Alden Carriage House

The Alden Carriage House was originally designed by Stanford White in 1881, after he began as a partner at the firm McKim, Meade and White. Earlier in his career, McKim had designed a house on Long Island for Ann Coleman Alden. When Mrs. Alden decided to build a house in the mountains of Cornwall, Pennsylvania for her son Percy, she commissioned the new firm to design the project. The Alden Villa became the first house Stanford White was to design as a managing partner principal at his own firm. As part of the program, the Aldens proposed a carriage house for their 300 acre estate. Though no record exists of the firm doing the work, White’s hand is clearly evident in its tight wrapped skin, and a trio of beautifully articulated gable windows. The Alden Carriage House could very well be the first building designed by architect Stanford White. Over 100 years after its initial construction, the Alden Carriage House was in a state of dilapidation until Nest Architecture Inc. founder Kip Kelly became a partial owner of the property and renovated the derelict barn into a modernized visualization of White’s original form. The building now contains a luxury day spa and several retail spaces.