Lakeman-Courtelyou-Taylor House

2286 Richmond Road
ca. 1683

This Dutch Colonial style farmhouse is divided into two distinctive wings, believed to have been built at different periods. The oldest section is a two-story wing with a gambrel roof, attached to a newer one-story wing with a gable roof. Both are constructed with irregular fieldstone and wood above the first story, and feature the characteristic footprint, height, rooflines, and small window openings of the style.
The house was originally built by Abraham Lakeman in the late-17th century, on property he inherited from his father. It remained as his family home until 1714, when it was sold. In 1751, the house and farm were purchased by Aaron Cortilieu (Cortelyou), one of the original members of the Moravian Church at New Dorp and a descendant of the Huguenots who emigrated in 1652. He left the property to his daughter Elizabeth, who was married to Richard Seamons. They sold the house in 1794 to Joseph Taylor, remaining in their family for many years. It was sold a few more times during the 19th and 20th century, maintaining its use as a private residence. It underwent extensive restoration work in 2001, which also removed modern additions. In 2015, the house was part of LPC’s Backlog initiative, a plan to address the properties that had been calendared prior to 2010 but had not been acted upon. After series of hearings and reviews, 30 properties were prioritized. The Lakeman-Courtelyou- Taylor House was included on this list and became a NYC Landmark in 2016. The following year, however, this designation was overturned by the City Council.

New Dorp Moravian Church, Parish House and Cemetery

2205 Richmond Road
1844 Church
1878 Parsonage
1914 Parish House

Established in 1748, the New Dorp Moravian Church is the second oldest church in Staten Island. Moravians are among the earliest Protestant denominations, arriving in New York during the 1730s and 1740s. In 1763, they purchased a plot of land for the construction of a small church, which was consecrated at the end of the year. A parsonage was built sometime later, with records showing that it was expanded around 1820, with a Sunday School established in 1829. The congregation’s sustained
growth prompted the construction of a new church in 1844, funded by members from different parts of the world, including a $1,000 contribution from Cornelius Vanderbilt (equivalent to $40K today). The Greek Revival structure features a porch with columns typical of the style, and a bell tower. It underwent extensive repairs in 1892, and again in 1955. At this time, the tower was replaced by a steeple, the auditorium was enlarged, the basement was modernized, and new offices and a chapel were also constructed. A new parsonage was built in 1878 by William H. Vanderbilt, son of Cornelius. A new parish house was built in 1914, again with a substantial donation from the Vanderbilt family. Adjacent to the church is the 113-acre cemetery, which holds the remains of early settlers and noted community members. Among them is the Vanderbilt family, whose Mausoleum was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. The land was originally used as a free public burial ground until 1819, after which the Church began charging fees to non- members. It would later undergo several expansions and improvements, becoming an architectural and landscape staple.

McCall Demonstration House

1929 Richmond Road
1924, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

In 1923, McCall’s Magazine announced the development of a series where a group of noted architects would design small houses based on functionality, affordability as well as beauty. The plans for each would be made available to readers for a fee. Eight proposals were published between 1924-25. House sizes ranged from four to seven rooms, and construction costs from $4,000 to $13,500. Flagg’s design was at the low end of the scale in both categories. The house was built on a main road, as he wanted it to be easy to find if people wanted to observe the building process, or when it was completed. His goal was to prove his theory that good design could be achieved in smaller buildings at a fraction of the cost. Flagg chronicled the entire process in succeeding articles, including adjustments to the original plans and new construction methods. Although isolated from other buildings from the Estate, the design maintained many of his signature elements, like a retaining wall which forms part of several structures. The McCall Demonstration House brought national attention to Flagg’s work, which had already found an audience through his 1922 book Small Houses. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1987. Photo by Frank J. Johns, 1967.

Wallcot

285 Flagg Place
1918-21, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmarks

Known also as House-on-the-Wall, this roadside stone cottage is complementary to Flagg’s Bowcott, located on a similar location at the northeastern edge of the estate. Its main façade is comprised of a retaining wall built along the embankment, which incorporates setbacks from the building line on the lower sections to create a wider view of it from the road. Unlike Bowcott, Wallcot’s walls don’t replicate the road’s curvature, maintaining a straight line. The structure does follow the terrain’s slope upward, with a garage built on higher ground, which was later connected to the main section of the house. This gives the cottage the same appearance of being nestled into the terrain and its landscape. The lower section houses the living room, dining room, two large bedrooms and, originally, two smaller bedrooms for servants. The chauffeur’s apartment was located at its northwestern end, with a projecting gabled portico highlighting the garage portion of the building. The main entrance is marked by a gabled hood-roof, supported by large ornamental brackets. Underneath, a flight of steps leads up through an open stone-walled round-arched vestibule. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1987.

Water Tower

16 Flagg Court
ca. 1900, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

Located at the northwest edge of the estate, this large fieldstone water tower remains as one of its most distinctive outbuildings. It was originally taller, and had a conical roof with a windmill on top and a water wheel. Some brackets are still visible on the highest section. The roof was originally supported by posts located on the interior of the structure, which also held a narrow walkway. The top section has a series of round-arched windows, and is crowned by an indented brick parapet. This last modification was done during the 1950s. A secondary tower was built also around 1900 and used as a pump house. It was located on the center axis, approximately 160 feet northwest of the entry court gate. It was included in the 1983 boundaries expansion of the 1967 NYC Landmark designation.

Stable

79 Flagg Court
ca. 1900, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmarks

Originally a two-story structure, the stable is the largest outbuilding on the Flagg Estate. Located on the northern edge of the property, it faces the swimming pool and aligns with the central axis that shapes the group. It had entrances at both ends, which were framed by one-story buildings that marked driveways for secondary roads that led to north gateways. They have since been removed, as well as the continuation of Coventry Road, which paralleled the rear of Flagg’s property and connected Todt Hill and West Entry Roads. In 1947, an attic story was added by St. Charles Seminary and the three original dormers were removed from the steeply-pitched gable roof. The roof lantern was maintained, and is flanked by two chimneys. It was included in the 1983 boundaries expansion of the 1967 NYC Landmark designation.

