NYC Designated Landmarks
Tottenville |
Aakawaxung Munahanung (Island Protected from the Wind) Archaeological Site, |
Tottenville |
Conference House, 7455 Hylan Blvd., ca. 1680 Built by Captain Christopher Billopp, an officer in the British Navy, on a 1,600-acre tract of land known as the Manor of Bentley. This stone house is renowned as the site of the only attempt between the colonists and the British Crown to end the American Revolution. The conference took place on September 11, 1776 and was unsuccessful. |
Tottenville |
Henry Hogg Biddle House, Built for Henry Hogg Biddle, wealthy landowner and a self-described "gentleman." The spring eave overhang in combination with a two-story Greek Revival columned portico "illustrates one of the most striking of the responses made by Staten Island builders to the high style Greek Revival residences built there by wealthy New York City merchants in the 1830s." |
Tottenville |
Rutan-Journeay House, The Rutan-Journeay House was built for James M. Rutan, a ship builder and carpenter who, with his brother, established the Rutan Shipyard on the Tottenville waterfront. In 1859 John S. Journeay purchased the house from Rutan. The Journeay family arrived on Staten Island in the late 17th century. John, a blacksmith, in partnership with other family members, operated a shipyard just north of Main St. The house is one of the best-preserved houses representing the early building traditions on the South Shore. |
Tottenville |
George Cunningham Store Built by George Cunningham of Tottenville who, for 21 years, operated a butcher shop here. Its most distinctive feature is its shop bay windows with decorative brackets, a rare survivor in New York City. It is the best preserved early commercial building on Main St., once the business center of the community. |
Tottenville
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Theodore F. and Elizabeth DeHart House Though probably built as an investment by Henry Butler, later owners included members of the local Totten family with ties to the oyster business. Theodore DeHart, an oyster planter, and his wife Elizabeth were the owner/occupants for nearly 40 years, from 1874 to 1913. 134 Main Street is one of the oldest houses on this important street. |
Tottenville |
James L. and Lucinda Bedell House, This Second-Empire style frame residence was built by James L. Bedell, carpenter and cabinet maker, who was most likely assisted by his brother, Isaac P. Bedell, carpenter-builder and founder of the oldest undertaking business in New York City. Chester A. Cole, prominent architect responsible for the restoration of the Conference House, was the second owner. Sold in 2005 to a builder with plans to demolish, the community rallied to save the house. Although it qualified and subsequently received landmark status, the current owner removed many original ornamental elements and fully destroyed the interior. The house was sold in 2009 and has been fully restored. |
Tottenville |
Tottenville Branch, New York Public Library The first public library on Staten Island that was built as part of industrialist Andrew Carnegie's campaign to consolidate the library system in New York City and erect public buildings. It was designed by the renowned architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings. |
Tottenvllle |
Westfield Township District School No. 5, P.S. 1 Annex Built in 1878 for the growing community, it is the oldest school building on Staten Island still in use. The second story of this impressive brick building afforded a panoramic view of Raritan Bay that prompted the name, "Bay View Academy." An open belfry once stood atop the roof. A rear addition, constructed in 1896-97, housed the high school department. By the early 20th century, the school was once again overcrowded and a new elementary school was built on an adjacent lot facing Summit St. — today's P.S. 1. |
Charleston |
St. Peter's German Evangelical Church (now Free Magyar Reformed Church), Church Hall and Rectory Built by industrialist Balthasar Kreischer for the then German community in the village of Kreischerville (now Charleston). The Carpenter Gothic church is distinguished by its open porch, "domestic in scale and form." Around 1900 a community of Hungarian immigrants began to settle in Kreischerville and in 1919 they purchased the property. The building complex includes an entry foyer and office (formerly a caretaker's apartment), and an auditorium, added in the 1890s and used as an annex to P.S. 4. The rectory was built in 1926 for the pastor and his family. |
Charleston |
Kreischerville Workers' Houses By 1890 Capt. Peter Androvette was regarded as the most prominent citizen of the village of Kreischerville. He had been in charge of water transportation for the Kreischer brick firm and established his own towing and transportation company. He also began developing properties in the community, including these four identical wood-frame double houses built near the brick works as rental units. |
Charleston |
Westfield Township District School No. 7, P.S. 4 Westfield Township District School No. 7 was built in 1896, the second school building in the village of Kreischerville. It is one of the oldest school structures still in use on Staten Island. An addition in 1906 provided additional classrooms for the growing community. It was renamed Public School 4 in 1898 and today is home to Intermediate School 25 under the jurisdiction of the NYC's Board of Education Division of Special Education. It is suspected the speckled face brick was produced by the local Kreischer Brick Co. |
Charleston |
Kreischer House Built for Charles C. Kreischer, son of industrialist Balthasar Kreischer, the profusely decorated house is an excellent example of the Stick Style, a transitional American architectural style between the Carpenter Gothic and the Queen Anne styles. Recently uncovered documentation supports the construction date as 1886. A mirror-image house was built for Charles's brother, Edward, on an adjacent lot; it no longer stands. Later owner/occupants included the Simonsons and the Greenfields. |
