This unique mid-nineteenth-century house boasts twentieth-century additions by Lewis Bowman and is set on one of the largest parcels of residential land in the village. Surrounded by old-growth trees and beautiful gardens, it is situated well back from the road that was carved through the woods by Masterton over 165 years ago. In February of...Read More

As a tribute to the village’s artists, we presented for inspection the historic studios of WILL and MARY LOW (25 PRESCOTT AVENUE), Lorenzo Hatch (6 Lookout Avenue), and Hermann Schladermundt (8 Park Avenue). These studios have retained their large north-facing windows, while affording contemporary families the luxury of grand and comfortable indoor spaces. 25 Prescott In 1897, William V. Lawrence...Read More

The original manor house was built in 1870 for John Masterton, early founder Alexander Masterton’s youngest son, a politician and banker. In1884 he was arrested and soon lost his house and all his assets for using depositors’ money for speculating in mining stocks. Later owners, generous philanthropists, became well-known for lending the house to the...Read More

In the mid-1890s, Elizabeth Custer bought her first Bronxville house, 20 Park Avenue, next door to a Michigan hometown friend. The house included two towers, one originally with a crenelated parapet that was said to be reminiscent of Western forts where the Custers had lived. In 1902 the Widow Custer built a second home at...Read More

Crow’s Nest is among Bronxville’s oldest and finest homes. Well known Hudson River artist and financier Francis Edmonds chose this hilltop site for its commanding views extending to Manhattan, and in 1850, leading Bronxville citizen, quarry owner, and builder Alexander Masterton designed and constructed the stone Gothic-style country house. Edmonds added a large addition to...Read More

One of the largest and most well-known houses in Lawrence Park is the “Owl House,” so named because of the figure of a large owl resting on its central gable. Although most contemporaries identify the house with Brendan Gill, architectural critic of The New Yorker, who lived there with his family for almost 40 years,...Read More

Kenneth T. Jackson Distinguished historian and noted author Kenneth Jackson shared his insights into the reasons that New York City has avoided the fate of many American cities – their physical, economic and popular decline – by adapting itself to the changes of modern-day life. Professor Jackson began by tracing the growth of New York...Read More

Jon Meacham A near-capacity audience attended our 15th annual Brendan Gill Community Lecture on Friday evening, April 12th to hear Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, Jon Meacham. Marilynn Hill, lifetime co-chair, introduced Meacham to the near capacity crowd in the Reisinger Auditorium at Sarah Lawrence College. Jon Meacham is the author, most recently, of Thomas Jefferson: The Art...Read More

Nathaniel Philbrick A capacity crowd filled the Sommer Center at Concordia College on Friday evening March 7 to hear New York Times bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick give the Bronxville Historical Conservancy’s 16th Annual Brendan Gill Lecture. In her introduction, Marilynn Hill, lifetime co-chair of the conservancy, said that Philbrick, who calls himself a “writer who...Read More

David Eisenhower “History is a spiritual thing,” began David Eisenhower, in his presentation at the 17th annual Brendan Gill Lecture, sponsored by the Bronxville Historical Conservancy. A near-capacity crowd attended the event held at Sarah Lawrence College on Friday, March 13, featuring the grandson of the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower....Read More