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Photo: M.
Aumann
Diamond/Brennan House
(1890)1 175 Hollywood Avenue
One of the few architecturally pure
houses in Crestwood, this Italianate residence at 175 Hollywood
Avenue was built in 1890 and owned by the Kolz Family until 1914. It
was then purchased by the reclusive Diamond Family (not related to
the Diamond Match or Salt companies as local gossips would have it,
but once owners of valuable New York real estate – this included the
land under Pennsylvania Station according to reliable hearsay) where
it remained until the death of Mrs. Gabriel Diamond, nee Dryer, of
Scarsdale Road. A longtime Crestwood resident, "Gaby", with childish
delight, often recalled watching her Father, one of Crestwood’s
Volunteer Firemen, help build the last of the Crestwood firehouses
at 187 Scarsdale Road. She also must have loved gardening since her
property sports several five-foot camellia bushes – a miracle in
this climate. Mrs. Dryer left the house and its contents to the
Annunciation Church who sold it to Thomas Brennan in
2000.
Thomas Brennan, who recently became one of
Yonkers Bravest after graduating from the Firefighters
Academy, can be credited with restoring this old house to its
original Italianate purity with extraordinary good taste and respect
for its heritage. He has painstakingly replaced the original
wooden clapboard exterior, and preserved the eaves with their
simple but handsome modillions and the pediment with its ornamented
entablature – on open Laurel Wreath (the only one found in Crestwood
and rare in this area).
Similarly he restored and refinished the entire
interior, making 21st century improvements where needed.
He laid new flooring while retaining its original border design and
also kept the original sturdy dining room furniture, circa 1900,
restoring both the chairs and round dining room table so conducive
to forging family ties and values here in America.
1. Researched & Written by
Marguerite Aumann 2/2/2002
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