Alfred E. Smith House

25 Oliver Street | Two Bridges | built 1880

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1868
Resident Thomas Coman becomes acting mayor of New York
Irish immigrant Thomas Coman, who had arrived in New York in 1838 and later graduated from City College, was living in this Federal-style rowhouse when he served as president of the Board of Aldermen. The post made him acting mayor of New York City for a brief stretch in 1868.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
1909
Alfred E. Smith leases the house that anchors his political rise
Rising politician Alfred E. Smith leased the house from St. James Church starting in 1909 and lived there through his years as a state assemblyman, sheriff, and president of the Board of Aldermen, before his election as governor of New York in 1918. By 1916 his stretch of Oliver Street was known as "Politicians' Row."
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
1913
June
Neighborhood children gather at the house for a savings-bank giveaway
In June 1913 about 3,000 neighborhood children gathered outside the house for a savings-bank giveaway tied to Smith's political career, and in October 1915 a street festival with marching bands, lanterns, and open-air movies celebrated his run for sheriff.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
1972
November 28
The federal government designates the house a landmark
The federal government designated the house a National Historic Landmark and added it to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1972, in recognition of Alfred E. Smith's residency and his rise to the New York governorship.
Source: Wikipedia

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