Harrison Street Staten Island the Historic Districts Council Is New York’S Citywide Advocate for Historic Buildings and Neighborhoods

A Guide to Historic New York City Neighborhoods

Harrison Street Staten Island The Historic Districts Council is New York’s citywide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods. The Six to Celebrate program annually identifies six historic New York City neighborhoods that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period.

The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, are selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, the strength and willingness of the local advocates, and the potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. HDC works with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

The core belief of the Historic Districts Council is that preservation and enhancement of New York City’s historic resources—its neighborhoods, buildings, parks and public spaces—are central to the continued success of the city. The Historic Districts Council works to ensure the preservation of these resources and uphold the New York City Landmarks Law and to further the preservation ethic. This mission is accomplished through ongoing programs of assistance to more than 500 community and neighborhood groups and through public-policy initiatives, publications, educational outreach and sponsorship of community events.

Six to Celebrate is generously supported by The New York Community Trust.

Additional support for Six to Celebrate is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Depart- ment of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York City Councilmembers Margaret Chin, Inez Dickens, Daniel Garodnick, Vincent Gentile, Sara Gonzalez, Stephen Levin and Rosie Mendez.

Cover: 53 Harrison Street (site #4) Guide design: Lost In Brooklyn Studio Guide design: Lost In Brooklyn A Brief History

arrison Street, an enclave of diverse residential architecture, lies within the Stapleton neighborhood of Staten Island. Stapleton was established in 1835 when State Senator HMinthorne Tompkins and New York businessman William J. Staples (after whom the neighborhood is named) purchased two farms. In 1836, the men arranged for the establishment of streets and 395 building lots on the large parcel, and that same year several houses and a hotel were constructed. In 1831, the Seaman’s Retreat and Hospital Fund, devoted to the care of merchant sailors, was established on a 40-acre site on Bay Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. Its main building, a large Greek Revival structure built by Abraham Maybie in 1834–53, and the Physician-in-Chief ’s Residence of 1842 are designated landmarks, though today much of the campus is in disrepair. Staples and Tompkins also founded a steam ferry service to Manhattan to attract development. By the mid to late 19th century, Stapleton had a thriving commercial district. While some of Harrison Street’s early residents worked in Manhattan, the majority worked in Stapleton as shopkeepers, contractors, developers, carpenters, lawyers and politicians.

Harrison Street, often referred to as “The Nook,” was developed roughly between 1840 and 1900. It was named for Dr. John Talbot Harrison, one-term State Assemblyman and Chief Health Officer of the Quarantine Station in the nearby neighborhood of Tompkinsville, which was developed by Minthorne Tompkins’s father, Daniel D. Tompkins, the United States Vice President under James Monroe. The street is unusual for its densely built 19th-century residential architecture, as during this period, much of Staten Island remained farmland or was developed with the suburban ideal in mind. Architectural styles include Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Second Empire. The north side of the street is more uniform in its scale, with a majority of the structures being one-and-one-half story houses. At the west end of the street are two apartment houses constructed in 1883.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering the designation of Harrison Street as Staten Island’s fourth historic district. Nearby, the St. Paul’s Avenue–Staple- ton Heights Historic District was designated in 2004, and boasts mansions once belonging to Manhattan-based businessmen and top officials of local breweries. Harrison Street was home to more modest, but no less special, houses belonging to the neighborhood’s merchants and profes- sionals. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated homeowners, many of these houses now rival their neighbors up the hill. It is interesting to compare the architecture of these two neighborhoods in order to put Harrison Street in context. If you are inclined to visit, the St. Paul’s Avenue– Stapleton Heights Historic District is a short distance north of Harrison Street, described in more detail on pages 10–11. The district is also marked on the map on the back cover of this brochure.

1 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 1. MT. SINAI UNITED CHRISTIAN CHURCH– STAPLETON CAMPUS 2 Tompkins Street 1894 Originally the First Presbyterian Church, this Dutch Colonial Revival building features dark ma- sonry with arched window openings surrounded by quoins, a square crenellated tower and large stepped gables. The Brownell Street gable includes a small rose window. The building is gracefully situated on a corner lot surrounded by lawns and an iron fence.

2. 35, 37 AND 41 HARRISON STREET Winslow Robinson, ca. 1875–76 These three houses share the same general massing and roof gable outline. It is known that numbers 37 and 41 were built by carpenter-builder Winslow Robinson, so it can be surmised that he was most likely responsible for number 35 as well. Number 35 was built for druggist Benjamin T. Jacobs and numbers 37 and 41 were built for real estate and insurance broker William Robinson. A small annex now connects numbers 35 and 37.

