Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States
Constructed c.1870, the John De Groot House is one of only three houses in the Second Empire Style that remain standing on Richmond Terrace between Sailors Snug Harbor and Port Richmond, recalling the period when that thoroughfare was lined with grand houses. John De Groot, the builder of this house, worked for over fifty years for the nearby New York Dyeing and Printing Establishment, a textile dyeing business that was the first and one of the most important early industrial concerns on the island.
De Groot was a descendent of a prominent family that had settled on Staten Island around 1730 and intermarried with several of the island’s leading families. This house occupies a portion of a tract of land that had been acquired by his grandfather in 1802 and incorporates part of an early vernacular house erected by his father in the 1810s. The front portion of the house, constructed by De Groot c. 1870, comprising a three-story mansarded main block and two-story mansarded dining room wing, is carefully sited to take advantage of the sloping topography.
A fine example of the Second Empire Style, it retains its historic form and most of its historic detailing. Notable features, typical of Second Empire style, include the floor length parlor windows and double-door entry, heavy molded cornices and scrolled brackets, and the convex mansard roof that still retains its hexagonal slate shingles and gabled dormers. Convex mansards were less frequently employed than concave or straight sided mansards, and have not survived in great numbers, making this an unusual survivor.
Description
The John De Groot House is located on a trapezoidal lot that extends about seventy-four feet along Richmond Terrace and about 172 feet along Alaska Street, its eastern boundary. The ground level slopes upward from Richmond Terrace and has been terraced behind a fieldstone retaining wall along the western property line. Non-historic metal post-and-wire fences extend along the northern and eastern property lines. In addition a non-historic wood picket fence extends along the southern property line and eastern edge of the back yard.
The house is set at an angle to Richmond Terrace and is set back from the streets. An early-mid twentieth-century concrete stair leads from the sidewalk along Richmond Terrace to a concrete path leading to the front stoop of the house. This entry is no longer in use. At present the house is accessed from a driveway constructed with historic paving blocks in the rear side yard of the property facing Alaska Street.
A non-historic pathway partially lined with sections of fence leads from the driveway to the side yard and then curves around the house to approach the front stoop. The sections of fence lining the path incorporate historic elements salvaged from other sites but most of these do not appear to permanently affixed. There are also dog runs with non-historic fencing and non-affixed dog houses in both the front and rear yards. None of the sculpture in the yard or the porch is permanently affixed.
The house has an irregular plan. It is comprised of a three-story mansarded main block, which is three bays wide and two bays deep, a mansarded two-story plus basement dining room wing, a two-story kitchen-bathroom addition dating from the late 1800s, and an angled ell at the southwest corner of the building that was originally a one-and-a half-story gable-roofed Federal house and was raised to two-stories in the late 1800s.
The exterior of the house was modified c.1915 when it changed hands and from the 1970s to 2005 as the present owner has sought to stabilize and restore lost elements to the exterior.
The house rests on a brick basement and fieldstone foundation walls which are visible on the west side of the house where the ground level declines sharply. All of the basement window openings have been sealed. The house’s upper walls are sheathed with-historic wood shingles that conceal original clapboard siding. The windows have molded wood surrounds.
Some windows have historic two-over-two wood sash dating from the 1870s; other windows at the rear of the house retain historic early twentieth-century surrounds and one-over-one wood sash. A number of windows have been replaced with non-historic wood six-over-six wood sash. Most of the windows are protected by non-historic storm windows.
The convex mansard roofs on the main block and the dining room wing retain most of their original hexagonal slate shingles and molded metal flashings . The gabled dormers retain their segmental arch window surrounds and decorative hoods enriched by small eared brackets. Many of the dormer windows retain their historic two-over-two wood sash but have non-historic one-over-one aluminum storms.
The molded cornices beneath the mansards retain many of their paired scrolled brackets. Portions of the molded porch cornice and dining room wing cornice have been replaced in recent years with wood cornices that match the profile of the original moldings.
Main Block The house’s primary facade facing Richmond Terrace has a three-bay design with the entry bay at the west corner of the facade. The one-story wood porch is approached by a wide non-
historic wood stoop. The porch rests on brick piers. The crawl space between the piers is screened from view by non-historic diamond pattern wood lattices. The porch has a wood floor laid over earlier wood flooring. The handsome unfluted wood columns with Ionic capitals, which historian Loring McMillen suggested date from the Federal period, were probably installed in the early twentieth century. The porch retains a historic ceiling which has a non-historic metal and glass light fixture near the entry.
The entrance at the west corner of the facade retains its historic molded wood surround and transom. The historic paired wood and glass doors with their delicate egg and tongue moldings may date from the early twentieth century. Resting above the transom bar is a non-historic wood sign reading "1674." The first story windows retain their original molded surrounds and their two-over-two wood sash which are protected by non-historic aluminum storm windows. At the second story, the windows also retain their molded surrounds but have six-over-six wood replacement sash and non-historic aluminum storm windows. The louvered shutters at both the first story and second story windows are historic but are not original to this house.
