Olmsted’s Staten Island Farm Receives National Recognition
On December 3, 2020, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that the Olmsted-Beil House, the former Staten Island home of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903), will be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Named in the register as the “Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. Farmhouse,” the designation brings national recognition to this significant site which, until recently, was threatened with demolition by neglect.
Situated on sloping ground overlooking Raritan Bay, the two-story farmhouse and 1.7-acre grounds of the Olmsted-Beil House Park are all that remain intact of the former residence, ornamental farm, and experimental landscape that played a key role in shaping the early experiences of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., who, from 1847 to 1859 inhabited the property he called Tosomock Farm. Although the land is a municipal park, and the farmhouse has been designated a New York City Landmark since 1967, the grounds are currently off-limits to the public. Trees planted by Olmsted still stand, but the landscape is severely overgrown.
As TCLF last reported in March 2020, the New York Landmarks Conservancy had completed fundraising efforts to support necessary emergency stabilization work, thanks to grants provided by the Richmond County Savings Foundation and the Staten Island Foundation. Since then, all of the priority work identified by the Conservancy has been successfully completed, including full mortar repointing of the 17th-century foundation - conducted with social distancing measures in place, no less!
The non-profit Friends of Olmsted-Beil House, which is “working to protect, preserve, and present the Olmsted-Beil House historic site,” in collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, can now move forward with plans to restore the house and ultimately open the site to the public. Listing in the National Register of Historic Places paves the way for potential federal and state preservation tax credits, and other forms of grants, funding, and programming that will help to support the future of this important house and landscape.
The National Register designation filing process was spearheaded by the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the New York State Historic Preservation Office, which had submitted the National Register proposal in September after recognizing the site in the New York State Register of Historic Places. Additional support for the nomination came from Friends of Olmsted-Beil House, National Association for Olmsted Parks, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (which owns the building and surrounding park), as well as from a number of individuals, including Eloise Beil, Felicity Beil, and Carlotta DeFillo, the last residents of the house.
The Olmsted-Beil House has been enrolled in TCLF’s Landslide program since August 2017, when the New York Landmarks Conservancy obtained permission from the City of New York to pay for an updated conditions survey of the house. One year later, the Conservancy launched a fundraising campaign to stabilize the historic farmhouse, which included a successful Kickstarter drive, followed by grants from the Achelis and Bodman Foundation and the New York Community Trust. The Conservancy continues to raise money for the considerable restoration work that lies ahead. Online donors can ask that their gift be earmarked for restoring Olmsted’s Staten Island home.