Palm House

63 Flagg Court
ca. 1908, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

Located 100-feet northwest of the Gardener’s Cottage, the Palm House was part of an area occupied by greenhouses which ran along the perimeter wall. Some of them were connected to it through a pipe system, which distributed the heat generated from large chimneys located at each end of the structure. It was originally a low one-story structure of fieldstone covered by a gable roof. The center section of the southwest slope was filled by a large skylight. The property was severely altered in 1987, when a two-story structure was added on the southwest side, thus changing the façade expression. It was included in the 1983 boundaries expansion of the 1967 NYC Landmark designation.

Gardener’s Cottage

45 Flagg Court
ca. 1908, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

Built around the same time as the addition to the Gatehouse, this double-cottage was originally a long rectangular building of whitewashed fieldstone. Its northeast façade was incorporated into the perimeter wall, which continues south and sets the boundaries of a backyard. It was Flagg’s first exploration of a typology he described as “cloister house”, designed around a central square or courtyard. He would later add another structure to the rear, also attached to the perimeter wall, which created an L-shaped house plan. Over
the years, further alterations to the house have obscured the initial layout. The northwest section has two-stories and gabled windows which break the eaves. The southwest section has one-story and a basement, and also features a pair of gabled windows on the attic. Entrances are marked by pent roofs carried on brackets. It was included in the 1983 boundaries expansion of the 1967 NYC Landmark designation. Photo by Jean Prahbu.

Stone Court

209 Flagg Pl

1898-1908 renovations, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark
Located at the highest section of the property, Stone Court was Ernest Flagg’s country residence, which he purchased in 1898. The imposing 32-room mansion was built of fieldstone, like many of the surrounding outbuildings and cottages. It features several variations of the colonial tradition, such as an enlarged scale, massive chimneys, and a circular balustraded observation deck atop a traditional gambrel roof. The façade on Flagg Place is framed by an axially- arranged formal garden on an elevated terrace, and the main entrance is marked by a two-level veranda supported by Doric columns on the first story and by posts on the second. Flank wings to the main building were added later on, and a large swimming pool and fountain on the central court completed the complex, which was completed around 1917. After Flagg’s death in 1947, the estate became the St. Charles Seminary. Ten years later, the southwest pavilion and logia were demolished and replaced by the current two-story administration building. Further modifications have been done over the to accommodate its current use. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1967. Plans to develop a portion of the property have been pursued by the owners since 2006, with a proposal presented in 2018 which added 19 single-family homes, a new roadway and offered to restore parts of the mansion. Although those plans did not succeed, the estate continues to be up for sale.

Gatehouse

181 Flagg Pl
1898-1908 renovations, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

This two-story single- family house was constructed of fieldstone at the same time as Stone Court. The oldest section is a one-story, L-shaped, gabled-roof structure, which was incorporated as part of the retaining wall. An extension was added around 1908, consisting of a one-and-one-half story structure with gambrel-roof on the northwest side. Through the years, additions and modifications have been made to the house, including glass panels to the attic, but it maintains its cohesiveness and signature elements, such as the chimneys topped by curved ventilator caps. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1967.

BOWCOTT

95 W Entry Rd
1916-17, Ernest Flagg
New York City Individual Landmark

Flagg envisioned his estate populated by many small stone houses, evoking the ancient Anglo-French or Norman villages of England and France. Bowcott was the first of the experimental stone cottages he constructed, receiving its name for the way it bends with the road. Viewed from the principal façade, the house appears to nestle into the terrain, while the rear elevation creates a clear public-private boundary. This is representative of Flagg’s idea of buildings that belong to the site, with structure and topography aligned. Bowcott was the first domestic architecture project where Flagg used mosaic rubble. Instead of worked stone, he used quoins made of concrete-blocks with vertical reinforcing rods filled with concrete. The stone was sourced from a quarry he had established on the grounds. It has been observed that this technique pre-dates the general usage of concrete block by some twenty years. The main floor was used as the living and dining rooms, while the attic had several bedrooms and a sitting room. Additional bedroom space was provided by a large one- story room at the west corner. The basement was possibly used as a kitchen. Dormers, chimneys and gables were used to provide a picturesque effect, a detail Flagg used often. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1987.

Ernest Flagg Estate

Ernest Flagg was a prolific and honored architect, mostly known for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and the Singer Tower -Manhattan’s first notable skyscraper-. He was one of Staten Island’s largest landowners, developing a series of houses which combined the knowledge he acquired during his years of study in Paris with his desire to improve construction methods in a cost-effective manner. His goal was to make single- family houses affordable for a broader segment of the country’s population. This estate was his residence and laboratory for over four decades, resulting in a unique group of structures that reflect his distinctive interpretation of architectural styles and design principles. Part of the property was designated as a NYC Landmark in 1967, with boundaries extended in 1983 to include other structures. At this time, a developer working with architect Robert A. M. Stern made modifications to some of the existing buildings, added 10 new residences, and made the pool into a formal garden. In 1987, three more buildings from the Estate were designated as NYC Individual Landmarks. With the exception of Stone Court, all of the buildings are currently used as private residences.

FORMER SHROEDER RESIDENCE

5 W Entry Rd
ca. 1900

This two-story cottage was initially part of the Flagg Estate, and was transferred to the Richmond Country Country Club in the early 1900s. It displays many of Flagg’s signature design elements, such as gambrel roofs, gabled windows and curved top chimneys. It also maintains more direct a stylistic relationship with Stone Court, implying that it could be one of the earliest structures to have been built. During the 1920s and 30s, it was the residence of New York Curb Exchange broker Gilliat Schroeder. Born in New York, he graduated from Columbia University in 1902 and was a member of the Board of Governors of the Exchange. Schroeder moved to Todt Hill with his first wife Helen Stevens, a relative of business tycoon John Jacob Astor, their two children and his mother-in-law. After the passing of his wife in 1927, he married Louisa Rapallo Donald the following year, and relocated to Manhattan by the end of the 1930s. He retired in 1932, and passed away in 1942.

