James L. and Lucinda Bedell House

7484 Amboy Road | Tottenville | built 1869

Open on the map4 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. 1869

    Carpenter James L. Bedell buys the Amboy Road lot and builds a mansard-roofed house

    James Laforge Bedell, a carpenter who made window sash and blinds, bought this lot in 1869 from Mary Ann Garretson, widow of Gariet Garretson. The Second Empire house was standing by 1874, when it appeared in Beers' atlas. Bedell shared the house with Lucinda and their children, Evilina and Henry, until he died at 83 on January 6, 1917.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1892

    James Bedell turns undertaker, and his house likely doubles as his funeral business

    Around 1892 Bedell took up undertaking as his full-time trade, a trade his older brother Isaac had taken up in 1841. Directory listings suggest part of the house served the business until 1917, holding his office and probably some viewings. The business ended with his death because his son Henry chose a different line of work.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1923

    Architect Chester A. Cole, restorer of the Conference House, moves into the Bedell House

    Blanche Cole, who bought the house in 1920, passed it in 1923 to her son Chester A. Cole, an architect. Cole had worked for Carrère & Hastings on the Richmond County Courthouse, served in the Engineering Corps in World War I, and later restored the Conference House, finished in 1930. His work also included renovations at the U.S. Capitol.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 2005

    March

    A new owner strips the Bedell House's ornament as landmark designation nears

    Until March 2005 this was the best-preserved Second Empire house on Staten Island's South Shore. Shortly before and after the Landmarks Preservation Commission put it on the calendar for a hearing on March 29, 2005, the owner pulled off historic fabric and details. At the April 12 hearing the owner spoke against designation, while six speakers supported it.

    “Shortly prior to and after the building was calendared for public hearing on March 29, 2005, the owner removed historic fabric and details.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 9 buildings with stories in Tottenville