2 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 3. 45 HARRISON STREET James P. Eddy, 1875 This house was built by James P. Eddy, whose brother William and father Cornelius also owned houses on the street at number 74 and 36, respectively. Together, the three men owned and operated a lumber yard on Bay Street in Stapleton. Like the houses of his relatives, James’s house features a mansard roof, dormers, a bracketed cornice and a prominent full height projecting bay along its three stories. Its design is very similar to number 74 across the street. The entry porch features an over- hang with bracket supports and paired columns. While some of the houses along Harrison Street have undergone renova- tions, the house next door at number 49 is the youngest on the street, built in 1940.

4. 53 HARRISON STREET Charles Schmeiser, 1880 Designed in the Second Empire style for Henry Warth, this house has a steeply pitched slate mansard roof and poly- chrome striped brickwork. Note the terra-cotta medallion on the building’s west façade. This is the only house on the street with a registered architect. In addition to that distinction, this graceful house stands out for its height (three stories plus a basement level) and that there are no houses abutting it on either side, lending a stately air to its presence on the street. Owner Henry Warth was the brewmaster of the local Rubsam & Horhmann Brewery in Stapleton. His father, Albin Warth, was an inventor who held over 150 patents.

3 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 5. 59 HARRISON STREET Adrian R. and Peter Post, ca. 1870 63 HARRISON STREET William R. Eddy, ca. 1868 67 HARRISON STREET Adrian R. and Peter Post, ca. 1869 Carpenter-builders Adrian R. and Peter Post were responsible for several houses on Harrison Street, including numbers 59 and 67. They also constructed numbers 44 (their own residence), 58, 71 and 75. Number 59 (top), constructed as a rental property, features a mansard roof, dormers and a columned entry porch. Number 67 (bottom), a speculative project, features a mansard roof and a projecting full height bay topped with a tall, narrow, polygonal turret. The windows in the turret have their original stained glass. Number 63 was built by William R. Eddy, who sold it to a veteri- nary surgeon named William Rose in 1872. Like its neighbor at number 59, it has a mansard roof, dormers and a columned entry porch, as well as a projecting bay window at the ground level.

6. 71 HARRISON STREET Adrian R. and Peter Post, 1868 73 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1885 75 HARRISON STREET Adrian R. and Peter Post, ca. 1868 For roughly 40 years, William M. Mullen, a lawyer who prac- ticed in Staten Island and Manhattan, resided at number 73 and owned numbers 71 and 75 as rental properties. Mullen commissioned his own house, which, at three stories over a raised basement, is taller than its neighbors and features a full- height projecting bay and a gabled roof. He purchased the two rental properties in 1891. Both were built by the Post brothers and feature the brothers’ signature mansard roof, as well as dormers, projecting bay windows and columned entry porches.

4 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 7. 77 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1883 Built for newsdealer Sarah Wood, this house has retained its original details, including a decorative railing on the porch and staircase and a Gothic arched window at the attic story. The house features a gable roof and a bay window with decorative wood work.

8. 79 AND 81 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1877 Built for Samuel and Mary Ann Anderson as rental properties, these two houses are twins that share a party wall. They feature a very steep mansard roof along the entire second story with long rectangular dormer windows that dominate the façades. Between the first and second stories are bracketed cornices. Both houses are fortunate to have retained their fanciful door hoods.

9. 83 AND 85 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1877 Built for Samuel and Isabella Cassidy, owners of a dry goods store on Bay Street, these houses were owned and occupied by the Cassidy family for over 60 years. The houses feature bracketed cornices, projecting bays, decorative brickwork, columned porches, and stone bandcourses and window lintels.

5 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 10. 87–89 AND 93–95 HARRISON STREET Philip Wolff, ca. 1883 These brick apartment buildings are the work of Philip Wolff, a builder and mason who ran a busi- ness with his son, Charles L. Wolff. The company is understood to have laid many of the sidewalks in Stapleton. They also constructed many houses in the area, including 48, 52 and 54 Quinn Street and 80 Harrison Street. Number 87–89 has two central projecting bays with steep gable roofs and groups of three windows on each level. The window groupings on the ground level have bracketed wood overhangs and stone quoin surrounds. These projecting bays are flanked on either side by wings containing arched entryways with columned porches. The entire building is capped with a mansard roof and a bracketed cornice. Number 93–95 features a prominent onion-shaped corner turret with an arched dormer. The mansard roof also has four dormers of different sizes and a wide chimney with decorative brickwork. The lower stories have stone bandcourses, window lintels and sashes, as well as arched brickwork entrances with keystones and double doors with glass transoms.

