Roslyn Village Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Main Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Roslyn Village Historic District covers about 65 acres at the center of the village of Roslyn, on Long Island, in a narrow valley running south from Hempstead Harbor. Two mill ponds and a stream sit at its heart, surrounded by a park landscaped in the early twentieth century. Main Street and East Broadway hold mostly small wood-frame houses, many built as bank houses into the steep hillsides, with stone terrace walls and picket fences along the street edges. Settlement-period dwellings such as the c.1680 Van Nostrand-Starkins House stand alongside many vernacular Federal and Greek Revival houses from 1830 to 1850. Later landmarks include the 1895 Ward Memorial Clock Tower, the 1920-1921 Bryant Library and the 1928 Roslyn Presbyterian Church. The district was identified through a village survey and includes the previously listed Main Street Historic District. It is notable for showing how a mill and trading community developed from the late seventeenth century to about 1930.
Significance in brief: The district holds a representative sample of building types, styles and land-use patterns from Roslyn's development between c.1680 and 1930. It includes settlement-period houses, many Federal and Greek Revival frame houses, Picturesque and Victorian buildings, and early twentieth century Georgian and Colonial Revival buildings. It also contains the earlier-listed Main Street Historic 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 86002650, listed April 15, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Old Northern Blvd., Vernon and E. Broadway Sts., Main, Glen Ave., and Tower St., Roslyn |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | April 15, 1987 |
| Reference number | 86002650 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Hoppin & Koen, F.M. Godwin and A.D.R. Sullivant (Bryant Library); William Bunker Tubby (Roslyn Presbyterian Church) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Federal and Greek Revival, with Italianate, Second Empire, Picturesque, Victorian, Georgian Revival and Colonial Revival buildings |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The district has 81 contributing buildings, 19 contributing structures and 2 contributing objects, plus a number of non-contributing features. Eight moved buildings are present, and only one of them is counted as contributing. |
| Acreage | 65 |
| Within district | Main Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.79750, -73.64819 (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 86002650.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2167511
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.