SOCIETY FOR THE

P RESERVATION OF A NTIQUITIES P RESERVATION N OTES N EWSLETTER Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015

preservation notes turns 50! It has become apparent that those of us, interested in conservation and pres- ervation, need to be alerted to threats of destruction to the ideas and irreplaceable things that comprise our heritage, and to the moves designed to avert such threats. These brief notes are designed to alert you. ****** This was the credo Barbara Van Liew (1911-2005) put on the front cover of SPLIA’s firstPreservation Notes edition in March 1965. BVL, as she was affection- ately known, felt Long Island’s cultural Owner Jonathan Pearlroth (right) stands with Jake Gorst (left) grandson of architect, Andrew Geller. heritage needed a voice and she was deter- mined to make a SPLIA newsletter be that Double-Diamond House Restored If you’ve ever been down Dune Road roth’s mother, Mitch, on one of the walls. in Westhampton Beach, you’ve seen the In the photo, she is wearing Cat Eye sun- Pearlroth House. The modernist structure glasses and is standing on the beach with is no stranger to curious stares. the house in the background. The eventual In 1958, Arthur and Mitch Pearlroth restoration of the house was a collabora- commissioned architect Andrew Geller tive effort of sorts between Pearlroth and to design a modest beach house, and gave Gorst - with Gorst acting as a volunteer him creative freedom to execute his vi- consultant on the project. sion. The end result: a 600 square foot Over the years, the house saw some house with distinctive “double diamonds” changes. Poorly constructed wings were and an interior defined by clever nooks for added in the 1970s to create more space leisure and sleeping. for the family and the ocean air contribut- Barbara Van Liew, 1981. According to architectural historian ed to the deterioration of the additions. By Alastair Gordon, the Pearlroth House “is 2006, they were demolished, leaving the voice for preservation. Volume I of Pres- one of the most important examples of ex- original structure intact. Pearlroth wanted ervation Notes consisted of spring, sum- perimental design built during the postwar to create a larger space for his family but mer, and fall editions covering issues such period – not just on Long Island but any- he also understood the importance of pre- as: a proposed sand and gravel mine in where in the . It is witty, bold serving the Pearlroth House as both a fam- Wading River and Shoreham; endangered and inventive.” ily touchstone and as a modernist beacon buildings at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (in- This past spring, SPLIA visited the on Dune Road. cluding the 1806 Commandant’s Resi- newly restored Pearlroth House. Our tour Gorst referred Pearlroth to COOK- dence, designed by Charles Bullfinch); the guides for the day had a personal connec- FOX architects in Manhattan. As Andrew announcement of City’s Land- tion to the house: filmmaker Jake Gorst Geller devotees, they devised a solution marks Law; the establishment of architec- is Andrew Geller’s grandson (who has that would allow Pearlroth to build a larg- tural review boards in Northport and Sea devoted much of his professional life to er house on the site for his family while Cliff; and the proposed demolition of the preserving Geller’s legacy) and Jonathan also restoring and moving the Andrew original Garden City Hotel, designed by Pearlroth is the current owner and son of Geller-designed structure closer to the Stanford White. Arthur and Mitch. Pearlroth recounted road. Fifty years later, the credo remains and childhood memories of his playing hide- The goal is to open the modernist struc- SPLIA strives to keep BVL’s voice alive in and-seek in the house; the family’s person- ture to the public for tours by appointment. Preservation Notes, covering preservation al connection to the home is also evident For more information and updates please issues and success stories from the East in an old black and white photo of Pearl- visit: pearlrothhouse.org. - Kate Tuohy River to Montauk.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 1 Crown Heights north III historic district, brooklyn The Crown Heights North III Historic and two-family row houses. The LPC’s recent historic district des- District in central Brooklyn was designat- The Historic Districts Council, a New ignation of this particular section of the ed by New York City’s Landmarks Preser- York City preservation advocacy group, neighborhood is a major step forward vation Commission (LPC) in March 2015. included Crown Heights North on their in the local community group’s effort to Adjoining the Crown Heights North and annual Six to Celebrate list in 2015, ad- preserve the rich architectural fabric in an Crown Heights North II Historic Districts vocating for the Crown Heights North As- area of Brooklyn that has recently become (designated 2007 and 2011 respectively), sociation’s effort to broaden the neighbor- an epicenter for real estate speculation and the three districts contain more than 1,000 hood’s historic district boundaries. redevelopment. buildings representing a wealth of archi- tectural styles and building types dating from the 1870s to the 1930s. Until the first half of the 19th century, the area comprising present-day Crown Heights North consisted of large tracts of farmland belonging to Brooklyn’s old Dutch families, such as the Lefferts, who also held their family seats there. Follow- ing the opening of the Kings County Ele- vated Railway in 1888 (which ran along Fulton Street to the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge), the area later exploded with hun- dreds of high-style row houses. Referred to as the St. Mark’s District and marketed as “fashionable” and “select,” develop- ment intensified in the early 20th century and led to a proliferation of apartment flats Prospect Place “Super Block,” courtesy of LPC Designation Report. ridgewood, queens: PRESERVATION NOTES Rich in german history Late in 2014, New York City’s Land- level of integrity and ambiance that has Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 mark Preservation Commission (LPC) distinguished it for the last century. Iss 0885-7326 designated the Central Ridgewood His- During the neighborhood’s rise, Ridge- Jason Crowley, Editor toric District in Queens. The neighbor- wood was considered one of the fastest hood is significant as an intact grouping growing sections of the city. The area Published by of nearly 1,000 buildings of mostly brick was populated mostly by Germans who The Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities row house design, representing one of the had first settled in Manhattan’s Lower most harmonious and intact enclaves of East Side and Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. 161 Main Street early 20th century working-class dwell- Many worked in Brooklyn’s sugar refin- P.O. Box 148 ings in the city. The neighborhood was de- eries along the East River and breweries Cold Spring Harbor veloped in the first decades of the last cen- in Bushwick. Though no longer a pre- New York, 11724 tury, leading up to the First World War, by dominantly German community, the LPC [email protected] German-Americans and immigrants from notes Central Ridgewood’s success as a 631-692-4664 Germany. Most of the row houses, featur- comfortable and attractive working-class Credo: It has become apparent that ing round projecting bays, were designed neighborhood that continues to the present those of us who are interested in con- by the architectural firm Louis Berger & day as an aspect of this newly-designated servation and preservation need to be Company. Today, the district retains a high historic district’s significance. alerted to the destruction of the irre- placeable values and environments that comprise our heritage and to the actions proposed to avert such threats. These notes are designed to raise awareness.

