4970 Independence Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471

The Henry F. Spaulding Coachman s House is registered on the National Register of Historic Places as a fine example of the Stick-Eastlake style. In its present form, it has an east wing that was once a separate cottage. The main body of the house, dating from about 1880, was designed by a major New York architect, Charles W. Clinton, who had just created the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue. His 2.5-story house, in Victorian style, features board-and-batten siding, jigsaw ornamentation, twin chimneys and a polychrome slate roof. The adjoining cottage, of anonymous origin, is considered a fine example of an early catalogue house. In March 1912, these two buildings were moved across the street from Wave Hill, set 20 feet apart and each enlarged by adding rooms to the south side. Half a century later, in 1966-67, the two were connected by a new family room with skylight and fireplace, plus a drinking fountain from the old Metropolitan Opera House. The architect was Walfredo Toscanini, grandson of the eminent conductor Arturo Toscanini, a Riverdale resident. The resulting two-part house offers porches, patios, flowerbeds, a vegetable garden and a summer kitchen. Nearby stands a two-car garage adapted from one of Riverdale s historical farm buildings, a former poultry house, detailed with gable roof and dormer window. This is an extraordinary opportunity to purchase a large (c. 1.0 acre) estate offering unique privacy in a beautiful neighborhood just twenty minutes from Manhattan s Upper West Side and Lincoln Center.