On Landmarking Buildings on City Island
Statement of the Historic Districts Council
June 28, 2011 Designation Hearing of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
Item 1 LP – 2477
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
150 CAROLL STREET HOUSE, 150 Caroll Street
Item 2 – LP – 2487
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
GRAMMAR SCHOOL No. 102, 190 Fordham Street
Item 3 – LP – 2479
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
CAPTAIN JOHN H. STAFFORD HOUSE, 95 Pell Place
Item 4 – LP – 2488
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
SAMUEL H. & MARY T. BOOTH HOUSE, 30 Center Street
The Historic Districts Council is the advocate for New York City’s designated historic districts and neighborhoods meriting preservation.
HDC is happy to see LPC’s attention turning to City Island, a truly unique corner of the city.
Public School 17 was City Island’s first public school and served nearly 80 years of students, a heritage still proudly on display at the City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum which is housed in part of the building. C.B.J. Snyder left his mark with handsome schools throughout the city typically with his H-plan, but it is interesting to see what Snyder could do when freed from the constraints of tight urban blocks. Here the rectangular structure, expanded around 1930 as the island’s school-age population grew, was designed in Colonial Revival style, an unusual choice for Snyder but a comfortable fit for City Island.
The houses being heard this morning, in addition to all being respected and well cared for, are each different pieces that help tell the history of City Island. The c.1850s 150 Caroll Street House is a reminder of early development of the island. Its compact design, symmetrical features and full-length parlor floor windows to catch the breezes from the water work together to create a lovely island interpretation of the Greek Revival style. The Booth House, built at the end of the 19th century is a larger, more rambling house full of charming Queen Anne style details including multiple gables, decorative verge board, turned columns, and brackets. Finally, the 1930 Captain John H. Stafford House is a unique example of a housing type rarely found in New York City, a Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog house. The house’s striking resemblance to the catalog illustration speaks to its well-preserved state. Although the illustration is titled “From the Golden West” it feels perfectly at home in this East Coast setting.
In 2008, the Bronx Historic Preservation Task Force suggested an historic district on the island, a suggestion that should still be considered. City Island’s small scale and village atmosphere creates that “special sense of place” so often talked about in historic districts and a more holistic plan to protecting it would be ideal.
Report of the Bronx Borough President’s Historic Preservation Task Force