For SPLIA Membership Information visit www.splia.org or call 631-692-4664

Preservation Notes is listed in the Avery Index to Architectural periodicals and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts

69th Avenue street view showing typical row houses, courtesy of LPC Designation Report.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 2 Buffalo Room restoration at coe hall Over the last several years, major changes have taken place at Coe Hall, the grand medieval revival mansion designed by Walker & Gillette that was completed in 1921 for William Robertson Coe and his wife, Mai Rogers Coe. The Coe’s break- fast room, known as the Buffalo Room for its murals painted by artist Robert Win- throp Chanler in 1920, depicts romantic scenes of the Wyoming landscape where the family owned “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s hunting camp, Irma Lake Lodge, in Cody, Wyoming. Born into a patrician New York fami- ly, Robert Chanler was close friends with Mai Rogers Coe and gave drawing lessons to the Coes’ second son Robert. Described by Robert Coe as “eccentric and almost bizarre,” Chanler’s work often utilized metallic pigments and textured plaster to accentuate the feeling of movement and energy. In the Coes’ Buffalo Room, he used the impasto technique on the mural Detail of Chanler’s Buffalo mural in the Breakfast Room of Coe Hall, 2015. to create a textured relief, and hints of system has been installed (utilizing the to enhance the preservation and interpreta- gold applied to the buffalos give the inti- original forced hot air vents) to maintain tion of the grounds and mansion. mate space a dramatic effect. ideal conditions to preserve the rare mu- The progress on the Buffalo Room Conservators from the New York State rals. This is the only room in the house to mural restoration is just one aspect of a Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic be completely climate controlled. larger preservation program taking place Preservation have monitored this import- Mr. Coe donated the property to the at Planting Fields Arboretum. Rooms are ant mural for temperature, humidity, and State of New York in 1955 with the ex- being restored and furnished to better in- light control for the past fifteen years. Two pectation that it would be used as a center terpret the house to when the Coes first of the four walls have been masterfully re- for horticultural education. Planting Fields moved in and a new audio tour narrated stored by the conservation team, with the Arboretum finally opened to the public by Dr. Michael Coe, a grandson and Pres- other two walls and the ceiling ready for in 1971 as a state park and the Planting ident of Planting Fields Foundation, was work to begin. A special air conditioning Fields Foundation was established in 1979 released in the summer of 2015.

