House at 285 Sea Cliff Avenue
Why it's listed
Built in 1884 as a summer home, this two-story clapboard house on Sea Cliff Avenue shows the Italianate style in a restrained local form. It has a square plan, a low cross-gable roof, deep overhanging eaves with scrollsawn brackets, round-arched windows in the main gable, and a full-width shed-roof porch with turned posts. Its exterior is virtually unaltered, though the interior changed when it was converted to apartments in 1946, and a small shed-roof addition was made around 1932. Richard Seaman Pearsall, a local architect with an office in New York City, designed it. The house was listed as a representative of the middle-income summer houses built when Sea Cliff shifted from a rustic camp meeting ground to a fashionable seaside resort in the mid-1880s, after the camp association began selling large parcels for development. Today it remains a conspicuous landmark in the village's dense business district.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as a distinguished example of late nineteenth century resort-era architecture in Sea Cliff, with restrained Italianate detail and a high level of integrity. It represents the many middle-income summer houses built as the village changed from a camp meeting ground into a seaside resort. It is also a conspicuous local landmark on a busy thoroughfare in the business district.
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 88000005, listed February 18, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 285 Sea Cliff Ave., Sea Cliff |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | February 18, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000005 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect and builder: Richard Seaman Pearsall |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is a single dwelling; originally a summer home. Exterior is virtually unaltered, interior changed when converted to apartments in 1946. Condition marked excellent; no threats known. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.84879, -73.64674 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 88000005.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5914194
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.