Richmond Country Club

135 Flagg Pl
ca. 1840

The Richmond County Country Club was organized in 1888, as a social club which offered fox hunting and other sports. The original clubhouse occupied a two-story Victorian mansion, located on the grounds of the former Vanderbilt estate, near Ocean Terrace and Little Clove Road. In 1897, the Club moved to its present location in Dongan Hills (known at the time as Garretson) to accommodate the rising interest in golf. George Cromwell, Club member and Staten Island’s first borough president, assisted with the purchase of a 35-acre estate that included a large home. The house was presumably built by Agatha Mayer and purchased in 1878 by Junius Alexander, who had made his fortune on Wall Street and through the railroad business. He lived there with his family until his death in 1893. At the time, one side of the house had extensive grass lawns, which became a nine-hole golf course for the Club before it was sold in 1908 for residential development. A new course layout was designed by Robert White in 1916. He was the first President of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, and a founding member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Gillett-Tyler House

103 Circle Road
ca. 1846
New York City Individual Landmark

This two-story house was originally built in Enfield, Massachusetts, for Daniel B. Gillett. He was in the manufacturing and lumber business, and was part of one of the town’s oldest families. The building was moved to Staten Island in 1931 by builder Charles A. Wade for businessman Walter A. Tyler. Wade had capitalized on the interest in colonial and early-19th century American history at the time, as well as the availability of authentic New England houses from the Swift River Valley, which was being razed for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir. The Greek Revival frame structure has a slate-shingled, low-pitched, hipped roof, with a subordinate, one-and-a-half story wing, both featuring six- over-six, double-hung windows. The classically-inspired ornamentation includes a cornice line with wide divided bands of trim, two-story, vernacular Doric pilasters, and fluted lonic columns and sidelights flanking the door at the recessed entry porch. It was sold in the 1950s to Horace P. Moulton, vice president and general counsel of AT&T, and remains in use as a private residence. It was designated as a NYC Landmark in 2007.

FORMER CASTELLANO RESIDENCE

167-177 Benedict Rd
1980

Constantino Paul Castellano was born to an Italian immigrant family in Brooklyn in 1915. He had a poultry distribution business, and would later venture into construction concrete. The success of these businesses was attributed to his ties to the mob, as he had become a member of the Mangano family in the 1940s, quickly rising through the ranks. In 1957, the organization came under the leadership of his brother-in- law, Carlo Gambino. At the height of his power and wealth, Castellano built this lavish 17-room mansion. It was designed to resemble the White House, and featured an Olympic-size swimming pool and an English garden. The mansion became his operations center, with high-ranking members of the Mangano family often visiting for business and social events. This prompted the FBI to put the property under surveillance, installing secret listening devices. Castellano was ultimately indicted for federal racketeering in 1984, among other charges. He was killed in an unsanctioned hit in 1985, and buried in the Moravian Cemetery. His death is believed to be the last time the head of a crime family was killed in New York City.

Former Thomas Garrett Jr. Residence

41 East Loop Road
ca. 1925

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Thomas Garrett Jr. moved with his family to New York in 1889. He was the great-grandson of Thomas Garrett, an abolitionist and leader in the Underground Railroad movement, before the American Civil War. Garrett graduated from Harvard Law School in 1899, and served as Assistant Corporation Counsel of NY for four years before joining the law firm of Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Gardiner & Reed, where he specialized in banking cases. He retired in 1938, and two years later was the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives. He purchased this plot from George Cromwell and built this house around 1925, at a total cost of $50,000 (almost $1M today), wich became the most expensive residence on East Loop Road at the time. After the passing of his first wife, Dorothea Kobi, he married Lucille Stirn in 1934. The family continued living at the property until 1982.

Houses at East Loop Road

26-90 E Loop Road
Ca. 1910

This block bounded by East Loop Road and East Entry Road is among the earliest to be developed for residential use in the area. It originally was the location of three great mansions, of which only one remains today. 50 East Entry Road (2a) was once the sight of a two-story frame structure with Colonial Revival and classical features. It was the family home of Johannes D. Hage, a successful Danish merchant who had emigrated to the United States in 1855. Hage paid the equivalent of $600k today for the mansion, where he and his wife Clara Merrick raised two children and remained for over 30 years. In 1975, the lot was subdivided and two new houses were built. The mansion was demolished in 2004. A remarkable two-and-a-half- story frame house with a grand porch framing its first floor once stood at 46 East Loop Road (2b). It was the residence of May Richmond Walker and her husband Prof. Arthur L. Walker until 1951. Mrs. Walker, who came from a politically prominent family nationally, originally settled in Todt Hill in 1898 with her first husband, with whom she had two children. After becoming a widow, she married Mr. Walker in 1929, who was a professor of metallurgy at Columbia University School of Engineering. The lot was subdivided in 2012, and the house was demolished in 2016. The only remaining house of this group was the family home of merchant James G. Clark Jr., who’s father and grandfather had been prominent physicians on Staten Island. The striking two-story frame structure is located at 26 East Loop Road (2c), and maintains many of its original Neo-Classical features, most notably a two-story porch with a pointed pediment. After Clark’s death in 1930, the family sold the mansion to John D. Leggett, a manufacturer from New Brighton. Leggett lived there with his family until his passing in 1946. The lot was subdivided in 1986, and two new houses were constructed.

Billiou Stillwell Perine House

1476 Richmond Rd
1679; additions 1700, 1750, 1790, 1830
New York City Individual Landmark / National Register of Historic Places – Property

This picturesque one-and-one-half-story farmhouse is an interesting example of a late-17th century rough-cut fieldstone structure, combined with later stone and frame additions built around 1750, 1790 and 1830, respectively. The oldest wing has a steep medieval style roof, with a massive Dutch fireplace and a chimney head supported on two wooden posts. It is located to the rear portion of the farmhouse, while later additions were built closer to the road. The two stone structures are built of undressed fieldstone, known as “Dutch construction”. The original house had eight rooms on the first floor and seven on the second floor, with a panelled fireplace. It was built by Captain Thomas Stillwell, a prominent Staten Island citizen, who was granted the property in 1677. He passed it on to his son-in-law Nicholas Britton, who kept it in his family until 1915, when it was sold to the Antiquarian Society, now the Staten Island Historical Society. The organization furnished the house and opened it to the public.

