Percival Lloyd
If you haven’t had a chance to attend one of our Academy Street Walking Tours, your first chance for the season will be May 20 (be sure to check your Rotunda newsletter and sign up when registration begins, as spots fill up quickly). The tour takes patrons on a journey down this historic and architecturally significant street, where we discuss some of the interesting characters that once called it home. Since we can not cover every house on the street in one brief walking tour, we thought we would mention one of the beautiful homes that we don’t see on the tour in this week’s blog post.
Designed in 1900 by Percival Lloyd, 151 Academy Street is not as old as some of the others, but it certainly has character. Lloyd was born here in Poughkeepsie on January 28, 1872 and studied at the Riverview Military Academy. He began his career around 1891 by working as a draftsman in the firm of one of the city’s finest architects, Arnout Cannon, Jr. He was no doubt inspired by the works that Cannon had created during the course of his career, and it didn’t take long before Lloyd was made a partner. In 1894, one of his first designs appeared at 47 South Hamilton Street. After Cannon’s suicide in 1898, Lloyd started his own business and quickly brought in new clients with plenty of money to spend.
In 1899, several of his drawings appeared in the Poughkeepsie Eagle News, including the home that he designed that year for George and Alice Sherman at 119 Academy Street, and a design for an elaborate Colonial Revival mansion. This spread in the newspaper brought him several new customers, one of which was Mr. James D. Keith, who owned land on the southern end of Academy street and appears to have wanted a Colonial Revival home of his own. We can see many details in the house at 151 today that also appear in Lloyd’s conceptual drawing from the newspaper; the corner pilasters, the porch with crowning balustrade and the elaborate pediment at the top center window. These little additions to the exterior give it a classic and elegant feeling. Check out some of the interior photos on Zillow, the stained glass on the main staircase will make you jealous.
In the early 1900s, Lloyd was busy with several large projects that can still be seen throughout the city. Some of these Poughkeepsie landmarks are the First Presbyterian Church on South Hamilton Street, the Poughkeepsie Trust Company building on Main Street, and the Lady Washington Hose fire company building on Academy. Given all of his talents, you would assume that he might have ventured beyond Poughkeepsie and create masterpieces elsewhere, but there are no known buildings attributed to him beyond the ones here in Poughkeepsie. Perhaps it is because he died young and therefore was never given the opportunity. In early 1915, he became ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and died in a sanitorium at Saranac Lake on March 5, he was only 43. We can say that as a City we are quite fortunate to be the only place where you can see some of his lovely structures.
References:
Poughkeepsie Eagle News – 24 Oct 1894, 8 Jan 1895, 16 Mar 1899, 12 Apr 1901, 6 Mar 1915
Puretz, Susan L. “Evolution of Academy Street” 1983. LH 720.974 P.
Images:
Percivallloyd – A photo of Percival Lloyd from 1905 when he was serving on the building committee for the First Presbyterian Church. LH Collections DCS24LD26.
PJ-16mar-1899 – Advertisement for Percival Lloyd from the Poughkeepsie Eagle News 1899.
PJ-1899-colonialmansion – Conceptual drawing from the Poughkeepsie Eagle News 1899.
151academy – Modern day photograph of #151 Academy Street.