The fascia board beneath the overhanging eaves of the mansard roof is embellished with paired scroll brackets. The molded gutter at the edge of the eaves remains intact. The mansard is lit by two gabled dormer windows that retain their original two-over-two wood windows but have non-historic storm windows.
The east facade of the main block is articulated by a line of square-headed windows at the north end of the facade and by a first story entry and second story window at the south end of the facade. The first story window at the north corner of the facade retains its original double light upper wood sash; the bottom light has been replaced by a single light or lost its center glazing bar. The second story window has non-historic wood six-over-six sash. At the south end of facade the entry is approached by a low brick stoop that originally seems to have been faced with flagstones set in concrete. The stoop is now in disrepair and the underlying brickwork is partially visible.
The entry, which appears to date from the early twentieth century, retains its original surround and paneled wood and glass door. There is a small non-historic box-like light fixture to the south of the entry. The southern second story window retains its historic molded surround and has historic six-over-six wood replacement sash. Leaks in the gutter system in the crowning cornice above the second story have caused splitting of the wood at the center of the cornice and required the recent installation of a non-historic diagonal downspout beneath the third story on this facade.
New wood boards have been installed on the underside of the cornice and the wall above the second story window to protect the wall from further water damage. The mansard roof has a single dormer window near the southern end of the facade and a brick chimney on the north side of the facade. The dormer has a six-over-six wood sash window and a non-historic one-over-one storm window. The historic chimney at the north end of the facade is constructed with bricks laid in a Flemish bond pattern.
The west facade of the main block is largely concealed by the dining room wing. The northern section of the crowning cornice above the second story has been replaced. The dormers remain largely intact but have non-historic storm windows.
The south facade of the main block is articulated by an asymmetrical arrangement of windows. At the first story a historic early-twentieth-century molded wood enframement contains three one-over-one wood sash windows which are protected by non-historic storm windows. A taller, early-twentieth-century, square-headed window surround contains a one-over-one wood window that is protected by non-historic storm window. At the second story, the window at the center of facade has a non-historic wood surround and contains non-historic wood six-over-six sash.
The western second story window retains its historic molded wood surround. It contains non-historic six-over-six wood sash and non-historic storm sash. Because of leaks in the gutter system in the crowning cornice on this facade, several of the scrolled brackets have been removed and a non-historic downspout has been installed. Many of the shingles beneath the cornice have been replaced with wood square-cut shingles in recent years. The single central dormer in the mansard roof retains its original two-over-two sash but, has a non-historic storm window.
Dining Room Wing The two-story plus basement dining room wing is square in plan and is set back about a foot from the main block. The high brick basement has large openings for windows at the
center of the north fagade and at the south end of the west fagade. Both windows are sealed with non-historic materials. At the first story both the north and west walls of the wing are pierced by two window openings. The windows on the north fagade retain their original two-over-two wood sash; the windows on the west fagade have non-historic surrounds and six-over-six wood window sash. All of the windows have non-historic storm windows.
Many of the shingles near the southern window, the southern half of the fascia board beneath the cornice, and about two-thirds of the cornice have been replaced in recent years. At the second story the dormers on both the north and west facades retain their historic two-over-two wood sash but have non-historic storms.
Kitchen-Bathroom Wing Built to link to existing differently aligned buildings, this late-nineteenth century wing has an irregular wedge-shaped plan. It is somewhat taller than the dining room wing because it aligns with the second story of the main block. Like the older parts of the house it rests on a high brick basement and its frame upper walls are sheathed with shingles. The wing is capped by a flat roof which is set off by a molded sheet metal cornice. On the north and west sides of the wing the cornice has a relatively shallow profile.
On the south side of the house, where the south wall of the wing reads as a continuation of the south wall of the main block, the cornice has a deeper projection and its articulation is matched to that of the main block. The narrow north facade has small square-headed windows at both the first and second stories. These have non-historic wood surrounds but retain their original one-over-one wood sash windows. The windows are protected by non-historic storm windows. A tall non-historic brick chimney projects from the corner junction between the dining room and kitchen wing.
The south wall of the kitchen-bathroom wing adjoins the south wall of the main wing and because of the shingling and uniform cornice reads as part of the same wall The basement has a non-historic metal hatch providing access to the cellar. Two basement window wells retain their iron bars but the wells have been filled with earth. The first story has a small square-headed window opening containing a round arched wood window with a single lower sash surmounted by a double-light upper sash.
The much taller west window contains a historic wood two-over-two window, which is protected by a non-historic storm window. The second story window has non-historic six-over-six wood sash and a non-historic one-over-one storm window.
<b>- From the 2005 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report</b>
Posted by Emilio Guerra on 2017-01-21 16:45:05
Tagged: , 01212017 , 1674 Richmond Terrace , 21 de enero de 2017 , 21-I-2017 , Borough of Staten Island , Built in 1875 , Flickr tags , Freestanding House , John DeGroot House , LP-2179 , Landmark , NYC , NYCLPC , NYCLPC keywords (1/17) , New York , New York City , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission , North Shore , Other Keywords , Reformed in 1898 , Richmond County , SI , Second Empire , Staten Island , United States , c. 1870; rear wing , 1810-15; 1886-98
