Christ Building
Also known as: Harian's General Store
Why it's listed
Standing at the point where Summit Avenue meets Sea Cliff Avenue, this three-story wood-framed building in Sea Cliff, New York, dates to about 1880. It combines a ground-floor store with upper-floor living space under a slate-clad Mansard roof with gabled dormers and scrolled cornice brackets. German immigrant Louis Christ opened a bakery here, and the building later housed a general store, a telegraph office, a hardware store, a bus company office and, from 1950 to 1980, Harian's General Store. The upper floors served as a boarding house until they were converted to two apartments in 1956. A rear addition with an arched brick bake oven, believed to be unique on Long Island at the time, was removed in 1958. The building is listed as one of the few surviving commercial structures from Sea Cliff's summer resort era and as a Second Empire example that keeps its Mansard roof, original upper windows, cornices and shingle siding.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is one of the oldest surviving commercial buildings from Sea Cliff's summer resort era, significant under Criterion A for commerce. It is also significant under Criterion C as a late nineteenth century Second Empire building that retains its Mansard roof, cornices and upper-floor windows despite the 1946 removal of its storefronts.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 11001002, listed January 4, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 357-359 Sea Cliff Ave., Sea Cliff |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | January 4, 2012 |
| Reference number | 11001002 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1880-1958 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Second Empire |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Ground floor holds a store and the upper floors hold two rental apartments; the rear addition and bake ovens were removed in 1958 and the storefronts were altered in 1946. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.85130, -73.64911 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 11001002.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23091463
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.