Photo Record
| Title | Another lake view, showing white lilies |
| Object Name | Stereoview |
| Photographer |
Almstaedt, Isaac |
| Date | ca. 1880-1885 |
| Collection | Isaac Almstaedt Photograph Collection |
| Description |
Original B&W stereoview with color added; print is on a cardboard mount that is orange on the front and pink on the reverse. View of a lake with a cluster of lily pads. There are willow trees at the far edge of the lake, with other trees in the background. Handwritten inscription in ink below the photo (probably not the photographer's inscription, but possibly written by the original owner): "Another lake view, showing white lilies." Handwritten on reverse of mount (in three different handwritings): "D. W. B."; "Staten Island View. / Another Lake view, showing white Lilies"; and "Then Birmingham Est. Now (1943) / "Shore Acres." The initials "D.W.B." in one of the inscriptions are most likely those of David Walton Birmingham. (Keywords: Clifton, New York) |
| Print size | 3.625 x 6.625 |
| Acquisition | Collection of the Staten Island Historical Society |
| Ownership and History |
This photo shows Clifton Lake, on the estate of Mark Birmingham (ca. 1827-1914) in the area of Staten Island now known as Shore Acres. Mark Birmingham (also spelled Brumagim) was born in Montgomery County, New York. In 1849, he sailed on the bark Linda to California, where he opened a bank, owned gold and silver mines, and became the president of the Pacific Pearl Company. He and his wife Charlotte E. (Rice) Birmingham had three children who survived to adulthood: David Walton, Lily White, and Linda Charlotte. By 1867, they had a home on Staten Island, and they owned the estate seen in this photograph by 1874. An article in The Sun, dated February 7, 1885, described their estate as "one of the finest on the island." By 1887, Birmingham had sold the estate. The entrance to the Birmingham Estate was on New York Avenue (now Bay Street) at or near what is now Sea Gate Road. The estate lay between what is now Harborview Road and Arthur Von Briesen Park, and extended to the waterfront of New York Harbor. The grounds included carriage drives, greenhouses, a house facing the waterfront, and Clifton Lake. The property was subsequently owned by John Francis Emmons, and the estate was later purchased by real estate developer Cornelius G. Kolff, who built the Shore Acres community on the site. |
| Earliest Date | 1880 |
| Latest Date | 1885 |
| Subjects |
Landscape photographs Stereographs Estates |
| Lexicon Sub-category | Documentary Artifact |
| Associated People |
Brumagim, Mark Brumagim, David |
| Catalog Number | PH01.0987 |
| Support Acknowledgment | Online Collections Database record made possible by the Staten Island Historical Society, November 2015. |
| Legal Status | Items represented here are from the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society. Materials reproduced for personal non-commercial use must credit the Staten Island Historical Society. Commercial licensing is available. |