Stapleton Waterfront/Lighthouse District, Staten Island

HDC will help the Preservation League of Staten and The National Lighthouse Museum advocate for the preservation and full adaptive reactivation of the former Third District US Lighthouse Depot site, a historic waterfront complex of numerous buildings including the lamp shops, barracks, oil vaults, and administration buildings which are at risk of demolition by neglect.

26 East Loop Road

Ca. 1910

The only remaining house of this group was the family home of merchant James
G. Clark Jr., who’s father and grandfather had been prominent physicians on Staten
Island. The striking two-story frame structure is located at 26 East Loop Road (2c), and
maintains many of its original Neo-Classical features, most notably a two-story porch
with a pointed pediment. After Clark’s death in 1930, the family sold the mansion to John
D. Leggett, a manufacturer from New Brighton. Leggett lived there with his family until
his passing in 1946. The lot was subdivided in 1986, and two new houses were constructed.

Photo: Courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archive

46 East Loop Road

Ca. 1910

A remarkable two-and-a-half-story frame house with a grand porch framing its first floor once stood at 46 East Loop Road. It was the residence of May Richmond Walker and her husband Prof. Arthur L. Walker until 1951. Mrs. Walker, who came from a politically prominent family nationally, originally settled in Todt Hill in 1898 with her first husband, with whom she had two children. After becoming a widow, she married Mr. Walker in 1929, who was a professor of metallurgy at Columbia University School of Engineering. The lot was subdivided in 2012, and the house was demolished in 2016.

Photo: Courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archive

50 East Entry Road

Ca. 1910

50 East Entry Road was once the site of a two-story frame structure with Colonial Revival and classical features. It was the family home of Johannes D. Hage, a successful Danish merchant who had emigrated to the United States in 1855. Hage paid the equivalent of $600k today for the mansion, where he and his wife Clara Merrick raised two children and remained for over 30 years. In 1975, the lot was subdivided and two new houses were built. The mansion was demolished in 2004.

Photo: Courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archive

Bayley Seton Campus, Staten Island

Dating back to 1831, the Bayley Seton Campus was Staten Island’s first public health facility, originally known as Seaman’s Retreat. The original Seaman’s Retreat building is a designated NYC landmark that is seriously threatened by demolition by neglect. The site also contains the first U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, a Mayan Revival style building built in 1931, and smaller contributing doctors residences. Working with John P. Kilcullen of the Preservation League of Staten Island, HDC will help advocate for landmarking, stabilization, and preservation of the hospital complex.

BAYMEN’S COTTAGES / REV. ISAAC COLEMAN & REBECCA GRAY COLEMAN HOUSE / ROSSVILLE AME ZION CHURCH / ROSSVILLE AME ZION CHURCH CEMETERY

AFRICAN AMERICAN

565 & 569 Bloomingdale Road
ca. 1887-98

1482 Woodrow Road, Staten Island
ca. 1850s

584 Bloomingdale Road, Staten Island
1897, Andrew Abrams

Crabtree Avenue, Staten Island
est. 1852

In the 1830s, Staten Island’s south shore, known as Sandy Ground, became home to a thriving community of free black oyster traders who moved from Maryland after that state passed a series of laws limiting free blacks’ freedoms. The community prospered from Staten Island’s rich oyster beds, and boosted the local economy, but the rise of industrial pollution and overfishing led to the closure of the beds in 1916 and Sandy Ground’s heyday came to an end. Calamitous fires in 1930 and 1963 destroyed many of its buildings, but there are several architectural remnants, including four Individual Landmarks: the Baymen’s Cottages, housing constructed for oyster traders and their families; the Rossville AME Zion Church, the Coleman-Gray House, home to the Rossville AME Zion Church’s sixth pastor; and the Rossville AME Zion Church Cemetery. The church and cemetery are perhaps the most important survivors, as they provide spiritual connections to this community that was defined by its people more than its geography. Founded in 1850, the church was the center of Sandy Ground’s spiritual and cultural life, and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. While the original church no longer stands, its adjacent cemetery contains graves of some of Sandy Ground’s original residents, and the new church, constructed in 1897, remains active today. Sandy Ground’s history is displayed, interpreted and celebrated by the Sandy Ground Historical Museum, located just around the corner from the church on Woodrow Road. Photos by Peter Greenberg.

AUDRE LORDE RESIDENCE

WOMEN

207 St. Paul’s Avenue, Staten Island
1898
Otto P. Loeffler

From 1972 to 1987, acclaimed African- American lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde (1934-1992) lived in this neo-Classical house with her two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan, and her partner, Frances Clayton. Lorde accomplished a great deal while living here, including the publication of numerous influential books, poems, articles and essays that dealt with the issues of civil rights, feminism and lesbianism; held positions as professor of English at John Jay College and as the Thomas Hunter Chair of Literature at Hunter College; spoke at the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights; co-founded Kitchen-Table: Women of Color Press and was bestowed with many honors, including the Borough of Manhattan President’s Award for Literary Excellence in 1987. From 1991 until her death from liver cancer the following year, Lorde was the New York State Poet Laureate. Photo by Sarah Moses, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Audre Lorde’s house is a NYC Individual Landmark located in the St. Paul’s Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District.

Todt Hill-Dongan Hills, Staten Island

Todt Hill-Dongan Hills is an area filled with stately historic properties such as the Ernest Flagg Estate. This site consists of impressive fieldstone walls and archways, a gatehouse, and mansion that once belonged to one of New York City’s most prolific architects. Though already designated an Individual Landmark, the Iron Hills Civic Association is working to ensure that the currently for-sale estate falls in good hands and is safe from inappropriate development. This group is also concerned with the rapidly vanishing historic homes that sit atop the hills and is aiming to document and survey the historic grandeur of the neighborhood before it is too late.

