Q: So part of why it closed was because. And I wish the hell I could have gotten a hold of that before they tore it down. And I studied architecture and the history of design and everything, I know all that. So we need to get help. Either you buy me out, or I buy you out. So, thats it, I said, to hell with it. And it became quite the place to be. And the fact that somebody could save a house like this, and want to show it to people, and let people hear about the history behind it? And you can ask[gesturing to Daller], Daller: Everybody got something. Q: When you were making those decisions about decorating, were you thinking about a particular style, like a historic style, that you were going for? There were some gorgeous mansions. Daller: But thats how he [referring to the painting of Mr. Seguine] came back to the house. And he kept up with him, up until the time Mario passed away. Q: So this is going to part of an online archive. And then when we realized we were broke, all my brothers joined the military, got married, moved away. And then upstairs was like a big balcony above that porch. Q: Yes. I was an interior designer. Daller: Well, they hope to. Oh, thats right. I had no idea that that was it, when I bought the house or anything. Oh, God, I worked so damn hard. Q: Did you keep up a conversation with Mario Buatta about. [laughs]. So I said, whew! His family was like aristocratic. George Burke. Burke, who knew of the home and property from the time when he was a child, was committed to the challenge. Q: I wanted to ask, also, theres a painting of you in the house, right? Burke: Yes. And it was very much built like this house. Burke: the Historic House people did give me a big bronze plaque to put on the front of it. I mean, how did you decide what to purchase, what to collect? And this is Sarah Dziedzic. And I had this goddamn old sergeant who was going back also, but he was getting out of the service, and he was being discharged. And that was it. Will they appreciate it? With a little more improvement, and he would do a little improving on what I wanted, you know, then it was perfect when Mario did it. Daller: Well, no, Mrs. Seguine allowed him to buy, Burke: No, I already had this house from the first deal. And I decided, well, Im going to pick up some nice buildings. Death and Obituary Indexes from the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library includes: Buffalo Deaths, 1882-1892; Death Notices and Obituaries in the Buffalo News, 4-22-2009 to 2010; Index to Births, Marriages, and Deaths found in select Buffalo and Erie County Publications, 1870s-1950; some cemetery burial records; and other items. And a lot of it got given away, got lost. Burke: Well, a good example is the one right here at the end of the street. Im sure some will. Burke: And that was called the Tidewater Inn. And I got a big certificate for saving that. Burke: But anyway, when my time was up in the service, they shipped me back here to, Burke: Alaska, and I stayed in Alaska. And I invested in a couple of things. And I did, I got in St. George wasnt it? So one day, my sister Bess said to my mother and me, she said, Go pack. Youre coming with me. So Id say Okay, Murphy, lets go! She was something, I mean. Unfortunately, all the grounds areI dont even know if the house is there anymore! Burke: Well, look at the mansion! Was her name Mackey? When they shipped me back from where I was, where the Eskimos were, they sent me back to the base, because they were shipping everybody now, backafter your time was up, you had to go back because you couldnt stay any longer than two years, and after two years, you had to come back to the States. And I was always a horse person. And there was French doors that went out from the basement under the porch. Burke: Im glad I did. So, unfortunately, there arent many people that care that way anymore. They just went and just vandalized it to hell until there was nothing but a shell left. But it looked like an attic with the roof like that and everything. So then I said, well, what the hell am I gonna do? Before he left, the house was fine. I mean, as a kid going down here crabbing, down on the beach, we used to look back at the house all the time. That was her name. Burke: Yes, I paid off this house. Daller: The staircase wasnt even straight. Brooklyn Births: 1898-1909 Deaths: 1847-53, 1857-1948 Marriages: 1866-1949 *Pre-1898 records are for Brooklyn city only. He was always at the stables there. Burke: Oh, yes. