While some houses in NYC are waiting to be added to the city’s designated list of landmarks, a couple others are among the newest to be landmarked.
Time Running Out for Two Lower East Side Houses in Need of Landmark Status
Preservationists are pushing for 200-year-old houses on the Lower East Side to be granted landmark status. Located at 206 Bowery and 22 East Broadway, the Federal-style homes have previously been under the threat of demolition. As such, the push to preserver them dates back to 2010, at which time the Landmarks Preservation Commission calendared property at 206 Bowery for a hearing. While scheduling is the first step toward being designated as a landmark, the Commission has not moved forward with the process with either of the properties.
The property at 206 Bowery was built around 1825, at which time it was a speculative investment associated with the leather merchant James Meinell. The house went on to have a long history of housing commercial space on the ground floor. As such, it has been used solely for commercial purposes since the 1870s.
The East Broadway home dates back to 1832, at which time it was a house for district attorney James R. Whiting. Whiting later served as a City Council member and then as a New York Supreme Court Judge. The home has maintained its arched dormers, pitched room and Flemish bond brickwork. The Commission believes the home also still has its original molded stone lintels and sills, making it one of the Lower East Side’s few remaining Federal style houses.
Due to a law passed by the City Council, both buildings will soon lose their calendaring status if the Commission doesn’t move forward with the process. As such, preservationists are pushing the Commission to move on with the process of preserving these two homes.
City Island Homes to Receive Landmark Status
Two houses dating back to the late 19th century and the early 20th century have recently been granted landmark status. Located on City Island in the Bronx, the homes are the Samuel H. and Mary T. Booth House at 30 Center Street and the Stafford House at 95 Pell Place. Together, the historic houses represent the historical development of the island during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Built over a six-year period between 1887 and 1893 by Samuel Booth, the Booth House is a two-and-a-half story wood frame structure featuring a gabled roof, wood clapboarding, asymmetrical massing and a corner entrance porch. The Booth House, which is representative of the Stick style of architecture, served as the home for the Booths until 1959. The home was subsequently renovated by its new owners in the mid-1980s.
The Stafford House, which is the typical Sears “mail order” house, was built 40 years after the Booth House. This particular home is an “Osborne” model, which was featured in the company’s catalogues between 1919 and 1929. This particular home was built for captain John H. Stafford, who was a well-known member of the island’s maritime community. While the Stafford family left the house in 1991, its design has remained unchanged.