Voorlezer's House CLIENT: Reformed Dutch Church ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: Mid-1700s STYLE: Clapboard The Voorzeler’s House is a two-story, clapboard-sheathed building erected in the mid-1700s as a school, church, and home for the lay minister and teacher; it is this country’s oldest surviving elementary school, and its restoration in 1939 initiated Richmondtown Restoration, the effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

Between 1954 and 1957, the Municipal Art Society surveyed historic buildings in all five boroughs to create a database of potential landmarks to preserve. Local residents and MAS staff compiled individual sheets devoted to about 200 buildings. Each sheet outlined the building’s date, location, and style and provided a description and a small photograph. This is the list of Staten Island buildings.

To celebrate the New Year, Urban Archive is looking at an eclectic mix of some of the oldest parts of our city.