"The elevated plain just north of Van Cortlandt Park was transformed into a neighborhood of winding and leafy streets with commodious dwellings beginning in the late 1880s. The opening of a train station nearby offered easy access and the developer behind the neighborhood, the American Real Estate Company, added a further enticement by installing an elevator from the station to their new neighborhood on the hill. They enthusiastically pitched their project in booklets, ads, and advertorials with the promise of relief from tiny city homes."
"The company sold this lot of land on Van Cortlandt Park Avenue to Helena D. Williamson in May of 1904. The deed notes the requirements for any house to be constructed on the lot - it was to cost "no less than" $7,000, not including the furnace or any "moveable fixtures." The same month Helena received a building permit for a frame residence of 2.5 stories. Alas, the architect was not identified in the newspaper notice."
The Edwardian residence at 230 Van Cortlandt Park Avenue was built in the early 20th century within a planned suburban development on the elevated plain north of Van Cortlandt Park. The Park Hill neighborhood was laid out from the late 1880s with winding, leafy streets, commodious dwellings, and a nearby train station; the American Real Estate Company installed an elevator from the station to the hill to attract buyers. Buyers could purchase completed houses or bring architects and builders if meeting 'first class community' requirements. Helena D. Williamson acquired the lot in May 1904 and received a permit for a 2.5-story frame residence; the deed mandated a minimum construction cost of $7,000. Multiple architects worked in the district, including A.F. Leicht.
#park-hill-yonkers #edwardian-architecture #historic-real-estate #early-20th-century-suburban-development
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