11. 48, 52 AND 54 QUINN STREET Philip Wolff, 1894 Also constructed by Philip Wolff, these three Colonial Revival houses form a lovely bookend to Harrison Street. The two- story brick houses each have three bays, with two situated on projecting sections that are capped with white triangular pediments. Unfortunately, the pediment on number 54 has been removed. Number 52 has retained some of the decorative cresting along its roofline. The houses feature stone bandcourses, brick window lintels with keystones, square windows on the ground level and arched windows on the second-story level. While the entry porch has been removed, number 48 has retained its stained glass transom.

6 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 12. 92 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1840 Thought to be the oldest on the street, this house was built for Susan M. Tompkins Smith, the daughter of Daniel D. Tomp- kins, the fourth governor of New York and the vice president of the United States under James Monroe (1817–25). Smith grew up on Staten Island. Her brother Minthorne Tompkins and his partner William J. Staples were instrumental in devel- oping Stapleton. The stately, three-story clapboard house was designed in the Greek Revival style and is perched on an incline at the western end of the street. It features a graceful doorway, a porch with large columns, windows with louvered shutters and a gable roof with a semi-circular window.

13. 84 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1845 This house was built for James R. Boardman, a local physician and director of the nearby Seamen’s Retreat. Boardman did not live here, but may have rented out the property. The house’s features, which are very intact, include a porch with an “X” pattern railing and a gable roof above the entry stair; three windows on the second story with a diamond medallion and gable roof above; and transom windows above the front door.

7 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 14. 74 HARRISON STREET William R. Eddy, ca. 1874 70 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1868 Number 74 was built by William R. Eddy, who lived here with his wife Mary until 1907. Later, the publisher of The Staten Islander, Michael Kane, lived here for about 20 years. The house features a steep mansard roof, dormers, a bracketed cornice, a fanciful Victorian entryway and a projecting bay along its three stories. Number 70 was constructed for Michael S. Tynan, a coal and wood dealer in Stapleton who also owned a local en- tertainment center called Tynan’s Hall and served as president of the village of Edgewater in 1882–83. The house was designed in the French Second Empire Style and features a steep mansard roof, pitched dormers with decorative woodwork, a bracketed cornice and sloping window overhangs.

15. 64 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1846 This Greek Revival house was built for Edward and Amelia Blake, owners of a general store in Clifton, a neighborhood just south of Stapleton. The most prominent feature of the house is its front porch, whose four fluted columns span the building’s two stories. They are capped with Corinthian capitals, upon which sits a triangular pediment. The porch once had a landing on the second floor as well, and both the second floor and ground level landings had rail fences.

8 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street 16. 54 HARRISON STREET James R. Robinson, ca. 1890 50 HARRISON STREET Ca. 1842 44 HARRISON STREET Adrian R. and Peter Post, ca. 1858 The Queen Anne/Shingle Style house at number 54 was built by carpenter-builder James R. Robinson and has two stories plus a raised basement and attic. Each level is made of or faced with a different material, giving the house a rich poly- chromatic texture. A concrete base supports a red brick first story, which gives way to a painted clapboard second story. The pitched roof has a pitched dormer with an arched window, which caps a full-height projecting bay. The entrance porch features a sloping roof supported by intricate woodwork and columns. Number 50 was constructed for Jasper A. H. Britton, a gentleman farmer who purchased several other lots on the street. Britton’s son, Nathaniel Lord Britton, was the founder and first director of the New York Botanical Garden. Number 44 was the home of carpenter-builders Adrian and Peter Post. It features a wraparound porch with Ionic columns and a rail fence, pitched gables with overhanging eaves and a double door.

17. 36 HARRISON STREET Cornelius C. Eddy, ca. 1875 30 HARRISON STREET Elwood Taylor, ca. 1854 Number 36 was constructed by Cornelius C. Eddy, and is thought either to have been remodeled or be the second home built on the property. Eddy’s name appears on an 1859 map as residing on this lot, though the house’s mansard roof is a dis- tinct feature of the French Second Empire Style popular in the United States in the 1870s and 1880s. The central protruding tower was once also capped with a mansard roof, which has been removed. Its dentiled cornice, pitched dormers and arched porch entry are particularly graceful features. Constructed by Elwood Taylor, a lumber dealer in Stapleton, number 30 features a lovely arcade porch and three simple window openings on its second level. The painted white clapboard and porch arches with light blue accents form a sunny welcoming com- mittee at the eastern entry to Harrison Street.

