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10 Oldest Buildings to visit in New York
New York is not only the most famous city in the world but also, arguably, the best for tourists, thanks to its diverse culture and myriad of entertainment options.
There’s never a dull day in the city that doesn’t sleep. New York City offers visitors endless possibilities, great diversity and high energy.
New York is one of the original 13 American colonies and was one of the first areas that Europeans settled.
Consequently, New York State is home to some of the oldest buildings in the United States.
From some of the earliest European settling of the Northeast to advances in trade and industry, Upstate NY is also full of old structures and landmarks that recall the earliest years of the country, and even date to Colonial times.
Most of the old buildings on this list started out as private homes and have since been turned into other uses. Visit these 10 oldest buildings in New York.
1. Wycoff House – 1652
Image by Andre Carrotflower from Wikimedia
The Wyckoff House or Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House has been standing since 1652, making it the oldest building in New York City.
The house, which is now a museum is located in Brooklyn in what is now Milton Fidler Park.
Originally built by Dutch immigrant Pieter Claesen and his wife Grietje, the Wyckoff House is the oldest surviving example of a Dutch saltbox frame house in America.
It was one of the first structures built by Europeans on Long Island.
2. The Staats House – 1664
Image by Zeete from Wikimedia
Supposedly the oldest building in Upstate New York, the Staats house is approaching four centuries old.
The Staats House is a historic building located along the Hudson River near Stockport, Columbia County, New York.
The house was constructed by Abraham Staats with stone walls which are three feet thick.
It was a small house, roughly 20’ x 28’ and following Dutch tradition, it was two rooms deep with the front room significantly larger than the back room.
A narrow stairway in the back room gave access to the garret, an open storage space.
Hendrick and his family remained on their Franklin farm for the next two decades.
It was most recently restored in the 1980s.
3. Lent-Riker-Smith House – 1654
The Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead dates back to around 1654 and was built as a one-room dwelling by Abraham Riker.
The last name is familiar because he was part of the Riker family for whom Rikers Island was named.
The house remained in the Riker and Lent (descendants of the Rikers) family for several generations and has been expanded and renovated numerous times.
The current owner of the Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead is Marion Duckworth Smith who took over running the house after her husband Michael Smith passed.
Michael Smith was a tenant of the house in the 1960s and went on to purchase the property in 1975.
4. The Bowne House – 1661
Image by Station1 from Wikimedia
A microcosm of 300 years of social, cultural and political history, the Bowne House (c.1661) is the oldest house in Queens and among the oldest in New York City.
John Bowne, who emigrated from England built the house.
The nine generations born and raised in the house produced businessmen, horticulturalists, educators, abolitionists, and politicians.
Over the course of 300 years, the family left its mark on American culture, participating in events of both regional and national significance.
John Bowne’s courageous defence of religious freedom in 1662, an act which helped establish the principle of the freedom of expression and was later codified in the United States Bill of Rights, began the family’s legacy of public service.
Included in today’s New York State Curriculum, The Bowne House has been a museum since 1947 operated by Bowne Historical Society.
5. Billou-Stillwell-Perine House – 1662/3
Image by Dmadeo from Wikimedia
The Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House was originally built as a private residence and now serves as a museum/historical landmark showcasing the lives of early European settlers in New York.
He was a Huguenot (French Protestant) who arrived in New Amsterdam fleeing religious persecution in Europe in 1661.
Billiou’s descendants, the Stillwells and the Brittons lived in the house until the mid-18th century.
The Perine family acquired the house in 1758 passing the house down until 1913.
Historic Richmond Town owns Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House.
6. Briton Cottage- 1670
The Britton Cottage, formerly the Cubberly House, is a historic building in Richmondtown on Staten Island.
The centre section was built sometime around 1670.
The house went to the Britton family in 1695 and it was owned by several different families after.
The Staten Island Historical Society owns the cottage and is awaiting restoration.
7. Jans Martense Schenck House – 1675
Image Courtesy Brooklyn Museum from Wikimedia
The Jans Martense Schenck House is perhaps the most interesting because it is a museum installation inside the Brooklyn Museum.
Jans Martense Schenck, a Dutch immigrant who arrived in New Netherland in 1650.
He built the house around 1675 in the town of Flatlands.
The Brooklyn Museum moved the house in 2006 after 275 years.
Although the house has undergone several changes, the Brooklyn Museum chose it to capture early Dutch colonial life during the early 18th century.
8. Old Senate House – 1676
image by HighAtop94 from Wikimedia
Built-in 1676, this stone structure still standing in Kingston was the meeting place for the original New York State Senate.
Amidst the turmoil of a British military invasion in the fall of 1777, the elected representatives of rebellious New Yorkers met in Kingston to form a new state government.
While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York’s first Senate met in the simple stone house of merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek.
In 1887, to recognize the Senate House’s role in the formation of New York State, New York State acquired the property, which quickly became a vital community museum.
Among its treasures are major artworks by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston.
The museum also includes the site’s popular new exhibit; “Kingston Stockade: New Netherlands’ Third City,” discussing Kingston’s early history.
9. The Conference House – 1680
Image by Dmadeo from Wikimedia
A captain in the Royal Navy, Billopp built this house around 1680 as the centre of his 1,600-acre Manor of Bentley.
In an attempt to end the Revolutionary War a conference was convened at the house in 1776.
The sophisticated, two-story fieldstone house was markedly different in both style and scale from the scattered Dutch and English farmhouses of Staten Island, with its high, gabled end walls containing fireplaces and chimney stacks.
The house had two large parlours opening off of a central hall on the main floor and two-bed chambers on the floor above.
The Conference House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Conference House Association, and is a member of the Historic House Trust.
The house opened as a museum in 1927.
Educational programs and special events at the house focus on the Billopp family and the Revolutionary War conference that made the house famous.
10. Beekman Inn – 1704
Image by Adam Jones from Wikimedia
America’s oldest operating inn is located in historic Rhinebeck.
In 1704, William Traphagen established a traveller’s inn, the Traphagen Tavern, at the town crossroads.
At the time, Judge Henry Beekman numbered prominently among the original British Crown landowners in the Hudson Valley.
Colonel Henry Beekman Jr. expanded his father’s land holdings and populated them with refugees from Europe’s Palatine-Rhine region.
Bogardus Tavern, as the building was known during the last third of the 18th century, helped host the American Revolution.
New York state is home to the most populated city in the United States, sprawling national and state parks and beach communities that captivate both domestic and international travellers.
New York City is also good for tourists because of its diverse culture and myriad of entertainment options.
There’s never a dull day in the city. New York City offers visitors endless possibilities, great diversity and high energy.
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