Location: 2780 Schurz Avenue. Block: 5604, Lot: 32.
Status: Never landmarked or heard.
Description from the Bronx Survey: Situated on the south shore of Throg’s Neck and overlooking the East River, Preston High School occupies an imposing structure that once served as the summer home of two wealthy Bronx industrialists. The house, located at the intersection of Schurz and Swinton Avenues, was built circa 1880 for Frederick C. Havemeyer, the sugar magnate whose family also owned a large Federal style mansion in nearby Silver Beach.
At the end the nineteenth century Colis P. Huntington, the railroad tycoon, purchased the house and adjacent property, named it “Homestead”, and used the estate as a summer residence. The Huntington family retained possession of “Homestead” until 1924 when the Catholic Church purchased the property for use as a school, a function the building continues to serve today. The central section of the structure is a two and one-half story stuccoed brick building topped with a mansard roof and iron cresting.
A wide porch supported by Doric columns with a pedimented entrance at the far right runs across the first story of the building, commanding a fine view of the water. This central section has a slightly projecting bay and is flanked by two wings that extend behind the porch. Each section is topped by a mansard roof ornamented with polygonal tiles and round-arched dormers. Flanking the central residence are two four-story wings which combine with it to form a pavilion plan, each end terminating in a tower with a hipped roof and heavy modillioned cornice.
The entrance on Schurz Avenue is located in a two and one-half story tower attached to the southern wing and topped with a bellcast mansard roof. The large scale of these wings and their awkward connection to the central portion suggest that they are later additions.
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