Exterior view of Coe Hall, completed in 1921. Landscape designs by the Olmsted Brothers.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 3 Sag Harbor Works to improve preservation Ordinance Signs of the Great Recession coming to a close is clearly evident by increased con- struction throughout Long Island’s East End. In the last several years, the villages and towns of the South Fork have come up with creative new solutions to incen- tivize historic preservation and address the growing issue of tear downs. The Village of Sag Harbor, roughly a square mile featuring a local, state, and national historic district incorporating ap- proximately the total area, has witnessed some significant losses to historic resourc- es in recent years. Whereas the Village of East Hampton and the Town of South- ampton established “zoning bonuses” to incentivize historic preservation by allow- ing owners to build larger houses in ex- change for designating the historic house a landmark, Sag Harbor must address their preservation challenges through a differ- ent approach. Due to a unique concentration of late 18th and early 19th century built fabric Aerial view of Sag Harbor Village. within a very dense village setting, Sag Harbor has one of the strictest local histor- asking for a stop to the rampant destruc- State funding to pay for a preservation ic preservation ordinances in the region. tion of the village’s historic built fabric, consultant as well as fund a preservation However, even the best laws are only as Village Trustees voted in favor of a six- plan for the village and provide training strong as the weakest interpreter. Resi- month building moratorium to reassess for board members -- useful tools to be dents and community activists started call- and revise its building code as well as im- utilized during the building moratorium. ing attention to the lack of communication prove its historic preservation ordinance The history and architecture of Sag between the various appointed boards, and review process. Harbor is what continues to draw visitors such as the Board of Historic Preserva- When the announcement was made, to the tiny seaside village season after tion and Architectural Review and Zoning the Board of Historic Preservation and season. While the post-recession build- Board of Appeals, and the inappropriate Architectural Review also announced a ing boom on the East End is an encour- alterations to buildings within the historic new board chair and the establishment of aging sign that the economy is once again district that were being approved. a non-voting historic preservation consul- strong, communities must be diligent to In July, the Sag Harbor Village Board tant position to advise the board. ensure growth is balanced in order to pre- listened to cries for action from the com- As a Certified Local Government serve the vibrancy and unique character of munity. Following a dozen testimonies (CLG), Sag Harbor is able to apply for place. Update: splia’s List of Endangered historic Places In six years, SPLIA has called attention the Canoe Place Inn (2010) in Hampton ington House (2010) in Fort Salonga es- to eighteen endangered places and some Bays - close to being a lost cause when it caped demolition, however, the house is are seeing positive change. The nomina- made SPLIA’s list - will be restored as part still vacant and gutted. Public attention tion of the Sayre Barn (2010) in South- of a new development plan for the site. was brought to the deteriorated state of ampton Village led to a “save” and the Following the 2012 closing of the Sacred the Oyster Bay Train Station following restoration was detailed in 2014’s Preser- Heart Church Complex (2013) in Cut- its 2013 nomination, and plans are moving vation Notes. The LaGrange Inn (2013) chogue on the North Fork, an ad hoc com- ahead for the restoration and reuse of the in West Islip was threatened by a chain mittee was formed to galvanize support site by the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum. store pharmacy. The nomination garnered for preserving the church structures. This SPLIA must also acknowledge two losses: community interest and a “save” for the motivated the Town of Southold to estab- Huntington Village lost the Hotel Hun- Inn by relocating it closer to the street cor- lish an Historic Preservation District float- tington (2011) for a new bank building in ner. The John Coltrane Home (2011) in ing zone in 2015, providing incentivized 2012 and SPLIA’s watch property, the St. Dix Hills was subsequently added to the protection to eligible historic landmarks in Ignatius Retreat House at , was National Trust’s Eleven Most Endangered exchange for additional uses not currently demolished to make way for a private res- and was awarded a $36,000 state grant permitted in the underlying zoning dis- idential development in 2013. towards a feasibility study, $30,000 from trict. SPLIA’s List of Endangered Historic the 1772 Foundation to begin restoration, Generally, the overall status of most Places was initiated to help shine a light on and new fundraising efforts to restore the properties is oriented towards improve- the region’s threatened historic resources. house and establish interpretive and cultur- ment though some remain unchanged. The abovementioned saves are encourag- al programming. After years of planning The long-term future of St. Paul’s School ing, and SPLIA continues to advocate for and review by the Town of Southampton, (2010) is still vague. The Booker T. Wash- improvements at the other sites.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 4 Long Island’s Industrial Heritage at Risk Long Island’s industrial heritage can be found across the region in the form of wind and tide mills that once ground grain into flour, commercial waterfronts where boat yards built ships to transport goods and people, aviation sites that pioneered the testing and manufacturing of the first airplanes that now dominate our skies, and factories that produced textiles and other goods. Industrial heritage east of the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront on Long Island contributes to the identity of communities, from Port Jefferson to Patchogue and Riv- erhead to Glen Cove, yet few examples of industrial buildings have survived to the 21st century. The loss of the Glenwood Landing Power Plant (a brick structure with soaring arch windows that stood on the eastern edge of Hempstead Harbor since 1923) was the catalyst for SPLIA’s 2015 thematic nomination of Industrial Roslyn Grist Mill, 2015. Heritage at Risk. With so little industrial heritage in Nas- works pump house in Freeport that mold- listed on the National Register of Histor- sau and Suffolk Counties, those remaining ered away until its shell was demolished in ic