Fisher - Eforo House
(1892)1 - 50
Crestwood Avenue
This classic Second Empire House of the Victorian
period, with its architectural roots in France2, was built in
1892. It is located in the very center of what was then Yonkers
Park3 on the corner of Crestwood
Avenue and Vista Street – one of three adjacent homes built that
same year4
Originally owned by the Fisher Family5 for
over a half century, this delightful old house was, at that time,
painted "Barn Red". After a brief interim ownership it was bought in
the 1960s by Jeannie and Vinnie Eforo6 who have been
working to restore it from the inside out. They painted the house a
pristine white. Later the clapboards were covered with aluminum
siding.7
The first time Jeannie crossed its threshold it was
love at first sight when she saw the wonderful woodwork, the metal
ceilings of another era, and the stained glass windows. Since that
day she has spent the past four decades lovingly restoring the
handsome woodwork as well as decorating the rooms with carefully
chosen, attractive and compatible antique furniture. The now
110-year old staircase was stripped and refinished by Jeannie
herself, returning it to its original dark oak beauty. 
The wood
panels beside the stairs and on the first landing below a light
colored leaded, filigreed window were discovered to be of birch wood
and likewise restored, as was all the natural woodwork throughout
the house.
The stained glass windows, while not of the renowned
Tiffany glassworks, are totally charming both in their soft pastel
coloring and in their exquisite design – all carefully preserved for
later generations by a lady "who cares."
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1. Researched and written by Marguerite Aumann
(with additional editing/footnotes by Stephen
Rubino)
2. , While at first glance it might seem a
classic Queen Anne, the house displays distinctive French Second
Empire elements, including overall square shape and a steep mansard
roof - Editor.
3. The name, "Yonkers Park" was changed to
"Crestwood" by popular vote at behest of the New York Central
Railroad in 1907 because of the confusion to travelers between
"Yonkers Park" on the Harlem Division and "Yonkers" on the Hudson
division of the railroad. Because of the confusion, many an
unfortunate and irate rider found himself walking a mile from
Yonkers Park to connect with the trolley line which ran between
Waverly Square in Tuckahoe and the City of Yonkers on the
Hudson.
4. 36 and 42 Crestwood Avenue are the
other two - Editor.
5. A neighbor remembers playing with Charlotte
Fisher, an only child, on the spacious third floor of the house
where she had a dollhouse that was almost a perfect replica of the
house itself. Later on Charlotte became well known as an
accomplished concert pianist.
6 In World War II, Vincent "Vinnie" Efore served
in the European Theater of Operation in the 690th Field
Artillery Battalion and fought in 5 major battles including that of
Saint Lo, which was the breakthrough point for the First Army,
qualifying him as a true member of the "Great Generation.".
7. The removal of the aluminum siding,
refinishing of the clapboard exterior and replacement of later-day
storm-style windows with period multi-panes would be requisite
before the house could be considered "fully restored" -
Editor.
.