Cultural Landmarks, Citywide

New York City is known for many things: Art Deco skyscrapers, picturesque parks, the world’s greatest theater district, venerable museums and educational institutions, not to mention bagels and pizza! But above all of these, New York is most important as home to some of the world’s most fascinating and significant people and as the site of impactful and significant happenings throughout history. The city’s cultural influence is, perhaps, its greatest contribution to the world, and its built environment stands as a grand scavenger hunt of clues waiting to be uncovered. Lucky for us, the city’s Landmarks Law, passed in 1965, provides the legal framework for protecting the physical reminders of the city’s cultural wealth. In fact, one of the stated purposes of the Landmarks Law is to “safeguard the city’s historic, aesthetic and cultural heritage.”

In the first 50 years that landmarks were designated by the City, much emphasis was placed on the historic and aesthetic. In recent years, though, more consideration has been made for the importance of sites associated with people or historical events, rather than just for their architectural or historical value. In 2015, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Stonewall Inn as an Individual Landmark solely for its association with the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. In 2018, the Commission designated the Central Harlem—West 130th-132nd Streets Historic District, describing it as “not only representative of Central Harlem’s residential architecture, but the rich social, cultural, and political life of its African American population in the 20th century.” Also, in recent years, Greenwich Village’s Caffe Cino and Julius’ Bar were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as significant and influential sites connected to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBTQ) community, The New York Times profiled a historian giving tours of Muslim sites of significance in Harlem, and the City is commemorating some of our most storied and accomplished female citizens with the installation of statues in all five boroughs. Indeed, grassroots preservation activism around the city is also swelling around sites of cultural significance: Tin Pan Alley and Little Syria in Manhattan, Walt Whitman’s house in Brooklyn, Arthur Avenue in The Bronx and a recently-rediscovered African burial ground in Queens, to name a few.

In response to this movement of interest in cultural landmarks, the Historic Districts Council undertook an initiative to highlight such places as one of its Six to Celebrate in 2018. The culmination of that effort was a conference in October 2018 entitled “Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Rethinking Sites of Cultural History.” The conference convened preservationists, historians, artists, planners, place-makers and more to work together to clarify what cultural significance is and how it can work, how to document and create compelling narratives around cultural sites, and how to identify the specific challenges of cultural sites from a preservationist perspective.

This brochure provides just a sample of some of the city’s cultural landmarks, organized thematically and representing all five boroughs. The list includes some sites that are legally protected — in some cases by more than one government body — and some that are unfortunately in danger of being lost. Preserving culturally significant sites that may not possess overtly aesthetic value often requires a particularly active and engaged form of advocacy to achieve protection from the wrecking ball. But, as long as there are interesting people making their mark on New York City and crucial events taking place here, that effort will never be in vain, since those stories are the lifeblood of this vibrant place.

Harrison Street, Staten Island

This single-block street in the north shore neighborhood of Stapleton encapsulates Staten Island’s 19th century residential character, projecting a strong sense of place. It features a rare grouping of intact wood frame and masonry houses, many boasting whimsical architectural features. At this time, there are just three historic districts on the whole island.

To learn more about Harrison Street click here

Historic Public Libraries, New York City

The New York Public Library (NYPL) was formed in 1895 with the consolidation of three private corporations: the Astor Library (founded by John Jacob Astor in 1849), the Lenox Library (founded by James Lenox in 1870) and The Tilden Trust (a fund established in 1886 by Samuel J. Tilden). The NYFCL also joined this consolidation in 1901 in order to benefit from Carnegie’s gift of $5.2 million for 67 library branches to be built between 1901 and 1929 (56 are still standing). Carnegie’s only stipulation was that the city acquire the sites and establish building maintenance plans. To design the buildings, the NYPL organized a committee of architects: Charles F. McKim, Walter Cook and John M. Carrère. In order to stylistically link the branches and save money, the committee decided on a uniform scale, interior layout, character and materials palette for the buildings.

To read more about New York City’s Historic Public Libraries click here

Historic Staten Island Cemeteries, Staten Island

A relative lack of development pressure allowed Staten Island’s small burial grounds to remain. From the 17th century well into the 19th century, family farms occupied much of Staten Island, especially in the south. Within the confines of these farms, “Homestead Graves” or family burial grounds were established. These were some of the first community cemeteries on Staten Island, and many of today’s cemeteries are still named after the families whose homestead burial grounds were sold for public use. Many of the 13 accessible and five inaccessible cemeteries covered in this brochure became abandoned, vandalized or used as dumping grounds in the 20th century.

To learn more about the Historic Staten Island Cemeteries click here

Landmarks Under Consideration, New York City

In November 2014, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced a plan to clear 95 properties that had been on its calendar for five years or more, but not yet designated as landmarks. The wholesale removal of these properties without considering each one’s merits would have represented a severe blow to the properties and to the city’s landmarks process in general, sending a message that would jeopardize any future effort to designate them.

The Historic Districts Council acted strongly in opposition to this action, and advocated for a more considered, fair and transparent approach. As part of this effort, HDC worked with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and a coalition of other preservation organizations to submit an alternative plan for the LPC’s consideration. The plan eventually formed the basis for the LPC’s initiative, entitled “Backlog95,” calling for a series of public discussions to evaluate the properties in geographical groupings.

To learn more about the Landmarks Under Consideration click here

5 inaccessible cemeteries: Simonson Family plot, Colony Meadow, Journay Cemetery, “Forgotten Acre”, Old Clove Baptist Cemetery

Simonson Family plot, established about 1800 (663 Jewett Avenue, Westerleigh)|

The Simonson family was one of the oldest families on Staten Island. This small homestead burial ground is today located within St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery.

Colony Meadow, former New York City Farm Colony, established 1829 (Walcott Avenue between Fields and Washington Avenues, Willowbrook) – NYC Individual Landmark|

The Richmond County Poor Farm was established in 1829 to improve social and health care services to the poor and otherwise dependent, who exchanged labor for room and board. When Staten Island became a borough of New York City in 1898, the City took over the property and renamed it the New York City Farm Colony. In 1915, the Farm Colony merged with Seaview Hospital across Brielle Avenue. After the United States government passed the Social Security Act in 1935, the numbers of residents in poorhouses like this one steadily declined. The Farm Colony finally closed its doors in 1975. Some of the property was handed over to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation in 1982, and the remaining 70 acres, along with the Seaview Hospital campus, were designated a historic district by the LPC in 1985. Over the years, the Farm Colony has been neglected, its buildings crumbling and vandalized.

