4625 Fieldston Road Block/Lot: 5821/2890 Date: 1926-27 (NB 2887-1926) Architect: Dwight James Baum Original Owner/Developer: Michael Campagna Style: altered Mediterranean Revival Stories: Two Structure/Materials: Whitewashed cement stucco over terra-cotta block. Major Alterations: A matching two-story addition was constructed on the north side of the house and open terraces on the south side of the house were enclosed in 2002-04. Also, original fenestration was restored at the living room. (owner: Tracy Semler; architect: Edward C. Hicks) Notable Site Features: Mature trees; bluestone walkway, curb, and sidewalk; non-historic clay-tile covered front stoop with pedestals topped by globes; patio enclosed by masonry posts and elaborate wrought-iron railings; non-historic concrete block driveway with Belgian block lining and lip. Description Main Façade (overlooking Fieldston Road): Nine bays in several planes; projecting main entryway featuring rusticated surround, compound moldings surmounted by engaged urns on pedestals; segmental-arch doorway with paired, wrought iron doors (non-original, but appropriate), and surmounting, engaged pedestals with globes; non-historic, but appropriate, wrought-iron wall lamps; secondary entryway with multi-pane wood-and-glass doors with flanking multi-pane wood sash and molded surrounds; non-historic but appropriate multi-pane, four-over-four wood sash and casements; bracketed window sills at the first story; second-story sills sit in a continuous molded band; second story fenestration has eared surrounds; non-historic wood roll-up garage doors; secondary entryway with non-historic but appropriate paneled wood-and-glass door, flanked by non-historic wrought-iron wall lamps. Roof: Intersecting, clay-tile-covered hips with overhanging eaves and molded cornice decorated with guttae; historic copper gutters and drainpipes; whitewashed, cement-stucco-covered chimney. Rear Façade: Irregular bay arrangement; similar to the main façade. South Façade: Three bays at the first story; two bays at the second story; similar to the main façade; secondary entryway with paired doors and non-historic wrought-iron wall lamps. North Façade: Two bays; similar to the main façade. History and Significance This altered Mediterranean Revival style house was designed by prolific Fieldston architect Dwight James Baum and built in 1926-27 for builder Michael Campagna at a time when the Fieldston neighborhood was being developed with homes in a variety of picturesque styles following the strict design guidelines of the Fieldston Property Owners Association. Featuring a complex footprint consisting of a series of adjoining, two-story wings, the house’s cement stucco-covered facades, rusticated frontispiece, and clay tile-covered roofs are all hallmarks of the style. The architect Edward C. Hicks designed a matching two-story garage wing in 2002-04 on the north side of the original house, at which time other exterior alterations occurred. (source)
This house is in the Fieldston Historic District:
4625 Fieldston Road
Construction Date: 1926 – 1927
Architect / Builder: Dwight James Baum
Owner / Developer: Michael Campagna
Major Alteration(s): 2002 – 2004
Alteration Architect(s): Edwards C. Hicks
Style(s): Altered Mediterranean Revival
Material(s): Cement Stucco, Terra Cotta
Building Type: Freestanding House
Original Use: Residential, single-family
Tax Block: 5821 Tax Lot: 2890
All building data and notes from the Fieldston Historic District designation report.
NYC Landmarks
“In 1924, The New York Times reported that Fieldston had become “a colony of peculiarly congenial families.”
By 1930, most of the lots had houses on them, usually in Tudor, medieval, Norman and Mediterranean styles.
No architect was more active than Dwight James Baum, who had practiced in the area since about 1915.
Across the street at No. 4625, Mr. Baum worked in the Mediterranean style for Michael Campagna, whose family real estate firm built major apartment houses like 834, 960 and 1115 Fifth Avenue. The 1930 census reported the value of the 1927 Campagna house at $200,000.” New York Times • STREETSCAPES | FIELDSTON, THE BRONX A Leafy, Scenic Enclave, and Now a Landmark By Christopher Gray May 28, 2006
1924 Andrea Ognibene President; 519 West 139th Street; Michael Campagna Vice President (Kelley Paterno page 285)
519 West 139th Street Michael Campagna Vice President – This very modest walk-up of small apartments was apparently designed by Rosario Candela as an accommodation to a painting sub-contractor with whom he worked on some of his larger projects. This part-time real estate developer, Andrea Ognibene, built several successful projects and maintained a large house in Riverdale, but during the Depression he lost all but this building. He then moved into it, along with his sons and their children. (Alpern Acanthus page 274 with photo)
NB 137-1924
West 139th Street, 519-521
5-sty bk apt, 50×83
Cost:
$70,000
Owner:
519 W. 139th St. Corp., Andrea Ognibene, pres, 2067 Bway
Architect:
Rosario Candela, 200 W 72d [72nd]
Address in Real Estate Record:
139TH ST, 519-21 W
The Herald-News;(Passaic, New Jersey) 24 Mar 1967, Fri Page 41According to Andrea’s 1926 Petition for Naturalization, he had five children: Santo (1898), Jennie (1902), Modesti (1904), Lena (1905), and Bernardo (1908). According to the Autobiography of Annette Elena Paterno Murphy, she was named after her mother and her godmother, Elena Ognibene.
