Alice Austen House | A Staten Island Historical Home

Posted by Tom Crimmins Realty on November 12th, 2017

The Alice Austen House, also known as Clear Comfort, is nestled in Rosebank at 2 Hylan Boulevard. It received its name from Alice Austen, one of America's earliest and most accomplished women photographers.

History Behind The Alice Austen House

Originally, this home was built as a one room Dutch farmhouse, but was saved from demolition in the 1960s. The home, built in the 1690s, was purchased by John Haggerty Austen, Alice Austen's Grandfather. Circa 1725, the room that became the present parlor was added, and at mid century, the dining room/kitchen wing was constructed. Throughout this 25 year period which John Austen took to restore the home, he was able to alter the original home into a Victorian Gothic cottage. In the late 1860s is when the…

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The Seguine Mansion | A Staten Island Historical Home

Posted by Tom Crimmins Realty on October 15th, 2017

This Greek Revival structure lies on the South Shore of the island, located at 441 Seguine Avenue. The home received its name from James Seguine who purchased the land which the mansion sits on between 1780 and 1786. Seguine Avenue and Seguine Point in Princes Bay were also named after this family's ancestors which first settled on Staten Island in 1706.

History Behind The Seguine Mansion

The Seguine Mansion was first built around 1840 by James Seguine's Grandson, Joseph Seguine. Joseph not only operated the family's prosperous oyster-harvesting business, but he also founded the Staten Island Oil and Candle-making Company, and owned extensive farmland. Even after Joseph's death, the house remained in the family until 1868 when financial difficulties…

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