7. Olmsted-Beil House (1720+)

The name Frederick Law Olmsted conjures up images of landscaped vistas and rolling hills in Central Park and Prospect Park, the landscape architect’s most famous designs. But on Staten Island, his own house where he lived from 1848 to 1854, before he became a world-renown architect, has been left abandoned despite the fact that it is a designated New York City landmark and part of NYC Parks. The farm house in the Eltingville neighborhood, known as the Olmsted-Beil House or the Poillon House, has portions that date back to 1720, and was approved for landmarking in 1966, within the first year the New York City Landmarks Law was enacted. It is the last remnant of the original 125-acre farm purchased for Olmsted by his father.