What is the oldest building in Briarcliff Manor?
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Briarcliff Manor was historically known for its wealthy estate-owning families, including the Vanderbilts, Astors, and Rockefellers. It still remains primarily residential and its population is still considered affluent by U.S. standards. It has about of recreational facilities and parks, all accessible to the public. The village has seven Christian churches for various denominations and two synagogues. The oldest church is Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, built in 1851. Briarcliff Manor has an elected local government, with departments including police, fire, recreation, and public works. It has a low crime rate: a 2012 study found it had the second-lowest in the state. In the New York State Legislature it is split between the New York State Assembly's 95th and 92nd districts, and the New York Senate's 38th and 40th districts. In Congress the village is in New York's 17th District.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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According to the National Bridge Inventory, Briarcliff Manor has 15 bridges, with estimated daily traffic at 204,000 vehicles. Briarcliff Manor has 64 roads, with a total length of . Twelve are named after trees, eleven after local residents and eight after veterans, and most have the road type of "lane" or "avenue", while the only "street" in the village is Stafford Street. The village's oldest existing road is Washburn Road, on which is the oldest standing house in the village, Century Homestead. The longest road in the village, at , is Pleasantville Road; the shortest is Pine Court, . Around the time when the Briarcliff Lodge was active, Briarcliff Manor roadways were constructed of macadam and lined with concrete drains and stone fences. Early in Briarcliff Manor's history, the first person to own an automobile was Henry Law (son of Walter Law), who owned a buckboard with an engine.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department was founded on February 10, 1903 from Briarcliff Manor's first fire company, the 1901 Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1. Scarborough was incorporated into Briarcliff Manor in 1906, and the Police Department was organized two years later. The Village Municipal Building was built in 1913 and was opened on July 4, 1914. The high school opened in 1928, and in 1946, the People's Caucus party, an organization which calls out interested residents for candidacy, was created. Briarcliff Manor celebrated its semicentennial celebration from October 10–12, 1952, publishing a book about the village and its history; that year, the Crossroads neighborhood of 84 houses was completed.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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Briarcliff Manor maintains strong ties to its history and traditions. During Briarcliff Manor's 1952 semicentennial, nine people served on the Historical Committee and published a village history book. In March 1974, after the mayor appointed twelve people for a 75th anniversary committee, the committee began by forming the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society (BMSHS). The historical society published an updated village history ("A Village Between Two Rivers: Briarcliff Manor") in 1977, marking the 75th anniversary of the village. The historical society was initially located at the since-demolished Briarcliff Middle School building; it later moved to the second floor of a realty building on Pleasantville Road, and moved back to the school building after it was leased by Pace University. On March 21, 2010, the BMSHS was given a permanent location at the Eileen O'Connor Weber Historical Center, established as part of the expanded Briarcliff Manor Public Library. Members of the historical society joined the nine-member Centennial Committee in 2002 to organize events for Briarcliff Manor's centennial.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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Briarcliff Manor has a post office in its central business district on Pleasantville Road and in Scarborough by the train station. The first post office opened in 1881 in the first train station; it was named for Whitson's Corners. The post office was renamed the Briarcliff Manor Post Office in 1897. When the station building was moved to Millwood, New York, the post office was temporarily moved to a building near the new station. The following post office, a concrete building, was to its east on Pleasantville Road. It was demolished to make way for the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway. The post office then moved to an inn, and subsequently to John Whitson's house, the Crossways. In 1933 a replacement building was constructed in the central business district, followed in 1953 by a new brick building next to the present-day village hall. The current post office was constructed at a cost of $500,000 ($ in ) and was completed in November 1978. The building is located just south of its prior location. Post office house-to-house delivery began on November 17, 1952.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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The original 1902 Briarcliff Lodge building burned to the ground on September 20, 2003. The building was scheduled for demolition within 18 months (they had applied for demolition permits the week before the fire). The owner, Barrington Venture, had planned to raze the building and construct the Garlands, a 385-unit senior living center, which was opposed by local historians and architects. The fire thus ended the preservation effort. The fire started near the main entrance and was suppressed by mid-day; it was deemed suspicious by fire officials, including Briarcliff's fire chief. Residents began calling at 6:37 am, after noticing smoke coming from the site. The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department was the first to arrive, at 6:40 am, later followed by Ossining, Sleepy Hollow, Millwood, Pleasantville, Chappaqua, Croton, and Pocantico Hills, totaling about 150 firefighters. The fire also spread to the lodge's 9-story west wing, through its wooden attic even though a concrete block firewall stood between both sections. The fire departments contained the fire to prevent it from spreading north or to the village water tower, and therefore saved the water tower and village and commercial radio antennae. The north wing was damaged but still standing. After the fire, Westchester County's Cause & Origin Team sent an arson investigative unit, which sifted through the debris along with trained dogs, and found no evidence of arson. Most that remained of the original section was the stone facade and chimneys. Contemporary portions of the lodge and other campus buildings were later demolished.