Located at the northwest corner of the Farm Colony is the Potter’s Field, which was in use by the Farm Colony until as late as the 1970s. No complete cemetery burial logs survive, but FACSI is currently in the process of establishing a burial list using funerary records. Most Farm Colony residents were buried in group interments, as there was little money for individual burials. It is believed that there are areas of the site where amputated limbs from patients at Seaview Hospital were buried in mass graves, as well. In 2014, a plan was unveiled to repurpose and develop the Farm Colony as an age-restricted retirement community, incorporating some of the historic buildings, which will be restored. FACSI was engaged in conversations about the redevelopment plans, at which time the Potter’s Field was renamed “Colony Meadow.” The site is quite large, but only one gravestone is extant. The cemetery landscape will be restored, thus respecting its occupants and the history of the Farm Colony. A proposed future entrance to Colony Meadow will be on Walcott Avenue.
Journay Cemetery, established circa 1800 (inside Bloomingdale Park at Carlton Boulevard and Halpin Avenue, Woodrow)|

This small family homestead cemetery is located within the wood of Bloomingdale Park. Roughly 30 people were buried here, but only a small number of downed headstones have been located.
“Forgotten Acre,” former U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, established 1895-1930 (inside Ocean View Cemetery, Oakwood)|

“Forgotten Acre” is the final resting place of approximately 1,000 Merchant Marines World War I veterans. These men are believed to have died en route to or from service in Europe while in quarantine at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in Clifton (now the Bayley Seton Hospital). In 2011, the Ocean View Cemetery restored the site, righting grave markers and clearing stray branches and weeds. On Veteran’s Day of that year, flags were placed at each grave to honor those buried here about a century ago. FACSI runs controlled visits of the site periodically, but it is not accessible to the public.
Old Clove Baptist Cemetery, established 1802 (corner of Richmond Road and Clove Road, Concord)|

Established as a burial ground of the Clove Baptist Church (formed in 1809 and abandoned in the 1840s), this site is quite small at roughly 100’ x 50’ in total size. There are approximately 50 burials. FACSI installed a sign to mark the cemetery’s location at the southwest corner of Richmond Road and Clove Road, but the site is overgrown and the grave markers are not visible from the intersection.

Blazing Star Cemetery, aka Sleight Family Graveyard

Established 1740;
Arthur Kill Road by Rossville Avenue, Rossville;
NYC Individual Landmark|

The Blazing Star Cemetery, also known as the Sleight Family Graveyard or Rossville Burial Ground, was one of the first homestead graveyards in Staten Island. The earliest grave markers, many of which are made of brownstone, date to around 1750. Members of prominent early Staten Island families are buried here, including that of Peter Winant (sometimes spelled Pieterse Wynant), who was born in Brooklyn in 1663 and died in Staten Island in 1758. His father, Peter Winant Sr., was one of a group of men who made the first permanent European settlement on Staten Island in 1661. Today, the cemetery has been restored and is maintained by FACSI. The cemetery’s peaceful location, adjacent to the Arthur Kill waterway, is described in the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) designation report for the property: “There is no railing enclosing the cemetery or any architecture to detract our attention from the silent mood that prevails over these grounds…Here amid the passing seasons a bit of history stands recorded.”

Adding to the site’s already evocative atmosphere is another graveyard of sorts within the waterway adjacent to and visible from the cemetery, the Arthur Kill “ship graveyard.” This was the former location of a mooring slip where the Blazing Star Ferry ran between Staten Island and New Jersey. Beginning in the 1930s, the Witte Marine Equipment Company operated a ship salvage and resale business on the Rossville shoreline, where an unknown number of historic ships was left to decompose. There are various theories as to why so much equipment has not been dismantled or scrapped. Whether it is due to an overflow of ships coming in or whether the company’s owner, John J. Witte, intended to leave them as a historical record, today this tableau of marine ruins is much appreciated by artists, photographers and history buffs. The site is today run by the Donjon Marine Company (the successor to the Witte Marine Company), which discourages visitation for safety reasons, making the view from Blazing Star all the more special.

Sylvan Cemetery, Ridgway Cemetery

Established 1690, Glen Street and Victory Blvd, Travis;
Established circa, 1760 Victory Blvd and Glen Street inside Sylvan Cemetery, Travis|

Similar to Hillside Cemetery in its sloping, roadside location, Sylvan Cemetery is believed to have been a Native American burial ground. The site is significant as one of the oldest extant cemeteries on Staten Island, established by European settlers in the 17^th century as the Cannon Family Burial Hill. It was the final resting place of some of Staten Island’s most prominent families, and it is also rumored that British soldiers from the Revolutionary War were buried here. In 1781, the cemetery was opened to the public. A century later, in the 1880s, the site was in severe decline, and by the 1930s, it had been entirely abandoned. A survey done in 1923 found 235 gravestones or markers representing just over 250 individuals still visible on the landscape. DCAS took the site in the 1950s and it has been owned by the Parks Department since 2003.

The Ridgway family, one of the oldest on Staten Island, had a large farm in Travis that included a family burial ground. One of the last descendants of the family was Matthew Bunker Ridgway (1895-1993), a United States Army General during World War II and the Korean War (during which he resurrected the United Nations war effort), and a decorated hero who was recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986. In the 1980s, a developer illegally built a large structure on the site of Ridgway Cemetery. FACSI notified the General, but by the time he was engaged in the issue, the burial ground had already been obliterated. In 2013, FACSI moved the remaining gravestones to nearby Sylvan Cemetery, where a plaque and enclosure commemorates them.