Places, community members and local are all the more important to preserve: the 2011. preservation groups have been planning Bulova Watchcase Factory in Sag Har- The success of SPLIA’s Endangered to restore the structure for over a decade. bor, one of the last surviving examples Sites program depends on public partici- Funding is earmarked for restoration yet of large scale industrial architecture, was pation. Local residents are the most aware numerous false starts and no clear vision recently transformed from a neglected of issues affecting historic resources in of how the building can be repurposed has shell to luxury condominiums; the 2002 their community and the Endangered Sites delayed restoration. proposed redevelopment of the former nomination process is how SPLIA is able Since SPLIA announced its 2015 list Bluepoints Oyster Company motivated to raise awareness to larger regional audi- of Endangered Historic Places, an ad hoc the West Sayville community to preserve ences. This year SPLIA has chosen two committee of preservationists and local their commercial waterfront by enabling a in-house nominations to represent Long residents have regained momentum, put- new owner to adapt the site for new mari- Island’s Industrial Heritage at Risk: ting a plan into motion for rehabilitation time uses; and the Village of Port Jefferson that makes the site the center of a down- successfully reused certain industrial mar- Roslyn Grist Mill, Roslyn town and waterfront revitalization initia- itime buildings (such as the former J.M. A rare surviving early 18th century in- tive. Currently, the greatest hurdle for the Bayles & Son shipbuilders complex) to dustrial building featuring unique Dutch site is transferring ownership from Nassau create the Village Center. However, coun- framing methods, the Roslyn Grist Mill County to the Village of Roslyn. tering the success stories are losses like has been vacant and deteriorating since the exuberantly designed Brooklyn Water- the 1970s. Owned by Nassau County and Fordham Saw Mill, Remsenburg-Speonk Designated a Town landmark in 1985, the building has been vacant since 2008. Once a center of industry in the area, the mill served as a location for carriage, wheel, and coffin-making throughout its history. The community wants to see the former mill rehabilitated but the owners claim landmark designation is a disincen- tive to potential buyers or renters and have let the property decline. In May, two local community groups co-hosted a public forum and site visit at the mill. Representatives from the town and the property owners addressed resi- dents on current preservation incentives in place for property owners, the structural status of the building, and challenges for adaptively reusing the site which straddles the ecologically-sensitive Speonk River. Fordham Saw Mill, 2015.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 5 splia dOCUMENTS Long island’s open-air museums Across Long Island, collecting historic in Virginia (also a National Historic Land- Nassau County. The museum campus sur- artifacts and architecture flourished in a mark) in the 1930s; and in Massachusetts, vey documents the history of each building unique fashion after World War II, partic- Albert Wells assembled what is today moved to the site identifying age, original ularly in preparation for the Bicentennial: known as Old Sturbridge Village in the location, ownership, date of relocation, SPLIA’s founder, Howard C. Sherwood 1940s. and information regarding the restoration bequeathed his 18th century farmstead for These three examples of the curated of the building for display in the museum use as a museum; Ward Melville estab- open-air museum village utilized relocat- setting. The research has uncovered the lished the Ward Melville Heritage Trust, ed historic structures or reconstructions to identities of the early preservationists in- preserving his collection of decorative arts interpret American life before industrial- volved, their goals for disseminating Long and architecture; and local historical soci- ization. Conceptually, they align with the Island history to the public, and how these eties across the island began establishing national popularity of the Colonial Reviv- efforts contribute to the history and pro- campuses of moved buildings to store and al aesthetic introduced during Philadel- fessionalization of historic preservation at interpret objects and images relating to phia’s Centennial Exposition of 1876. a national level. Long Island history. While the so-called “robber barons” Typically, a structure that has been The campus model of moved buildings, purchased enormous tracts of land for moved is not eligible for nomination to known as “open-air” or “living-history” private country estates on Long Island, the National Register of Historic Places. museums, is an approach to collecting, ex- another population of wealthy individu- However, the phenomenon of relocating hibiting, and interpreting material culture als purchased and restored early Ameri- structures on Long Island is significant within a campus setting. Such methodolo- can farmhouses. These antiquarians, like to the cultural history of the region and gies began with the 1891 establishment of Sherwood and Melville, filled their histor- the area has a greater concentration of Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden by Arthur ic houses with objects relating to Long Is- open-air museums than almost anywhere Hazelius who interpreted buildings and land’s Colonial past, pioneering the period in the country. Documenting the regional traditional pre-industrial life-ways, in re- room and “living with antiquities” move- open-air museum campuses on Long Is- action to a rapidly changing world. ment. By the dawn of World War II, the land establishes a thematic framework for American industrialists established antiquarian movement was popularized nominations to the National Register by similar sites for the same goal as Haze- with the establishment of scores of open- identifying the historic significance of the lius in the early 20th century: automaker air museums and historic sites across the campus itself. Such a document will facil- Henry Ford developed Greenfield Village country. itate the custodians of these sites to apply in Michigan in 1929 (a National Historic This past year SPLIA has embarked on for listing as well as provide opportunities Landmark); Standard Oil tycoon, John D. a thematic survey of ten open-air muse- to further exploration of Long Island’s role Rockefeller sponsored the restoration and ums on Long Island. Eight campuses were in historic preservation during the early to reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg identified in Suffolk County and two in mid-twentieth century.

