Warner, Samuel Adams, House
Why it's listed
Set into a steep, wooded hillside on Railroad Avenue in Roslyn, this one-and-one-half story frame cottage was built around 1875 on a portion of the estate of New York City architect Samuel Adams Warner. Warner appears to have designed it for his daughter Emma Elizabeth. The house rests on a rough-hewn stone basement and carries a broad overhanging gable roof with jerkin heads, supported by diagonal braces. An L-shaped gallery with scroll-sawn trim wraps the south and west sides. Later changes include side additions, two early twentieth century dormers and a basement vestibule added about 1950. It was listed as a distinctive and unusual example of the chalet cottage type in the village, a style inspired by Swiss mountain dwellings and built in relatively small numbers during the Victorian period. The house has since served as a restaurant, and it survives largely intact as a rustic, picturesque estate building.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cottage is a distinctive and unusual example of chalet-style architecture in Roslyn. It has a low, broad roof with jerkin-headed gables and widely projecting eaves, a cantilevered gallery and a rustic masonry basement. It survives intact as a rare variation of picturesque Victorian residential design in the village.
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 86002654, listed October 2, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1 Railroad Ave., Roslyn |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | October 2, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002654 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect: Samuel Adams Warner; Builder: Unknown |
| Architectural style | Chalet style cottage (picturesque Victorian) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Originally a residence, now used as a restaurant (Chalet Restaurant); condition rated good and no threats known at the time of the inventory. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.79291, -73.64372 (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 86002654.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7410729
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.