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The Spanish Villas of Gifford Gardens, Great Kills
Gifford Gardens: Evidence of a Neighborhood That Almost Was
To a resident of northern Great Kills, or to an interested observer , there's a bit of a curiosity: a few Spanish-type villas nestled between the typical non-descript single family homes and town houses. That they still exist - and (most) look as they did when they were first built is amazing, considering the trend on the island is to tear down "old" in favor of "new", or to renovate and "improve" the look of the house with garish additions. These homes have a history -- they are reminders of a time when Staten Island, especially the South Shore, first began experiencing real growing pains; when the old family farms and orchards gave way to the land speculators -- when open land was transformed into new neighborhoods. This is a story about a neighborhood that almost was, and the circumstances that practically smothered it at its birth.
Staten Island saw its isolation to the mainland end with the simultaneous opening of sister bridges Goethals and Outerbridge Crossing on June 29, 1928. In the years preceding this event, land speculators anticipating throngs of people moving to a more accessible Staten Island (in addition to the above, the Staten Island Rapid Transit railroad was electrified, plans were on the drawing boards for additional bridges - including one across the Narrows, and a subway line to Brooklyn), saw opportunity and dollar signs. Great swaths of land were snatched up. Farms belonging to families for generations were sold to eager buyers. In the northern area of Great Kills, an area encompassing the east side of Giffords Lane to Arthur Kill Road, over to Corbin Ave, and down to Leverett Ave (see maps), properties that once belonged to Mersereaus, Lakes and Rapelyeas in the former township of Southfield were incorporated into a 71 acre mega-lot owned by the Staten Island & Manhattan Realty Company. This in turn was sold to the "Commonwealth Associates, Inc." who, like many real estate developers during this time, came up with a trendy name for the neighborhood they planned to create: Gifford Gardens. Records show houses being sold at Giffords Gardens as early as 1927.
Whether sales were not as brisk as they anticipated, or perhaps the "Associates" wanted a quick return on their investment, Commonwealth struck a bargain with a builder in May 1928 which was billed in the newspapers of the time as a "Big Richmond Deal". The following is an accounting of that transaction:
J. M. Hoffman Co., Inc., of this
boro sold for the Commonwealth Associates,
Inc., to a builder-630 lots
of their, new development in Staten
Island known as Gifford Gardens.
The contract of sale provides for 210
one-family-houses to be constructed
within the next 18 months in units
of 20 houses, each house on a plot
of not less than 60x100.
{it was actually J.M. Hoffman Co. that took ownership}
What made this $2,000,000 deal so unique, was that the houses were to be built in a Spanish Villa style. Less than four months later, on September 2, 1928 a ceremony and celebration was held for the opening of the Model Home of the "Gifford Gardens Villas". This was quite the event as many notables attended, including Borough President Lynch. As to the aesthetics of the house: "Interior decorators, manufacturers of house furnishings and representative local residents have cooperated in the effort to make the model home & reflection of the aspirations of the majority of home seekers."
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As more and more "city folk" explored the possibilities of Suburban Living, some might have had concerns about the remoteness of the Staten Island "country" and how they would get around. For buyers of a Gifford Gardens Villa those concerns were allayed, for each house came complete with an automobile(!)
A couple of dozen villas were built within the year, but things would come to an abrupt halt as 1929 drew to a close: the Stock Market crash in October, and the start of the Great Depression. No buying, no building. Of the houses that were already built but yet to be sold, contractors that performed work on the Villas filed liens against the properties, as they weren't being paid by the developers.
And so, almost as quickly as it began, Gifford Gardens was no more. Beginning in 1930, individual lots were sold off in a "fire sale" to private individuals that were fortunate to have cash on hand, and larger blocks of land were sold to "conventional" builders. (and don't forget about the City: whoever couldn't pay their property taxes had their land seized -- the City held on to these lots for years and finally unloaded them when the housing boom on the island was in full swing, but I digress…)
It would have been interesting to see if the grand plans for Gifford Gardens would have come to fruition if the Depression didn't happen (but a LOT of things would be different if it didn't happen). Hundreds of Spanish Villas in Great Kills would have made for a very picturesque site, indeed.
A couple of things to mention in closing:
The sales office for Gifford Gardens Villas was located on the northeast corner of Giffords Lane and Barlow Ave. It survived - abandoned but unmolested - into the 1940's.
The street names in the former Gifford Gardens are named after locations in England (Tudor, Dunbar, Daleham, Kennington, Hereford, etc.) Also, going along Giffords Lane, starting at Arthur Kill Road and going south, the streets run in alphabetical order (except at Barlow, which already existed).
What happened to the villas that were already built and sold? Some were torn down, some altered beyond recognition, BUT there are a few reminders of this neighborhood that almost-was. You can find them today on Jumel Ave, Islington St, and Barlow Ave.; their owners living in their own little piece of Staten Island history.
