8. Crampton Avenue Homes
Crampton Avenue Houses
The homes along Crampton Avenue in Great Neck are most likely obscure even for Great Neck residents, yet the homes date back to 1928 after John and James E. Crampton purchased the land and built 21 bungalows as rental properties. At the time, Great Neck was experiencing dramatic real estate growth, and the Cramptons constructed the homes to further develop the village’s economy. The homes were originally one-story, two-bedroom bungalows, and many of the homes have been altered to add a second story.
Crampton Avenue was a working-class, immigrant neighborhood in the 1930s, and homes were rented for around $60 a month, now around $900. The Great Neck Historical Society awarded 11 Crampton Avenue with a Heritage Recognition Plaque after the Speelmans, both history professors at the US Merchant Marine Academy, reached out to the historical society to alert them of the homes’ history. They noted that the buildings were constructed from materials no longer available and were well preserved since the 1920s.