Bell Place-Locust Avenue Historic District

Bell Place and a single block of Locust Hill Avenue sit on a hill above downtown Yonkers, forming a small district of eight houses and three carriage houses built between 1855 and 1887. The land was part of the original Philipse patent and stayed undeveloped until the mid-1800s. After the Hudson River Railroad opened in 1849, Yonkers grew quickly, and William W. Woodworth divided the hilltop into small speculative lots. Prosperous merchants, such as Philip A. Deyo and the Elting brothers, built homes here close to the commercial center. The houses are mostly brick and range from two to three stories. Their styles include Italianate, French Second Empire, High Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne, which together show the changing tastes of the period. Some buildings have been altered or converted to multi-family use, and the surrounding area has seen twentieth-century intrusions and decay. The district nonetheless keeps the scale and character of a fashionable nineteenth-century neighborhood, which is the basis for its architectural significance.