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. Burke: About the candle? I mean, this whole ceiling was shot. She was a very good friend of mine, a really pretty lady. Help NYPAP document and celebrate NYCs preservation movement. They cant build houses on it. As a young adult, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the medical department, spending time in locations across Europe and Alaska. Its just a shame. And then you could walk under the porch out into the garden. They tore down those two nice little cottages that were there. And I said, What in the hell is this doing in my house? So I opened up the lid and there was this old lady laying in there, with this big lace collar around her neck, and her hair was puffed up behind her head, like that, was all gray. Because Mrs. Seguine was holding the. And then he got married and moved in with his wife. They talk about Tottenville, its all McMansions. Everything has changed, all the old houses are torn down. I found three things like that. I spent enough time breaking my back. Burke: Yes. How the hell they got to the right people, I dont know. Burke: So I did that [sold the Tidewater Inn]. I said, Oh shit, look at this. And I pulled that out and unwrapped it, and what the hell was in it? And I lived there for quite a few years. Some kind of jewelry. Burke: Well, I dont know if people will ever realize in years and years to come that I saved so much, but they did give me a plaque for restoration. And I finally got to meet Mrs. Seguine because she had stables at that time. That house, it was a big French mansard, big Victorian. Staten Island . Im always doing something. Coach Robert Joseph "Bob" Burke, 74, died April 4, 2020, at home, surrounded by his loving family, in Wilson, N.C. Because, now, they cant tear it down. So thats my uncles hope for it as well. We have a choice in having a caretaker come in also to maintain it. And thats what where all the water, for all the laundry, and all that kind of stuffnot the drinking water, the working waterwould come out of that big cistern, and would go intoand the pump and everything, its still down there, connected to that thing out there. The Seguine girls, as they were called,. So that was the reason we chose to do a White Party. I went over there, and it was standing up sleeping! What the hell do you think it was? George W. Burke, age 63, of Hull, entered into eternal rest on October 2, 2021. The roof was shot because the old guy that was caretaker here, he used to walk around on the roof and watch all the boats in the harbor. I said, No, no, no. Burke: Theyll come in, but youll have to have somebody as a guide. I put the post on it up under the floor where the newer posts in the staircase was upstairs, and then, when I took the jack away, it sat on the post. Burke: So I dont know if that was a ghost. And the porch went all like this, around the house. Daller: That was the house that had ghosts. But it doesnt work that way. And everyone became extremely close. And I took that room and made it into the dining room. Syosset. Well, on theon the fireplace there, those two big candelabras, theyre Meissen. And through all the years that the old lady had this woman taking care of her, the lilacs were always in bloomwhen they were in bloom, they were in the house. Im gonna save it, its a gorgeous house!. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. That was the most beautiful mansion. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved George Burke of Hull, Massachusetts, who passed away at the age of 63, on October 2, 2021. And Ed was very good at taking dents and things out of cars and he could spray paint. And Ill see to it that, financially, things work out for the two of us. I bought another restaurant, didnt I? And that was the Air Force. So I had all my goodies packed in a box, getting ready to go. Daller: Well he formed that, thats the board. Who Where Receive obituaries Yenula Hennaka February 24, 2023 Q: Yes. And, minute he bought the house, did a little work in it, put it right up for sale. Well, I was born on Staten Island. So I picked up this one building that had a little old bar next to it. And these roofs had big arches, like this. The income from the Seguine Equestrian Center, which stables some twenty horses a stone's throw from the mansion, helps. So he came out. Lets move out, youre being kicked out anyway, the house is sold. But I mean, that wasthe holes, the plaster gone. And he said, George, Im selling my business. But unfortunately, it all fell in. I said, I still have friends that myour parents met before we met. And the house was really, needed shapebut thank God it was built as well is it was built, otherwise it would have fallen down. And if they were there and I could see them, and I could ship them free because the government had to ship it for me, and I had my sisters, who would store them for meI had had a great opportunity to pick up all this stuff that was beautiful, get it for nothing, and the government ship it back for me, and my sisters would keep it until I got a place to put it. And I took John in as a partner, but I owned the Old Bermuda Inn and the two buildings. Did you know that from? I bet shes there. When I bought it, I didnt know what was that ones house. People didnt want it because it had such a reputation as being haunted. They didnt have it six months and they went under. In fact, her husband was a big-wig. What will I do? And I had two or three other girls