Merrell Cemetery

Established 1784 ;
Merrill Avenue and Richmond Avenue, Bulls Head|

Established as a homestead burial ground of the Merrell and other associated families, this cemetery is approximately one acre in size. The cemetery is located on Merrill Avenue, which, despite the different spellings, is named after the same family. The Merrell Cemetery Association holds the deed for the cemetery, but FACSI restored and continues to maintain the site.

Hillside Cemetery

Established 1828;
980 Richmond Avenue, Graniteville|

This two-acre, non-sectarian cemetery was the sister cemetery to Lake, as the two were both established by the congregation of Old Clove Baptist Church. The cemetery commands a lovely sloping site right along a major road, making it very visible and accessible. Over time, five different Baptist churches have managed and operated the cemetery. Currently, the Willowbrook Park Baptist Church keeps the deed on the property, while FACSI performs all necessary maintenance. In 2014, the church is working to raise the funds needed to fix the cemetery’s retaining wall. A large number of ship captains were buried at Hillside, and several large plots within the cemetery were purchased by the Italian and Polish Social clubs that operated for immigrant support. The old granite quarry that supplied much of the stone for Staten Island’s grave markers, and gives the Graniteville neighborhood its name, was located directly behind Hillside Cemetery.

Lake Cemetery, Silvie Cemetery

Established 1834 Forest Avenue between Willowbrook Road and Bayonne Bridge ;Expressway, Graniteville;
Established 1885 adjacent to 36 Willowbrook Road, Graniteville|

These two adjoining cemeteries, both non-sectarian, make up about three acres within a residential neighborhood. Lake, originally established by the Old Clove Baptist Church, was a largely working-class cemetery. It is the final resting place of Staten Island’s third Borough President, Calvin D. Van Name, as well as hundreds of veterans from the Civil War through World War II. Among these are several African American veterans, including members of the Buffalo Soldiers, who were the first African Americans to enter France during World War I. Another noted veteran is Emeline Earl, the only woman from Staten Island to serve in the Civil War. In 1885, the Silvie Funeral Home purchased a large track of property from Lake Cemetery and resold the graves to its clients, many of whom were deemed unworthy to be buried in Catholic cemeteries (non-baptized infants, unmarried women who died in childbirth and those who committed sins according to the church, for example). The practice of purchasing property from other cemeteries was outlawed in New York State in the 1950s, at which point Silvie would combine with Lake to become one cemetery. From 1979 until very recently, the site was abandoned and used as a homeless encampment and dumping ground for trucks to unload debris. It is currently owned by the Reconstituted Lake Cemetery Association, with FACSI in charge of maintenance. As part of this effort, FACSI replaced many stolen or lost grave markers and restored many existing ones. The site remains an active cemetery, with its most recent burial in 2003.

Staten Island Cemetery, Trinity Cemetery, Trinity Cemetery, Van Street Cemetery

established 1847;
established 1801;
established 1863;
established 1889 ;
(entrance adjacent to 1652 Richmond Terrace, West New Brighton)|

This seven-acre site is home to four cemeteries, all established in the 19^th century. Currently, Staten Island, Fountain and Van Street Cemeteries are owned by the Staten Island Cemetery Association. Trinity Cemetery was abandoned in 1954 to the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and taken over by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation in 2003. FACSI, which maintains all four of the cemeteries, has marked them as Staten Island / Trinity Cemetery and Fountain / Van Street Cemetery. The entire site is believed to have originally been a Native American burial ground, but the first recorded burial was in Trinity Cemetery in 1802. This site has historical ties to the Revolutionary War. On the grounds of what would become Fountain Cemetery, a skirmish took place between the New Jersey Colonial Army and the British, who established a fort on the grounds of what would become Trinity Cemetery. The British Army docked their ships at a nearby ferry terminal.

Staten Island Cemetery was the first non-sectarian cemetery on the North Shore of Staten Island and was, therefore, named after its location rather than after a religious institution or family. The cemetery was established in 1847, when the state began to encourage the creation of small, non-sectarian cemeteries to accommodate the influx of immigrants of various faiths. Prior to 1847, the land was owned and farmed by Joseph Ryerrs, who was born into slavery on Staten Island. When he was freed in 1825, he purchased this property and established a family cemetery that would later become a plot in Staten Island Cemetery. Within the combined Staten Island and Fountain Cemeteries, there are hundreds of Civil War veterans and approximately three dozen War of 1812 veterans. The largest standing monument in Staten Island Cemetery is that of James Horner, a “Hawkins Zouave” soldier in the Civil War. A Zouave was a title for light regiments originating in France in 1831 and adopted in America during the Civil War. The Zouaves were characterized by their double-time march, the way they loaded their rifles (lying down, rather than standing), and their North African style uniform, which included baggy pants, short open-front jackets and sashes.Trinity Cemetery was associated with Trinity Chapel, constructed in 1800-02 as an adjunct to the Church of St. Andrew with the aid of Trinity Church in Manhattan. The chapel was destroyed by fire in 1952, but the cemetery had fallen into disrepair long before, around 1914, with only one subsequent burial in 1963. Members of some of Staten Island’s early families are buried here.

The other side of the site is occupied by Fountain and Van Street Cemeteries, both non-sectarian. Fountain Cemetery was established in 1863, the same year that its namesake, Henry Fountain, passed away. Fountain had been a Captain in the War of 1812 and owned the popular Fountain House Hotel, which abutted the land that became Fountain Cemetery. The hotel hosted illustrious guest speakers, such as abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass and opera star Jenny Lind. At the time, the surrounding neighborhood was prosperous. Waterfront and maritime industry flourished, and there was a public ferry dock across the street. The cemetery was instantly successful due to its proximity to Manhattan, whose prohibition of new burial sites drove many to purchase plots at Fountain, which featured large family plots to cater to wealthy clients. Some of these are surrounded by fences and identified by stone markers. After the Civil War, Fountain became a popular cemetery for veterans. In fact, the Grand Army of the Republic paraded here yearly from Manhattan. By the 1930s, it was mostly filled, but during the Great Depression, families stopped paying assessment charges. The cemetery was officially abandoned to the City in 1954. In 1981, a group of descendants reconstituted the old cemetery association, rejoining the property with the New York State Division of Cemeteries. In 2003, FACSI began restoring the cemetery, which is in remarkable condition. In addition to the hundreds of obelisks, monuments, grave stones and plot posts still standing, the cemetery has retained most of the original piping around the family plots, a feature largely removed from other cemeteries in the 1950s to allow easier access for maintenance. The Van Street Cemetery section of Fountain Cemetery was purchased for $1 in the 1880s, and is laid out with single rows of graves. At roughly one acre, the cemetery was full within 30 years.

