Park Hill Historic House Tour

Sunday, 5/31, 11:30am-5:30pm: Park Hill Historic House Tour.

Buy your tickets now and get the discount price. Tour five beautiful and unique historic homes and one gorgeous garden. Self-guided tour of houses, expert guided Walking Tour, Grand Old Tree Tour, and Lecture with slide show. For a photo preview and information about the homes and garden, a complete schedule of the day and to purchase tickets, go to Park Hill's website or contact Jane McAfee at 914-423-1835. Tickets include all the tours: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. There will also be food available, raffle prizes, tours of the Racquet Club and community organization displays at the Host Area at the Park Hill Racquet Club at the corner of Van Cortlandt Park Avenue and Lakeside Drive. It's a wonderful day in Park Hill!

The Houses

Colonial Revival
You would never know that just a few years ago, this stunning 1911 Colonial Revival was literally gutted and abandoned. In 2006, this expansive residence underwent a complete renovation with superlative results. Preservation of architectural detail and commitment to excellence were the hallmarks of this restoration. Dazzling by any standards, it blends exceptional craftsmanship with the finest materials.

The grand stair hall embodies the very essence of elegance with its hand-crafted Honduras mahogany paneling, gracious stair, and mahogany French doors leading into the living and family rooms. The dining room is also paneled in mahogany and has a beamed coffer-styled ceiling, built-in china showcase cabinets and window seat. Beautifully appointed, the kitchen features custom cherry cabinetry, granite countertops, and adjoining breakfast area. The second and third floors offer seven bedrooms, four baths and an enormous family entertainment space. Attention to detail and sensitivity towards the restoration is apparent throughout this home…..period reproductions in all the baths, refurbishment of existing intact original details and replication of others, custom-made casements and moldings and the finest door hardware throughout ….a determined awareness to stay true to the period.

Wonderful spaces that bring the outdoors in are two rooftop terraces and an original Widow’s Walk high atop the house. The newly terraced lawn is bordered by stone walls, bluestone steps, original brick wall and restored fountain at the back.

Arts and Crafts
Perched high above the street atop an enormous rocky outcropping, this stately 1913 English Arts and Crafts home is accessible via a switchback of stone stairs bordered by rock walls. This elegant residence defines grand living with its oversized rooms, traditional moldings, carved paneling, French doors and wonderful variety of windows. Don’t miss the secret room on the third floor, a cedar-clad hideaway behind a bookcase in a treetop bedroom.

Colonial
When this gracious Colonial was built, it had a truly unique roof…..copper shingles that were left over from Yankee Stadium when it was built in 1923. After 83 years and a brutal windstorm, the owner, “wanting to do right by the house,” began a nationwide search for a company who could replicate the hand-cut, hand-bent copper shingles and a craftsman who had the ability to install the overlapping, interlocking shingles. The new copper roof, one of a handful in the county, now tops the house.

A noteworthy highlight of this home is the sensitively designed rear addition overlooking the fish pond and waterfall. Much of the home’s restoration has been done by the owner, a Broadway percussionist, who also restores antique novelty musical instruments from the turn-of-the-century which are displayed throughout the house.

English Cottage
Designed and built by architect and Yonkers civic leader Arno Kolbe in 1905, this cozy English cottage was one of the first homes in Park Hill. Captain Kolbe, his family and two more generations lived in the home for 64 years. The present owners have lived in the house for 35 years, raising their family while lovingly maintaining the home’s character and charm.
A celebration of house, home and family history is apparent throughout the house. Highlights include original fixtures and hardware, photographs of the house and family dating from 1907, and family antiques and heirlooms inherited from previous generations. In the 1930’s, the kitchen renovation in this house was written up in the local newspaper as “very modern,” the very same cabinets still in the kitchen today.

Craftsman-Inspired Bungalow
Although this 1920 Craftsman-inspired Bungalow looks like an ordinary house from the outside, walking in is like opening a jewel box filled with gems. The interior has a Victorian feel with wonderful parquet floors, window seat, beautiful oak staircase, recessed oak paneling, columns framing the doorways and fireplace. The colors are unorthodox and gorgeous….deep plum, intense teal, sunset yellow, dark red….all framing the fantastic eclectic array of furnishings.

The owner did a stellar job of renovating the kitchen to be compatible with Victorian detail on the first floor and the “finished” basement patio room will remind you of a French country home. Expansive city and Palisade views…and sunsets… can be had from the living room and the second floor home office.

The Garden
At some point in our lives, many of us have felt the call of the exotic Orient. This Asian-themed garden focuses on peace and tranquility, creating an oasis of rest and rejuvenation. The most important feature of an Asian garden is water; there is a formal rectangular pond with a smooth surface and waterfall cascading to an informal, more natural pond with hiding caves for the goldfish.

The garden is dressed in white…only white annuals, perennials and bulbs….and many of the plants have variegated foliage adding a sense of color and texture when the flowers are not in bloom.