Prince's Bay |
Abraham J. Wood House This early farmhouse was built by Abraham J. Wood, farmer, on Amboy Rd., one of the oldest roads on Staten Island, and is described as a "handsome example of Greek Revival architecture." |
Prince's Bay |
Seguine House Built by Joseph H. Seguine, a member of the prominent early Staten Island family. The house is described as a "monument to the Greek Revival period of architecture and to a grand way of life now a part of Staten Island's past history." Purchased in 1981 and restored by George Burke, the house is now owned by the City of New York since 1989. |
Annadale |
Brougham Cottage This rare-surviving Dutch-American farmhouse, a reminder of Staten Island's early history, was constructed in multiple sections, the original dating to the early 1700s. Early occupants include Stillwell, Taylor, Poillon, Foster, Brougham and Kolff. |
Prince's Bay |
Manee-Seguine Homestead Later known as the Homestead Hotel or, more commonly, Purdy's Hotel, the rubblestone wing of this building probably dates to before 1700. Abraham Manee, a French Huguenot, was one of its earliest owners followed by the Seguine family who lived nearby (see Seguine House). The family often referred to this house as the "old homestead." In 1874 Stephen Purdy purchased the property using a portion of the house as a boarding house. The area had become a popular summer resort for city dwellers. The house and property, owned by a developer since 2009, remains in a state of disrepair despite a 2019 court ruling to transfer title to the New York City. |
Prince's Bay |
Prince's Bay Lighthouse Complex The Prince's Bay Lighthouse sits on a high bluff facing Raritan Bay. It was built in 1864 to replace an earlier wood frame structure. The keeper's house was built in 1868 and the carriage house in 1869. The property surrounding the buildings was owned by the United States Lighthouse Service from 1826-1926 when it was sold to Mount Loretto. Today the complex is part of Mt. Loretto Unique Area, a 241 acre nature reserve managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. |
Prince's Bay |
John H. and Elizabeth J. Elsworth House, This handsome house is described as "a vernacular clapboard three-bay town house with a bold and unusual combination of Italianate and Renaissance features." It was built by John H. Elsworth, an oyster planter, who also served as Sheriff of Richmond County and County Clerk. Russell Powell, owner/occupant and restoration carpenter, has completed its full restoration. |
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The Sandy Ground community of Rossville was settled in the 1800s by free African Americans from Maryland. By the early 1850s they organized a congregation and built a church on Crabtree Ave. (1854). The cemetery was established to the west of the church. By 1897 the congregation had outgrown its original house of worship and a new building was constructed on Bloomingdale Rd. Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church Cemetery, Crabtree Ave. Reverend Isaac Coleman and Rebecca Gray Coleman House, 1482 Woodrow Rd., before 1859, Designated February 1, 2011 The earliest owner of the Coleman house, as recorded on historic maps, was Ephraim Bishop, an oysterman from Maryland. It is not known if he built the house. Mrs. Bishop sold the house in 1864 to the Reverend Isaac Coleman, pastor of the A.M.E. Zion Church, and his wife Rebecca Gray Coleman. The house remains in the possession of descendants of Mrs. Coleman today. 565 and 569 Bloomingdale Rd. Cottages, ca. 1900 Sandy Ground Historic Archeological District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1982. |
Rossville |
Woodrow Methodist Church Staten Island's first Methodist church was built on this site in 1787, and replaced in 1842. The open bell tower and spire were added in 1876. Many of the area's earliest settlers are interred in the graveyard surrounding the church. |
Rossville |
Sleight Family Graveyard / Rossville (Blazing Star) Located on Arthur Kill Rd. at Rossville Ave., it is one of the earliest community burial grounds on Staten Island and contains the resting place for some of Staten Island's earliest residents including Winant, Seguine, Decker, and Sleight. |
Eltingville |
St. Alban's Episcopal Church (Church of the Holy Comforter), 76 St. Alban's Place Designed by noted architect R.M. Upjohn, St. Alban's is an excellent example of a mid-19th century wood-frame church featuring board-and-batten siding, a rare survivor in New York City. The church was moved to its present location in 1872 and enlarged. The original parish (Church of the Holy Comforter) merged with St. Anne's Episcopal Church of Great Kills in 1951 and the name was changed to St. Alban's. |
Eltingville |
Poillon House (now known as the Olmsted-Beil House), 4515 Hylan Blvd., ca. 1720 Early owners of the property include three generations of the Poillon family, one of the original Huguenot families that settled on Staten Island. Later, Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of American landscape architecture, used the property as a tree nursery, planting many unusual specimens on his farm. The house, originally a small one-room farmhouse, was remodeled twice, in 1837 and again in 1848 with additional rooms and a raised roofline. |
Great Kills |
Poillon-Seguine-Britton House The original section was built circa 1695 for French immigrant Jacques Poillon, with a 2-story addition completed about 1845 after the home was sold to Joseph Seguine. A final major extension was added in 1930 for Richard Britton. It was a substantial 21⁄2-story, stone-and-wood structure in the local vernacular style. Commercial owners requested to demolish the building after two fires in 1989, and again in 1992 citing economic hardship. In 1996, the Department of Buildings issued a demolition permit without Landmarks approval and the building was quickly razed. The landmark designation was rescinded in 1997. |