Woodworth Villa

5251 Independence Avenue | Riverdale | built 1853

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1853

    A villa rises on the estate mapped under Riverdale syndicate leader William W. Woodworth's name

    William W. Woodworth, a Yonkers real estate developer who had been the contractor for the Hudson River Railroad between Spuyten Duyvil and Hastings-on-Hudson, led the syndicate that bought the Ackerman farm in 1852 to create Riverdale. The 1853 map of Riverdale names him as owner of this villa's estate, but auctioneer Charles W. Foster had in fact bought it that year. Woodworth left the syndicate in 1854, and William Underhill owned the house from 1857 to 1859.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1910

    Fireproofing executive Adin G. Pierce and his wife Estella buy the Woodworth estate

    Adin G. Pierce, head of a New York fireproofing company that carried his name, bought this estate with his wife Estella in 1910. They owned it until about 1930, the year he retired as the firm's president, and during their time here they built a garage on the property. Pierce died in 1944.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1931

    Lucille B. Gale has Cameron Clark rebuild the Woodworth villa's roof as a mansard

    In 1931 Lucille B. Gale, later Lucille Gale Knapp, hired architect Cameron Clark for a major renovation: the bell-shaped gambrel roof became a mansard with dormers, the cupola over the stair hall came off, and the north wing was rebuilt larger. As Lucille Knapp she added a garage at the front of that wing in 1958, designed by Paul K. Fisher, and a swimming pool followed in 1959-60.

    “In 1931, Lucille B. Gale (later Lucille Gale Knapp) carried out a major renovation designed by Cameron Clark…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 301 buildings with stories in Riverdale