Main Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Main Street in Roslyn follows the old road that linked the town of Hempstead with the landing piers at Hempstead Harbor. The district stretches from North Hempstead Turnpike to East Broadway and holds about 50 structures, around 40 of them built before the Civil War. Most are wood-frame houses and shops with shingle or clapboard siding, mixing Federal forms with Greek Revival moldings. The Ellen E. Ward Memorial Clock Tower, built in 1895 of granite and red sandstone, marks the northern end. The Van Nostrand-Starkins House is believed to have been begun around 1680. Roslyn grew around Hendrick Onderdonk's paper mill of 1773, and local builders such as Thomas Wood and his son John built many houses between 1825 and 1865. Preservation groups restored several buildings, and some shops still house small independent businesses. The district was listed for the survival of this largely intact village streetscape amid heavy development in Nassau County.
Significance in brief: The district is an essentially uncompromised cluster of vernacular 19th-century residential and commercial buildings in their village setting, which is remarkable given heavy modern development in Nassau County. It illustrates the architectural development of Roslyn mainly during the first three quarters of the 19th century. It also contains the Van Nostrand-Starkins House, believed to date from about 1680, and reflects the village's early paper-mill industry.
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 74001266, listed January 21, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Main St. from N. Hempstead Tpke. to E. Broadway, including Tower St. and portions of Glen Ave. and Paper Mill Rd., Roslyn |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | January 21, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74001266 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Lamb & Rich (Clock Tower); Thomas Wood, local builder; James K. Davis (thought to be builder of the Valentine store) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular 19th-century styles, including Federal and Greek Revival details |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated excellent to good; district is occupied and primarily residential, with commercial buildings at the north end. Several buildings have been restored. |
| Acreage | 40 |
| Within district | Roslyn Village Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.79726, -73.64835 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 74001266.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q1885541
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.