Wildcliff, also referred to as the Cyrus Lawton House, was a historic residence overlooking

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

in New Rochelle in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. This 20-room cottage-villa, built in about 1852, was designed by prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. The home 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 v ...

on December 31, 2002. The unoccupied mansion was destroyed by a suspicious fire on the evening of November 26, 2018. The house was a total loss. On December 12, 2018, four 13-year old, middle school boys (all local, New Rochelle residents) were arrested and charged in connection with the fire. All were charged as juveniles with misdemeanor third-degree criminal trespass, while one faces a felony charge of fourth-degree arson. Wildcliff Aftermath

Overview

Designed in 1852 by Alexander Jackson Davis, one of the preeminent American architects of the nineteenth century, the house was sited to take full advantage of the dramatic views of the water. Davis’ original plan envisioned the family sitting on the villa's front porch and looking out over the spectacular scenery. The beauty of the house and its site were accented by the progression of the entry drive. The visitor originally entered the property from the north along a private road. The curving drive ascended toward the house, proceeding toward Echo Bay and curving around to the front door. The family who first commissioned the design was one Cyrus Lawton, a close friend of Mr. Davis. Mrs. Lawton was a member of the prominent Davenport family, for whom the entire area is named, and the house was a wedding gift to the couple. Wildcliff was erected in the early 1850s, during a period when New Rochelle was beginning its transformation from a rural farming community into a residential suburb. Improvements in transportation permitted affluent families to build homes in New Rochelle and commute to work in nearby New York City. The land along the scenic north shore of

was especially sought after and many of Davis' designs were built here. His smaller homes were called "''cottages''", and the more substantial ones "''villas''", however the terms were frequently combined. Among their typical features were prominent, steep-roofed

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s, with elaborately carved bargeboards under their

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

. Wildcliff is one of two "''cottage-villas''" built by Davis on New Rochelle's waterfront peninsula, Davenport Neck, the other being "Sans Souci" (or Davenport House). After Cyrus Lawton's death in 1902, the property was inherited by his son Newberry Lawton Davenport. It was later purchased by Julius and Clara Prince who moved into the home in 1914. Clara Prince donated Wildcliff to the City of New Rochelle in 1940 with the hopes that it would be used as a natural

science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

. Clara Prince's obituary, "Mrs. Julius Prince", ''The New York Times'', September 14, 1941, page 49, notes that she was a "philanthropist who had given generously to educational projects" and that she was especially known for the donation of Wildcliff to New Rochelle in 1940, ten years after the city had tried in vain to purchase the property. It has since been used for a variety of purposes including a youth museum and performing arts center. Around 1970 a wing housing a theater was added at one corner of the house but the main structure remains intact. Since late 2010, the local organization Jen's Community at Wildcliff has been working with the City of New Rochelle and its citizens to bring awareness to the building and to create a

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

and education center.Jen's Community at Wildcliff

Architecture

Wildcliff is a -story house faced primarily in rubblestone of various colors. These stones give the picturesque design a natural quality, as if the building were rising out of the landscape. For a house in the Northeast, Downing prescribed a design with high roofs, thick walls, warm rooms, and chimneys. The original front facade of the building was on the southern portion of the present house facing Long Island Sound, now partially obscured by the out-of-character one story addition used as a theater. This facade originally had a -story central gable with a pair of windows on the first story looking out over the water. In the mid-1860s, Davis designed additions to the house in the same style with special efforts made so that the changes would be as inconspicuous as possible. Bargeboards and other ornamental details match exactly and stonework was laid so that there would be no sign of the joint between the old and new sections.Roberta Hershenson

The New York Times, March 26, 20062006 EPF Grant Awards
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, October 20, 2006 an
''Accompanying 6 photos, exterior and interior, from 2002''
/ref> Later owners Julius and Clara Prince were responsible for the second major expansion to the home which was done in the half-timbered Tudor style. The additions consisted of the construction of a porte-cochere, a new entrance on the south facade of the home, and the conversion of the original entrance into a long, twelve-part window.National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
section 8, page 6 The original plan of the house can still be read on the interior. To the south is the original library and entrance hall, now combined into one space. On the upper floors are bedrooms with steeply sloping walls reflecting their locations within the gables. The attic retains some original floorboards and four paneled doors with original knobs. The interior retains much of its historic plan and some historic fittings, but much of the interior detail has been lost.

Overview

Architecture

References

Further reading