The site will be developed as the Club at Briarcliff Manor, what "The New York Times" has described as "a super-luxury retirement community", with up to $2 million entrance fees. The Club was scheduled to open in 2013 and include tennis courts, a health spa, a Tudor-style clubhouse, gardens, a surround-sound theater, hiking trails, an indoor pool, a business center, a cocktail lounge, and multiple restaurants. , 65 people have put down deposits, although the Club is planned to include 325 residences, including thirteen houses, 24 townhouses, and 288 apartments. Briarcliff Manor's village government took about five years to grant zoning changes, and several more years to approve the site plan. The Club at Briarcliff Manor has sponsored a variety of village amenities, including a $2.25 million pledge for the village library's extension, sponsoring the extension's opening celebration. developing a playing field, contributing $500,000 for a village fire truck, and replacing the water tower with a modern water system.
Briarcliff Lodge
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The Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1 was founded in 1902 by Frederick C. Messinger. He became the first chief of the department, founded February 10, 1903. In 1906, the Briarcliff Fire Company was established. The village's municipal building and first permanent firehouse was built in 1914 in downtown Briarcliff Manor. Seven years later, in 1921, the Scarborough Fire Company was established. From 1930 to 1971, the Archville Fire Department was dissolved into Scarborough's fire company, which expanded its fire protection to Archville. In 1936, the Briarcliff Manor Hook and Ladder Company was formed. For the department's 50th anniversary, the village hosted numerous events, including a parade with twelve fire departments present. In 1963, the Briarcliff Manor Village Hall was constructed, again housing the fire and police departments. In 1974, a replacement firehouse was built for the Scarborough Engine Company. The fire department's 75th anniversary in 1976 drew a parade of 650 firemen from fourteen companies. In 1982, one of the most notable fires took place, in Briarcliff's downtown. The fire lasted three and a half hours and took over a hundred firefighters to control. The department also participated in fighting the Briarcliff Lodge fire in 2003, which demolished the 1902 Walter Law-built hotel. In 2010, Scarborough's firehouse was again replaced, doubling its size.
Briarcliff Manor Fire Department
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In 1953, Todd Elementary School opened to free space at the Law Park grade school. The Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad was discontinued in 1958, and the following year the Briarcliff Manor Public Library opened in the former Briarcliff Manor train station. The village's first corporate facility (part of Philips Research) opened in 1960. In 1964 the new Village Hall opened, replacing the Municipal Building. The present high school opened in 1971 to ease the large enrollment at the grade-school building. In 1980, Pace University began leasing the middle-school building, and the middle school was moved to a portion of the new high-school building. The grade-school building was demolished in 1996, and a retirement home was built on its site the following year. The village celebrated its centennial in 2002, which involved celebratory events. A two-story addition to the village library was built in 2009, and the original portion was renovated to become the village's community center in 2016.
Briarcliff Manor, New York
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On January 19, 1959, the library moved to its fifth location and first permanent home, the former Briarcliff Manor station originally on the New York City & Northern Railroad (later the New York and Putnam Railroad). The station had been built in 1906 by village founder Walter W. Law in the Tudor Revival style, as a replacement for a smaller station, which was moved to nearby Millwood. In its later operation as a station, the building was rarely used, and only four trains stopped there each day. Due to the railroad's tracks ending in the Bronx and requiring a transfer to continue on to Manhattan, many Briarcliff Manor residents would drive to Pleasantville or Scarborough, which had stations along lines ending in Manhattan, and more trains ran along those lines. The passenger railroad, then known as the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad, discontinued service in 1958, freeing up use of the building for the library.
Briarcliff Manor Public Library
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The Briarcliff Farms office, Walter Law's personal office, was also the first dairy building; it burned down in 1901, and was rebuilt the following year. From Briarcliff Manor's 1902 incorporation to the construction of its first municipal building in 1913, the office housed the village government. During the 1960s the building was redesigned, rebuilt and became a local union headquarters for the International Union of Operating Engineers. The farm was enclosed, and its pastures were divided by stone walls from within the farm; the stones were also used for roadbeds, and for walls of the farm buildings, office, and Law's house.
Briarcliff Farms