As we climbed the hill, I couldn't help thinking about the age and history of the stately old place: in 1841, Henry McFarlane purchased this romantic 2.7 acre lot; then had an elegant Victorian villa constructed (which Henry- an early developer- most likely designed) for himself and his wife Anne. Besides the intricately-shingled house, at one time the magnificent property also boasted two greenhouses, stables, an icehouse, a gardener's cottage, and a fishpond. There was still such incredible detail in the architecture of this place- from the carved gingerbread trim to the incredibly detailed woodwork...

The McFarlanes sold the property for $9,000 in 1846. It exchanged hands between several different owners over the following years, until it was sold to Henry Dibblee, a dry goods merchant, who lived in the house until 1865. Now thick tangles of vines and dangling blossoms decorated the crumbling place, and jewel-colored stained glass windows were bordered by warped, weathered shingles... yet... although somewhat spooky, the majestic old Victorian still possessed a strange elegance.

The gnarled trees cast sinister shadows across sun-faded shingled wood, and the front of the house seemed to be on the verge of collapse... jumbles of broken boards and debris leaning in haphazard heaps blocked most of the veranda and the entrances. Around the side and back of the house, it was less ornate, and in a little better shape...

In 1868, the house and surrounding grounds were sold to the New York Yacht Club, and spent it's next few years hosting some of the elegant dinners and lavish balls that accompanied the Yacht Club's regattas. In 1871 the growing Yacht Club found larger headquarters in Manhattan (where they are still based today), and the house was sold to merchant Frederick Bredt, whose family lived there for the next several years. After the Bredt family moved out, the property again changed hands many times over the following 100 years or so.

It was sold to developers in the 60's, and then, finally, in 1975, the City of New York acquired the property. As we wandered around, we found this old car, literally filled with dead leaves and debris, parked alongside the house. We couldn't go inside the place because- believe it or not- there were people living there. Yes, despite it's dilapidated condition, the house is occupied by renters, according to Parks & Recreations records.