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Elephant Hotel

Buildings and structures in Westchester County, New YorkCircus museums in the United StatesCity and town halls in New York (state)Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state)Historical society museums in New York (state)
Hotel buildings completed in 1825Hotels in New York (state)Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state)Museums in Westchester County, New YorkNRHP infobox with nocatNational Historic Landmarks in New York (state)National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New YorkNew York State Register of Historic Places in Westchester CountySomers, New YorkUse mdy dates from August 2023
Elephant Hotel 2007
Elephant Hotel 2007

The Elephant Hotel is a historic former hotel which today serves as the town hall in Somers, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 7, 1974 as Somers Town House and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005 as Elephant Hotel. It is also a contributing property in the NRHP-listed Somers Hamlet Historic District. It is located at 335 US 202, across from the northern end of NY 100.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Elephant Hotel (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Elephant Hotel
US 202,

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Wikipedia: Elephant HotelContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.328055555556 ° E -73.685555555556 °
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Address

Somers Town Hall

US 202 335
10589
New York, United States
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Elephant Hotel 2007
Elephant Hotel 2007
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Nearby Places

Somers Hamlet Historic District
Somers Hamlet Historic District

The Somers Hamlet Historic District is a historic district located along US 202 in Somers Hamlet in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is the stretch of highway between the junctions with NY 100 and NY 116, including small portions of both highways. Two side streets, Deans Bridge Road and The Lane, are also included, bringing its total area to 56 acres (22.4 ha).Forty-six of the 57 buildings, sites and structures within the district are considered contributing properties. Many of them date to the early 19th century, when the hamlet was at the junction of the Croton Turnpike (now NY 100) and the Peekskill-Danbury Turnpike (now US 202). Despite the increasing suburbanization and development in northern Westchester, particularly due to the nearby presence of the corporate headquarters of IBM and PepsiCo, the area has retained its historic integrity as a relic of the area's rural origins and a fine example of the migration of New England vernacular architectural styles into New York. The most significant contributing property, the Elephant Hotel at the junction of NY 100 and US 202, currently serves three functions. It is Somers' Town Hall, the offices of its historical society and the American Circus Historical Society. The latter agency reflects the building's historical importance as the birthplace of the circus in the United States. The brick Federal style structure, one of the finest examples of a hotel in that style in the state, was built by Hachaliah Bailey in 1825. A decade earlier he had brought an African elephant, Old Bet, to the U.S. Originally he had intended to use the animal in his fields, but he found he could make more money charging visitors to see Old Bet. He later organized a traveling menagerie that began to include other animal acts and human performers as well; this grew into what became part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.Other historic buildings in the area are primarily wood-frame structures built as dwellings, with barns and other outbuildings supporting businesses such as blacksmithies which did a thriving business on turnpike through traffic. The presence of two Shingle style houses on NY 116 near the district's eastern end signifies the time when suburbanization began in the late 19th century, as the homeowners were wealthy enough to afford to hire an architect rather than just use vernacular stylings. Two cemeteries are also included.The Elephant Hotel, first added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The district was created and added to the Register thirty years later. The following year, 2005, the Elephant Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark.