81 Alta Avenue
Also listed as 83 Alta Avenue
Park Hill (2002)
approx. pp. 38-39
Originally Upper Elevator House; converted into residence; at street, open entrance pavilion with cobblestone piers with timber struts supporting hooded roof with finial; steps lead to open walkway with low cobblestone walls, timber struts, and peak roof with eyebrows; walkway leads to two-story, rectilinear elevator house with rubble stone sub-stories and stucco upper floors; single and paired windows; gabled roof; shed dormers.
Significance: Park Hill (2002), pp. 742-755, identifies this as the upper depot for the 1893 incline elevator, an unusual Shingle Style adaptation to non-residential use and one of the surviving tangible links to Park Hill's early commuter amenities.
Park Hill West (1994)
approx. pp. 18, 19
Upper Elevator House; two-story, Shingle Style depot converted to residence; covered walkway supported by natural timbers with cobblestone detailing; conical roofed porch with finial; rectangular plan; coursed rubble sub-stories and stucco upper floor; single and paired one-over-one double hung sash windows; gabled main building with shed roof dormers.
Significance: Park Hill West (1994), pp. 48-58, identifies this as the upper depot for the 1893 incline elevator, an unusual Shingle Style adaptation to non-residential use and one of the surviving tangible links to Park Hill's early commuter amenities.
Park Hill (1984)
approx. pp. 396-397
This is a 2 story Shingle Style structure with a gable roof, multiple cross gables and dormers. It is approached by a covered walkway using natural timbers and cobblestone where walkway meets street. There is a conical-roofed porch supported by cobblestone piers.
Significance: Park Hill (1984), pp. 424-435, identifies this as the upper depot of the 1893 elevator house, a Shingle Style adaptation to non-residential use with a shingle-covered conical roof, natural timbers set in cobblestone piers, and a covered bridge.
Surveyor: Alina Rodescu · Builder: American Real Estate Company
Potential deed matches (1912, 1912, 1912)
There are research leads for this property. The website author has not yet fully verified these leads.
Related source items (1898, 1909, and 1913)
An 1898 line drawing, a 1909 postcard, and a 1913 view preserve the upper elevator entrance and incline system as purpose-built transit infrastructure before the upper building's later residential conversion.
- 1898 A Yonkers Historical Society line drawing captioned "The Incline Elevator at Park Hill, N.Y." shows the upper elevator structure, covered approach, descending incline track, elevator car, and lower elevator house. Source: Yonkers Historical Society.
- 1909 A Yonkers Historical Society postcard shows the upper entrance pavilion, with a broad shingled pyramidal roof, timber supports, a small roofed extension, a decorative streetlamp, and an early automobile at the curb. Source: Yonkers Historical Society.
- 1913 A view of the incline/elevator complex shows the lower elevator house, the steep covered incline or stair/elevator route, and the upper structure on the hillside above. Source: Yonkers Historical Society.