24 St Stephens Place, Staten Island, NY 10306

Step inside one of New York City's most extraordinary landmarked historic homes. Built in 1855 on the grounds of the legendary Rose & Crown Tavern, where British General William Howe once read the Declaration of Independence to his troops. This grand Italianate villa was originally commissioned by a Staten Island militia commander and designed in harmony with the natural landscape, following the picturesque ideals of Alexander Jackson Davis and Andrew Jackson Downing who was the architect known as the ''father of American landscape architecture.'' Later belonging to Gustav Mayer, the German-born confectioner whose original vanilla wafer recipe which was created in this very home, became the foundation for Nabisco's success, the house blends American legacy with European innovation. A true architectural time capsule, it has remained remarkably untouched, with the first floor fully restored to museum-quality standards, including a double parlor, three bedrooms, two kitchens, two … read more …