that were there. She was on TV complaining about it. Valhalla. And she had this woman who was a caretaker. Im gonna save this house. It turned my stomach just to watch all of that gorgeous stuff just destroyed. So I said, The hell with this. And think about it. Kathleen graduated from St. Peter's Girls High School in 1962. And they were big floors. And he did the big sofa in there, didnt he? You could see with all the houses over here, its gotten very built up. She had a caretaker or she had a woman that took care of her, or something. Always, in that vase in the hall. He upholstered that chair with the things in the back. I started with the basement. Burke: Well, most of the stuff in the house, he worked with me. Phone: (718) 966 . I found him through somebody. You couldnt even see it. He was 63. Thats whats in this whole house, all the things you see. So Id go up there and Id say, Ed, Adriana, what do you got? Well, we got some old fabric, out of date fabric. Give it to me! And Id take it. If you were at the water looking up here, you couldnt see the house. Q: Yes. And I didnt realize it because I was always working. Yes. They were some kind of jewelry like that but I dont remember what it was. So I said to her, I said Bess, the only thing Ill save your house is a bulldozer! Or you can do a small whatever. Yes. Burke: He did almost all the upholstery in the house. Of course, she loved the smell of lilacs. The developers came in with bulldozersbulldozed that mansion, bulldozed the stables. Shit. And while I was up there, I was sent up to work with Father Tom. Daller: I mean, that big wrap-around porch that went all the way around the house. Thats why I did what I did, because I figured that if anything ever happens to me, all of this, now, will have to stay as it is. And I often wondered what happened to that brooch because I gave it to Bess. Sign up for NYPAP mailings and our Newsletter to stay up-to-date. Daller: Well, remember how much it took to paint the whole house, and how you had to paint sections of it? And I always used to say, Wonder who lives there! and so forth and so on. Burke: Well, I hope it gets maintained. That works! Thankfully, no ones come here and said, Oh, you might have had slaves. I mean, Im sure if somebody came and decided to look back, theyd say, Oh, no, theres a reason for a house like that. People have ideals that are very strange. The Old Bermuda Inn. So I moved into the front parlor room, there. Burke: I think, what was left of it, the sons moved to California and they opened up a Scalamandr in California. The front porch was up high. Daller: It just went right out of my head! Scarpaci Funeral Home of Staten Island LLC. And I went from room to room and it took me a couple of years, didnt it? Q: And so, what sort of vision do you have for, you know, the next the next forty years, for how the grounds are maintained and how. Or next to the chair where she was sitting. I had just bought this house, and it needed a lot of work. And if they only would have remained, they would have been a part of it, and everything could have been fully appreciated. Its empty. But how many people really have a sense of history anymore? Thats the only thing people could bring. Q: Yes, absolutely. The Greek Revival house is one of the few surviving examples of 19th Century life on Staten Island. And it was quite difficult to maintain the big house we were living in. Burke: But anyway, it was a big beautiful cameo brooch, and was wrapped in an oil cloth rag! And thats what they were doing in France to keep from getting it taxed. Okay. I mean, this was just a farmhouse. He was predeceased by his mother Lena Russo-Tredici. And when they got level, he screamed, Okay, George, theyre level, theyre level! And then I put a big postI put a big cement thing on the floor. And if you were wearing them and you went and got in your car and turned the heater on, you smelled like piss. So I still had to get up every day and go to work. And places on Staten Island are being destroyed every minute of the dayyou find another house is goingand its happening in all the boroughs! Burke: What were the things I did when what? Thats how I got to know Adriana Scalamandr and the Scalamandrs. Well, the paintings and the small stuff like thatthat like that mirror and those paintings and all that stuffthat was all the little stuff. And they added this big dining room to the other side of the house. Theres too much business going on here. So were talking about this and talking about this. As a young adult, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the medical department, spending time in locations across Europe and Alaska. Staten Island was very early on, and then Florida, and then off to Europe. And then the Eric woke up, and I said, Well, I dont know. But they tore the house down to build that school. , how did you keep up a Scalamandr in California to have somebody as a guide when he a. 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