Aerial view of Old Bethpage Village Restoration.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 6 Lost, saved, and on watch Lost Saved On Watch

“The Witch’s Hat,” Aquebogue Glenwood Landing Power Plant, After sitting vacant and deteriorating Hempstead Harbor for decades, restoration of the “Witch’s Built in 1923 by the Long Island Light- Hat” on Main Road in Aquebogue is com- Winfield Hall, Glen Cove ing Company, the Glenwood Landing plete following an eighteen-month project In late January, a fire ravaged all three Power Plant generated gas and electric led by the Riverhead Landmarks Preserva- floors in the east wing of Winfield Hall, power for the region until National Grid tion Committee and the Save Main Road the last and best-known Long Island com- ceased its operations in 2012. Advocacy civic group. Built in 1927 as a roadside mission by architect C. P. H. Gilbert for efforts were made to preserve and adap- attraction by retired Brooklyn-native Har- five and dime tycoon F. W. Woolworth. tively reuse the iconic landmark as a wa- ry Fleming, the “Witch’s Hat” operated as Built in 1916 after a fire destroyed the first terfront recreational facility to no avail. a tiny shop selling candy, cigarettes, gas, Winfield Hall, the property is listed on the National Grid’s plan is to minimally re- and ice cream. Later used as a plant nurs- National Register of Historic Places but is mediate the site, pave it over, fence it off, ery, this icon of roadside architecture was not a locally designated landmark in the and leave the waterfront inaccessible to designated a local landmark in 1987 by the City of Glen Cove. A lack of local desig- the Glenwood Landing community. Town of Riverhead and is the North Fork’s nation means there is no real protection to answer to the Big Duck in Flanders. ensure the exquisite mansion is preserved.

