Villa Lewaro

Villa Lewaro
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
(2007)
Location	North Broadway, Irvington, New York
Coordinates
Built	1916–1918
Architect	Vertner Tandy
Architectural style	Italian Renaissance
NRHP Reference #	76001289
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 11, 1976
Designated NHL	May 11, 1976

Villa Lewaro, formerly known as the Anne E. Poth Home, is a 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²) mansion located at Fargo Lane and North Broadway (US 9) in Irvington, New York. It was the home of Madam C. J. Walker from 1918 to 1919. She is believed to be the first American female and first African-American female, self-made millionaire. The mansion is an Italianate villa house designed for Walker by Vertner Tandy, the first registered African-American architect, and has been considered to be one of his greatest works. It was constructed during 1916–1918 at an estimated cost of $250,000, and was furnished lavishly. The name Villa Lewaro was coined by a distinguished visitor, Enrico Caruso, from the first two letters of each word in Lelia Walker Robinson, the name of her daughter, who later went by the name of A'Lelia Walker.

The home was used as a conference center on race relations issues. Walker died there in 1919; the house was inherited by her daughter A'Lelia Walker who owned it until she herself died in 1931. It then became the Anne E. Poth Home for Convalescent and Aged Members of the Companions of the Forest in America. The house became a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and has been a private residence since the mid-1980s.

In 1993, Villa Lewaro was purchased by Harold Doley, founder of Doley Securities, LLC, the oldest African-American-owned and operated investment banking firm in the United States. Doley has hoped to attract investors to help turn the residence into a museum. During 1998 it was a designer show house benefiting the United Negro College Fund.

In May 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation began a project with the active support of Doley, which it called "Envisioning Villa Lewaro's Future", to determine the appropriate re-use of the mansion, which was becoming available for purchase. Three scenarios were selected by a workshop organized by the Trust: a spa and salon, a "Center for Innovation in Technology", and a corporate events venue, while a fourth – continued residential use – was suggested by the Trust afterwards; other scenarios were rejected by the workshop, although the Trust recommended that one – a cultural arts performance venue – be reconsidered. Others have suggested that the mansion be used as a center for information about Madame Walker and Vertner Tandy, the architect.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Westchester County, New York

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Bundles, A'Lelia P. On Her Own Ground: the Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. 2001

External links

• Madam Walker Estate Tour
• Irvington Historical Society – Villa Lewaro
• 2 photos at the Historic American Buildings Survey
• Places Where Women Made History: Villa Lewaro, at National Park Service
• http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/1198mans.htm
• http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/0399gard.htm
• http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/walk-mad.htm
• http://forums.sohh.com/showthread.php?t=611969