The Alice Austen House, also known as Clear Comfort, is located at 2
Hylan Boulevard
Hylan Boulevard is a major northeast-southwest boulevard in the New York City borough of Staten Island, and the longest street in the city. It is approximately long, and runs from the North Shore neighborhood of Rosebank, then along the enti ...
in the
Rosebank section of
Staten Island,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
New York. It was home of
Alice Austen
Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 – June 9, 1952) was an American photographer working in Staten Island.
Biography
Alice Austen was born in 1866 to Alice Cornell Austen and Edward Stopford Munn. Austen's father abandoned the famil ...
, a photographer, for most of her lifetime, and is now a museum and a member of the
Historic House Trust
The Historic House Trust of New York City was formed in 1989 as a public-private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to preserve the historic houses located within New York City parks, although most of the houses ...
.
The house is administered by the "Friends of Alice Austen", a volunteer group.
In 2021, Clear Comfort was documented by the LGBT Historic Sites project, the first NYC site dedicated to a woman to be so recognized.
History
It was originally built in the 1690s/early 1700s as a one-room
Dutch Colonial
Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...
House on the shore of
New York harbor, near
the Narrows
__NOTOC__
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
with brothers Jacob Johnson and Lambert Johnson being the likely first occupants. The brothers Johnson purchased 120 acres of land from George Brown in 1698. Jacob Johnson's mother-in-law wa
Winifred King Benham who was tried for witchcraft in
Wallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...
, and may have been a resident of the house after her acquittal and virtual banishment.
The house was remodeled and expanded several times in the 1800s, most notably after John Haggerty Austen, Alice's grandfather, purchased, renamed, and remodeled it in 1844.
[
In the 1950s and 1960s, photographers Berenice Abbott and Philip Johnson led a group of historic preservationists to save the house from being demolished. It was added to the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1970 and became a New York City Landmark in 1971. It was purchased by New York City in 1975 and opened to the public in 1985. In 1993 it became a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
, and in 2002, it became a Historic Artist Home and Studio.
Museum special exhibitions and activities
Alice Austen House participates as a museum in the Smithsonian program of Museum Day events. In 2016 Austen House presented its first juried triennial exhibition, ''Staten Island Unlimited'' featuring 35 photographers from three boroughs of New York. During the members' preview reception of the show, a toast was made to Alice Austen's 150th birthday. Other activities included ''Triennial Talks'', discussions with artists about their work on the subjects of "Staten Island as Place" and "Staten Island as Community."
In March 2016, the Whitney Museum
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...
hosted ''New Eyes on Alice Austen'', a panel discussion in honor of Women's History Month and Alice Austen's 150th birthday featuring "scholars, academics, and historians who have investigated her incredible work and unconventional lifestyle." This was part of the museum's re-interpretation to include Gertrude Tate, Austen's long time life partner. This also includes a new podcast, ''My Dear Alice''.
This led to the museum being designated an LGBT site by the National Register of Historic Places.
Alleged haunting
An old neighborhood tradition told that, after midnight, one could hear the clanking of chains coming from the cellar. This was attributed to the ghosts of slaves who were kept there during the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. Another apocryphal story is that of a British soldier hanging himself from a beam in the parlor because of a broken heart. It is said that the sound of his military boots and the clinking of his spurs may be heard in that room after midnight.
See also
* List of the oldest buildings in New York
*List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Staten Island
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, class ...
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austen, Alice, House
Museums in Staten Island
National Historic Landmarks in New York City
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Staten Island
Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state)
Houses completed in 1750
New York City Designated Landmarks in Staten Island
Artist studios in New York City
Feminism and history
Historic house museums in New York City
Biographical museums in New York City
Art museums and galleries in New York City
Women's museums in the United States
Photography museums and galleries in the United States
Parks in Staten Island