Fowler House, Freetown The modest two-story saltbox cottage Aluminaire House, West Islip was originally owned by George and Sar- Designed by architects A. Lawrence ah Fowler, Native American Montauketts Morpurgo House, Sag Harbor Kocher and Albert Frey for the 1931 Ar- whose descendants occupied the dwell- The steady deterioration of No. 6 Union chitectural and Allied Arts Exposition in ing until the late 1980s. It is believed to Street in Sag Harbor (commonly known as New York City, the 22x28 foot all-metal originally have been located in Montauk the Morpurgo House) has become a sym- modular Aluminaire House was unprec- until the late-19th century when members bol of demolition by neglect on the East edented for its pioneering use of prefab- of the Montaukett Indian Nation were re- End. Plagued by decades of heirs’ dis- ricated lightweight materials. After the located to Freetown, a community estab- putes, the deterioration of the house has exposition, the Aluminaire house was lished in the early-19th century by freed now reached a stage where it is a potential moved to the Huntington estate of archi- African-Americans. threat to public safety. tect, Wallace K. Harrison. In 1986, it was With only a sink for indoor plumbing A pending foreclosure judgement again disassembled and moved to the West and a kitchen stove providing heat, this against the investors, who have owned Islip campus of the New York Institute of modest vernacular time capsule suffered the house since 2008, prevents Village of- Technology for use at the school’s archi- from extensive neglect while passing back ficials from targeting a responsible party tecture and design program until the cam- and forth between Town of East Hampton to make necessary repairs to stabilize the pus closed in 2012. and Suffolk County ownership for de- property. The mortgage holder agreed to It was announced this year the build- cades. Now owned by the Town, the prop- erect a fence around the property but, un- ing will once again hit the road. This time erty will be preserved as an historic site til the foreclosure process is complete, the to Palm Springs, CA, where Albert Frey interpreting the Native and African-Amer- fate of this within spent much of his career designing houses. ican history of Freetown. the historic district is unclear.

PRESERVATION NOTES Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 Fall 2015 7 S OCIETYFOR THE

PRESERVATION OF LONG I SLAND NonProfit A NTIQUITIES U.S. Postage Paid 161 Main Street P.O. Box 148 Cold Spring harbor, NY Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 Permit No. 3 www.splia.org

P RESERVATION NOTES N EWSLETTER Vol. L Nos. 1 and 2 FALL 2015

IN THIS ISSUE:

Double-Diamond House Restored Crown Heights North III Historic District, Brooklyn Ridgewood, Queens: Rich in German History Buffalo Room Restoration at Coe Hall Sag Harbor Works to Improve Preservation Ordinance Update: SPLIA’s List of Endangered Historic Places Long Island’s Industrial Heritage At Risk SPLIA Documents Long Island’s Open-Air Museums Lost, Saved, And On Watch