Paramount Theater, ca. 1995. The Paramount Theatre opened in October in 1930 and was second only to the St. George Theatre in grandeur and reputation on Staten Island. The Art Deco theatre, which sat 2,300 patrons, was actually constructed on land that had once been the childhood home of the famed railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. A major selling point for the theatre was its double console Wurlitzer theatre organ, one of only ten in the whole country when it was installed. The movie house was extensively renovated in the 1960s but suffered the same loss of patronage as many other movie theaters in the city and closed in 1977. The next decade saw the space serving briefly as a multi-purpose event hall, a nightclub, and, most notably, as a rock venue. Acts who performed here include the B-52’s, Squeeze, and the Ramones. Despite some success, the venue was short-lived and closed sometime in the1980s. The space has been largely abandoned since then, its future uncertain. Various plans have included demolition for high-rise apartments and restoration and creation of an event space and live performance venue. Work towards this type of conversion began in 2009 but was halted in 2010. In recent years, a number of TV productions have been filmed here including Gotham and Marvel’s The Defenders.

St. Paul’s Memorial Church and Rectory CLIENT: St. Paul's Memorial Church ARCHITECT: Edward T. Potter DATE: 1866-70 STYLE: High Victorian Gothic St. Paul’s Memorial Church and Rectory, begun in 1866 and designed by architect Edward T. Potter, are outstanding examples of High Victorian Gothic style. In their picturesque design and excellent use of local stone, the two buildings seem especially appropriate to the rural setting of Stapleton, one of the oldest sections of Staten Island.

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church ca. 1954 A small, but a monumental example of the traditional English Gothic Style. The church has good fenestration, proportions, and elegant use of gray trap rock. St. Paul's was built by the Ward family, formerly of New York, but at the time of its building (1866) of Staten Island. It was dedicated as a memorial church to the family and is typical of the American gothic revival movement and style.

Located to the northwest of Harrison Street is the St. Paul’s Avenue–Stapleton Heights Historic District, which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2004. This district encompasses several lovely churches and 92 freestanding houses, plus smaller ancillary structures, which were largely constructed for prominent local businessmen and politicians. Built as a more wealthy enclave than Harrison Street, the houses are more elaborate in their size, massing and architectural detail. The neighborhood has long been one of Staten Island’s most prestigious places to live. Running through the district is St. Paul’s Avenue, an impressive stretch of residences that links the historic villages of Tompkinsville and Stapleton. Development in the area began in 1826, when Caleb T. Ward purchased 250 acres, including the entirety of the historic district. Ward laid out streets and building lots in 1829. The two earliest houses in the district are 172 and 204 St. Paul’s Avenue, which date to the mid-1830s. The former was originally the rectory for the first St. Paul’s Church (demolished 1870) and the latter was a private home built by James Creighton. Both were designed in the Greek Revival style, which was very fashionable at that time.

While New York City is certainly best known for its towering skyscrapers and classy historic districts, its earliest monuments of stone are just that: stone. The geologic landscape of the city was formed between 20,000 and 18,000 years ago with the movement of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet down from Canada. The rock and debris deposited from the ice sheet, as well as the valleys it deepened, bedrock it smoothed and glacial grooves it left, formed the landscape of the city that began to grow in the colonial era. In some cases the rocks have been moved or crumbled in the name of urban development. But some of this geologic history can still be seen within the urban environment. This collection highlights some of the more well-known geologic features.

"Hero Park was dedicated in 1920 to the martyrs of the World War and a bronze tablet on Sugar Loaf Rock bears the names of Staten Islanders who died in the war, June 23, 1937."

Stapleton Branch, NYPL, date unknown. The near identical twin to the Port Richmond Branch, Stapleton Library was completed in 1907 to the designs of Carrère and Hastings.

364 Van Duzer Street CLIENT: Robert M. Hazard ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1835 STYLE: Greek Revival This frame house, built in modified Greek Revival style, is one of the last remaining examples in the area. The most striking feature of this house is the stately tetrastyle portico with its Doric columns rising two stories to an entablature below an overhanging spring-eave. The use of a spring-eave on a Greek Revival house, rather than a triangular gable, is unusual and is more characteristic of the so-called Dutch Colonial style.

Hero Park, Staten Island.