a separate shower. Sited on a double corner lot on a quiet one-way street, the short side street allows discreet access to the two-car garage. Privet hedges enclose professionally designed lovely gardens with perennials, trees, and paved stone paths. Located conveniently only a few blocks from the Hudson library and lively Warren Street, and two hours by car or Amtrak train to New York City.