Bedford Road Historic District

Bedford Road Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
24, 30, 40 Bedford Road and St. Stephen's Church, 2013
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Location	Armonk, New York
Nearest city	Stamford, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°7′31″N 73°42′45″W / 41.12528°N 73.71250°W / 41.12528; -73.71250
Area	4.5 acres (1.8 ha)
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Federal[2]
NRHP reference No.	85002903[1]
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1985

The Bedford Road Historic District is located along that street in the unincorporated hamlet of Armonk, New York, United States. Its 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) contain nine contributing properties, all wood frame buildings from the mid-19th century in variations and combinations of the Federal and Greek Revival architectural styles. In 1985 the group was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Armonk's history began with the buildings, erected in the mid-19th century when the congregants of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, the oldest building in the district, subdivided and sold the large parcel the church was on to their rector in order to give the church a solid financial footing. In selling the land for house construction, the congregation was the first to use the name Armonk for the area, and the properties have likewise been described as the hamlet's first residential subdivision.^[3]

Architecturally, the houses and church are a rare surviving group in classically inspired styles in that part of Westchester County.^[2] Some are used as professional offices today. The church's cemetery, in which many of the inhabitants of the houses and other early residents of North Castle are buried, is also part of the district.

Since its construction, the district has undergone some changes. Another, smaller house was built within it in the 1880s. The church has gone through several parsonages, one of which has been demolished, along with an additional building used as a girls' school. Highway construction and relocations following IBM's 1964 choice of Armonk for its corporate headquarters changed Bedford Road from a major through route to a dead-end street. In the early 21st century the redevelopment of the land north of the district into Armonk Square, a mixed-use shopping center and apartment complex required the construction of a street in the middle of the district to meet parking requirements, a move which was highly controversial within the community.