Truly a sad day....In June 2019 Teatown Lake Reservation, a nature preserve and environmental education center, announced its decision to move forward with demolition of the Croft, a c. 1914 Tudor style mansion built by antiques dealer Arthur Vernay from pieces of centuries’ old English manor houses. “The New York Herald described the house as “probably the first completely antique Tudor house which was ever been constructed in America… Every particle of material used in the structure once formed a part of some ancient English dwelling.”“
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Teatown has placed the following online at FB: Dear neighbors and friends – Below please find a summary and link to a page detailing the extensive process that was undertaken to arrive at the decision to demolish the Croft.
ReplyDeleteWe were fortunate to work with a deconstruction company, Urban Miners, which over the course of 4 months salvaged a substantial amount of the building’s interior. We also found a home for 80 casement windows and the slate roof.
We have, with the assistance of a professional architectural historian, documented an accurate and thorough record of the Croft’s appearance, history and significance. We hope once the site is restored to install interpretive signage based on the historian’s documentation.
While it may appear that this was a decision made lightly and without foresight, we would like to assure you that this was certainly not the case. This decision was made following years of actively seeking funding and partners to find a use for the building that would fit into our organization's mission. Given the vast resources required to update the building, maintain a building of this size over time, and a lack of commitment from donors to renovate the building, it was not realistic to keep the building on our grounds.
We empathize with out community's feelings surrounding this issue, this was an extremely difficult decision for us to make.
Sincerely, Teatown
teatown.org/croft