This large neo-Renaissance mansion with Arts and Crafts detailing is an excellent example of early-twentieth century country house design. The house was built for Louis A. and Laura Stirn in 1908 to the plans of Kafka & Lindenmeyr. One of the few houses of its size and type surviving on Staten Island, it is prominently sited on Grymes Hill where it commands a spectacular view of New York Harbor. Modeled after an Italian Renaissance villa, the Stirn house is a two-and-one-half-story structure composed of a symmetrical center block and flanking dependencies.