New York Marine Hospital or “Quarantine” gravesites,

established 1799-1858 ;
two sites: Central Avenue and Hyatt Street, Tompkinsville; inside Silver Lake Golf Course, ;Silver Lake|

Long before Ellis Island (established in 1892) became a hub for immigrants seeking to settle in the United States, officials would inspect newcomers on-board their vessels in the harbor. Those who were determined to be ill were sent to Staten Island for treatment. The New York Marine Hospital, or “Quarantine,” was a 20-building complex just south of today’s St. George Terminal. The hospital sought to protect the city from immigrant-borne infectious diseases, such as yellow fever, typhus, small pox and cholera. The hospital, in operation from 1799 to 1858, could hold as many as 1,500 people at a time. Shanty towns cropped up on the north shore of Staten Island, housing healthy relatives awaiting the return of loved ones. Hospital patients who died were buried in several locations, two of which are known today to be at the intersection of Central Avenue and Hyatt Street in St. George (pictured on this page) and within the Silver Lake Golf Course, where a monument to the gravesite is located near the clubhouse (pictured on opposite page). These two sites do not have extant grave markers, and are not discernible as cemeteries. However, they are very significant both due to the tens of thousands of people buried in mass graves here, and the important link they provide to New York City’s history as a gateway for millions of immigrants from the 18^th to the 20^th centuries.

The hospital had been established by the state, the land taken by eminent domain, thus leading to much resentment by Staten Island residents. The hospital, considered a blight on this rural farming community, endangered those who lived here, with deadly outbreaks of Yellow Fever occurring periodically. These epidemics became more common in the 1840s and 1850s, when immigration increased due to huge numbers of Irish famine victims arriving in the city. It was at this time that locals began campaigning to destroy the hospital. On September 1, 1858, the local board of health resolved that the hospital should be destroyed, and that very night, locals torched the hospital to the ground. The act was spearheaded by John Thompson and Ray Tompkins, a prosperous landowner whose grandfather, Daniel, was Vice President of the United States under James Monroe (Tompkinsville was also named after him). It is believed that the hospital administrator, Dr. Richard Thompson, negotiated to spare the Female Hospital, where the 60 patients on the grounds were relocated during the fire. Authorities generally turned a blind eye. The following evening, the rest of the campus was destroyed by a second fire. There were no casualties, though the two leaders were put on trial. Judge Henry Metcalfe, who lived near the hospital and had a relative who was a victim of Yellow Fever, acquitted both men.

In 2003, the State of New York began an eight-year process of locating and reinterring the cemetery, exhuming a portion of one of the Marine Hospital gravesites when work began on a new courthouse complex in St. George. Once the cemetery was exhumed, the remains were housed at Moravian Cemetery until April 27, 2014, when FACSI and the American Irish Legislators Society of New York State conducted a memorial reinterment service for the permanent entombment of these immigrants, more than 150 years after their tragic deaths.

Tottenville Branch, NYPL, Staten Island

7448 Brighton Street;
Carrère & Hastings, 1904;
NYC IL|

In 1899, the Tottenville Library Association established the Tottenville Free Library, Staten Island’s first free public library with a dedicated space and professional staff. In 1903, the association merged with the NYPL and its collection was moved to the new Carnegie-funded branch – also Staten Island’s first – completed the following year. Tottenville, which had grown immensely over the 19^th century due to thriving coastal industries, was the first community city-wide to submit an application for a Carnegie-funded branch when the program was announced in 1901. The resulting one-story, brick structure is Classical Revival in style, with a central, columned entrance portico capped by a triangular pediment, as well as a flared, hipped roof and arched windows. The building’s stucco and wood trim lends a rustic quality that differs from some other Carnegie branches, but was intended to relate to its bucolic context and the village-like character of Tottenville. The Tottenville Branch was designated a New York City Individual Landmark in 1995.

Stapleton Branch, NYPL, Staten Island

132 Canal Street;
Carrère & Hastings, 1907;
renovation: Andrew Berman,; 2010-13|

The Classical Revival design of the original Stapleton Branch is nearly identical to the Port Richmond Branch, which opened two years before. Like Port Richmond, it is also situated across from a public park. However, a 2013 rear addition introduced another phase to the building’s story and physical footprint, setting it apart from its brother in Port Richmond. The addition reoriented the library, decommissioning the original entrance on Canal Street in favor of a new entrance via the addition on Wright Street. The addition, which is not visible when viewing the 1907 building from the front, consists of wood structural posts with applied glazing, as well as a wood roof deck. The addition more than doubled the size of the branch.

Port Richmond Branch, NYPL, Staten Island

75 Bennett Street;
Carrère & Hastings,1904-05;
NYC IL|

The first libraries on Staten Island were found within institutions and public schools as early as the 1830s, as a result of the influence of New England settlers. Prior to the establishment of branch libraries on Staten Island, public reading rooms began to operate in the mid-19^th century. With the Carnegie grant, the NYPL established four branches on Staten Island, enlisting the help of residents to determine the best locations for each. The sites were chosen based on the borough’s concentrations of population and geographic diversity. Port Richmond has been a major port and commercial center on Staten Island since the early 19^th century, and this library, situated across from a public park, has been an important civic structure since its completion. Its Classical Revival style façades feature a prominent, projecting central entrance bay with a grand, columned portico. The Port Richmond branch was designated a New York City Individual Landmark in 1998.

Woodbrook (Jonathan Goodhue House), Staten Island

Address: 304 Prospect Avenue;
Constructed: 1841;
LPC Action: Public Hearing 9/13/1966;
LPC Backlog Hearing: Removed from the calendar without prejudice|