9 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street Stapleton Heights Historic District ST. PAUL’S AVENUE—STAPLETON HEIGHTS HISTORIC DISTRICT Q

Located to the northwest of Harrison Street is the St. Paul’s Avenue–Stapleton Heights His- toric District, which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commis- sion in 2004. This district encompasses several lovely churches and 92 freestanding houses, plus smaller ancillary structures, which were largely constructed for prominent local businessmen and politicians. Built as a more wealthy enclave than Harrison Street, the houses are more elaborate in their size, massing and architectural detail. The neighborhood has long been one of Staten Island’s most prestigious places to live. Running through the district is St. Paul’s Avenue, an impressive stretch of residences that links the historic villages of Tompkinsville and Stapleton.

Development in the area began in 1826, when Caleb T. Ward purchased 250 acres, including the entirety of the historic district. Ward laid out streets and building lots in 1829. The two earliest houses in the district are 172 (map: marker 1) and 204 St. Paul’s Avenue (map: marker 2), which date to the mid-1830s. The former was originally the rectory for the first St. Paul’s Church (demolished 1870) and the latter was a pri- vate home built by James Creighton. Both were designed in the Greek Revival style, which was very fashionable at that time.

On hillside sites along the west side of St. Paul’s Avenue, a number of houses were built in the 1850s and 1860s to take advantage of views of New York Harbor. One of these was 218 218 St. Paul’s Ave. St. Paul’s Avenue (map: marker 3), which had originally been built in the Greek Revival style, but was renovated around 1850 for Ward’s son Albert in the Pictur- esque style. Across the street are St. Paul’s Memo- rial Church and Rectory (map: marker 4), built in 1866–70. The church and rectory were designed by acclaimed church architect Edward Tuckerman Pot- ter in the High Victorian Gothic style, and are noted examples of the style within the five boroughs. In addition to being part of the historic district, they are both designated individual landmarks. Also con- St. Paul’s Memorial Church and Rectory structed in the mid 19th century was “Captain’s Row,” three Italianate villas located at 352, 356 and 364 St. Paul’s Avenue (map: marker 6), which were built by harbor pilots Marshall B. White, Thomas Metcalf and John Martino.

11 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street In the 1870s through 1890s, houses were constructed in popular styles of the time: Second Empire, Stick Style, Queen Anne, Shingle Style and Colonial Revival. One of the most spectacular houses on St. Paul’s Avenue, number 387 (map: marker 8), was constructed in 1886–87. The Queen Anne mansion was designed by Hugo Kafka and commissioned by George Bechtel, a brewer in Stapleton, as a wedding gift for his daughter, Anna Bechtel Weiderer, and son-in-law Leonard Weiderer, owner of a glass fac- 387 St. Pauls Ave. tory in Stapleton. The wood-frame house features an imposing base of massive stone boulders, above which is a complex massing of geometric forms clad in shingles of varying shapes. Many of its multi-pane windows contain colorful stained glass.

Roughly a third of the houses in the historic district were constructed between 1906 and 1930 after de- signs by several Staten Island architects. This short period of growth lends an architectural cohesion to the one- and two-family neo-Colonial and Arts and Crafts Style houses on St. Paul’s, Cebra and Marion Avenues. Stapleton architect Otto Loeffler designed 11 of these houses, including the 1909 Mediterra- nean Revival style remodel of 377 St. Paul’s Avenue (map: marker 7), 400 St. Paul’s Ave. originally constructed in the 1870s, and 400 St. Paul’s Avenue (map: marker 9), designed in the Arts & Crafts Style in 1908–09. Another con- tribution to the neighborhood in the early 20th century was Trinity Lutheran Church, founded in 1856 as the German Evengelical Lutheran Church. The Gothic Revival church, located at the corner of St. Paul’s Avenue and Beach Street (map: marker 5), was designed in 1913–14 by Upjohn & Conable (Hobart B. Upjohn was the grandson of famed ecclesiastical architect Richard Upjohn).

Trinity Lutheran Church

12 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street Harrison Street, circa 1885–90 Collection of the Staten Island Historical Society

13 — Historic Districts Council — Harrison Street Harrison Street