North Gate, with Anderson Cottage and Baker Chapel
Trudeau Sanatorium Historic District, Reference Number 1
Year built: 1912-13
Description: North Gate marks the north entrance to the sanatorium on Trudeau Road. This gate consists of three square cobblestone gateposts, each about eight feet high and sixteen feet in circumference. These posts are unevenly spaced to demarcate the widths of the entrance drive and the narrower pedestrian path. Two of the posts have electrified iron lanterns on top and there is an original iron gate marking the entrance to the pedestrian path. The original iron gate crossing the entrance road has been replaced with a non-historic railroad crossing type gate. North Gate is connected to River Gate by a low, winding stone wall with a rounded concrete cap. River Gate, which marks the northeast entrance to the sanatorium on Trudeau Road, was originally identical to North Gate. However, its middle gatepost has been removed, apparently to allow for road widening. Likewise, the pedestrian path is no longer extant in this location. Both surviving posts retain their lanterns; however, the iron gates have been removed. Instead, the crossing is marked by a pair of swinging wooden gates.
History: In 1910 a new entrance road was made connecting the main sanitarium road to Park Avenue within the village limits of Saranac Lake. This called for "substantial and dignified" markings at all three entries. 1William Hall Penfold, a longtime friend of Dr. Trudeau's and donor to the sanitarium, "offered to get the iron gates, if we should build the stone pillars, which we did." When Penfold died September 18, 1912, before they were completed, his brother Edmund finished the gift, adding "large electric lanterns for lighting the entrances" in 1913. 2
Dr. Trudeau remarked at the time that the gift would "practically solve the problem of regulating the public travel through the Sanitarium property while adding greatly to the appearance and dignity of the grounds."
Bronze plaques, reading "Trudeau" in rustic lettering, were formerly mounted on the outside of the posts at all three gates. Though the sculptor is unknown, these plaques exemplify the style and quality of items produced in the workshop. They were added after E. L. Trudeau's death in 1915 when the name of the institution (and the spelling) was changed from "Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium" to "Trudeau Sanatorium." The plaques were relocated to Trudeau Institute and to Dr. Francis B. Trudeau's house on Trudeau Road after the sanatorium closed in 1954.
Remaining at the North Gate in 1993 were three cobblestone pillars, two with electrified lanterns on top, and one iron gate on the pedestrian path. The pair of larger iron gates on the road has been removed, replaced by a railroad-crossing style gate. North Gate is connected to River Gate by a low, winding stone wall with a rounded concrete cap.
Sources:
- Mary B. Hotaling, Draft nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, January 1993.
- National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Comments
Footnotes
1. Trudeau, Edward Livingston, M.D., An Autobiography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., reprint 1934. Originally published 1915. p. 301
2. Armstrong, Marguerite Scrapbook History of Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, Vols. 4-6, (Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY) p. 11
