The Chester A. Arthur Home was the residence of the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886), both before and after his four years in Washington, D.C., while serving as Vice President and then as President. It is located at 123 Lexington Avenue, between 28th and 29th Streets in Rose Hill. Arthur spent most of his adult life living in the residence. While Vice President, Arthur retreated to the house after the July 2, 1881 shooting of President James Garfield. Arthur was in residence here when Garfield died on September 19, and took the presidential oath of office in the building. A commemorative bronze plaque was placed inside the building in 1964 by the Native New Yorkers Historical Society and New York Life Insurance, and the house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
The Chester A. Arthur Home is located in Manhattan's Rose Hill neighborhood, on the east side of Lexington Avenue between 28th and 29th Streets. It is a five-story masonry structure with Romanesque Revival styling. It is three bays wide, and has an elaborate cornice, which obscures its low-pitch or flat roof. Windows on the upper three floors are set in segmented arch openings, with splayed stone lintels and bracketed sills. The lower two floors have been converted into a retail space, with a modernized storefront, and the upper floors have been converted to apartments. The interior of the house has relatively little historic integrity.
Chester Alan Arthur moved to New York City in 1848, where he engaged in the practice of law, and in Republican Party politics. He rose in the city's Republican machine to become Collector of the Port of New York, a major patronage post. He was chosen to be James Garfield's running mate in the 1880 election, and became president after Garfield died on September 19, 1881, from wounds incurred in an assassination attempt eleven weeks earlier. Arthur took the oath of office in this house, and retired to it after his term ended in 1885. He died here the following year.
The house was later purchased by William Randolph Hearst. It has since undergone many changes. Today, the building houses Kalustyan's, an Indian and Middle Eastern grocery store, on the first two floors, and apartments on the top three.
It is the only surviving building in New York City where a president was inaugurated.
References:Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.