Rosario Candela also designed several other one-family houses including one for Michael Paterno in Irvington, New York, in 1925. (Alpern Acanthus page 25)
Penthouse living also became fashionable in the 1920s.
Unable to determine project for this listing (unsure if this was ever built, Sanborn map shows 1 story retail, Google Maps shows 7-story connected apartment house from 203 – 209 Pinehurst):
1928
140
$130,000.00
PINEHURST AV, 209-213 6-sty bk tnt, 91˙83, 5-ply slag roof
OWNER / OWNER ADDRESS
(o) Michael Campagna / (o) 2640 Fieldston rd, N Y C COMMENTS
ARCHITECT / ARCHITECT ADDRESS
(a) Geo. Fred Pelham / (a) 570 7th [Seventh] av (source)
Unable to determine project for this listing (doesn’t seem to have been built – current building is 12-story and follows 108th Street for several numbers; see 329-1929):
1929
176
$1,250,000.00
5TH [Fifth] AV, 1270-73; also 108TH ST, 5 E 15-sty bk tnt, 100˙115
OWNER / OWNER ADDRESS
(o) West 169th St. Corp., Michael Campagna, pres / (o) 551 5th [Fifth] av COMMENTS
ARCHITECT / ARCHITECT ADDRESS
(a) Geo. Fred Pelham / (a) 570 7th [Seventh] av (source)
Unable to determine project for this listing (doesn’t seem to have been built; see 176-1929):
1929
329
$1,350,000.00
5TH [Fifth] AV, 1270-73, & 108TH ST, 1-7 E 16-sty & p h bk & t c tnt, 100˙115
OWNER / OWNER ADDRESS
(o) West 169th St. Corpn., Michael Campagna, pres / (o) 551 5th [Fifth] av COMMENTS
ARCHITECT / ARCHITECT ADDRESS
(a) Geo. Fred Pelham / (a) 570 7th [Seventh] av (source)
possibly this building
Transcribed from an old James Renner article about Dr. Charles Paterno: “I am Dr. Charles V. Paterno’s nephew. In the late 1920s, my mom used to take me to Paterno Castle and Uncle Charlie used to let me swim in the indoor pool at the Castle. It was really a big treat in those days. At Christmas time, Uncle Charlie used to dress up as Santa and make visits to all his nephews and nieces at their homes and deliver all kinds of wonderful gifts. I lived in the Riverdale section of the Bronx at that time. Later, Dr. Paterno and family moved to Round Hill, Connecticut where he had a very impressive “Castle-like” home. One Sunday we visited him and I saw my first Television movie on a set that used a mirror to show the screen which was flat on top of the set. This was in the later 1930s.” Posted by Michael A. Campagna, Jr. 14 March 2008
The New York Herald, New York Tribune (1924-1926); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 29 Aug 1924: 20.
For floor plans and building information about Riverdale House, see Armino Campagna’s page HERE.
Title Riverdale Towers Cooperative Apartments, W. 231 Street And Henry Hudson Parkway, Typical Floor Plan Library Location Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University Architect Candela, Rosario Owner/Agent 3103 Fairfield Avenue, Inc.; Campagna, Michael A.; Campagna, Joseph A.; Campagna, Armino A. Call Number YR.0363. BX Format printed ephemera City New York (N.Y.)Digital York Real Estate Brochures Collection New York Real Estate Brochure Collection Date[192–197-]Shelf Location Item no. 4, Call no. YR.0363.BX.004Identifiernyre_item_039833; 43c1548c-c7dd-4a0c-8e7c-abcb05491bbcDOIdoi:10.7916/D8HD9BGN (source)
