RANDALL MANOR
Geographic Setting
Bounded by the Kill Van Kull to the north, Lafayette Avenue to the east, Castleton and Brighton Avenues to the south, and Pelton Avenue, Henderson Avenue, and Kissel Avenue to the west, Randall Manor occupies a leafy, elevated stretch of Staten Island’s North Shore overlooking the harbor. The neighborhood sits immediately west of New Brighton and east of West Brighton, forming part of the historic corridor of waterfront communities that developed along Richmond Terrace during Staten Island’s 19th-century maritime ascendancy.
Randall Manor’s landscape is defined by its topography: gentle hills rising from the Kill Van Kull’s shoreline to quiet, tree-lined residential streets where stately early 20th-century homes sit beneath broad canopies of oak and maple. To the north, the view across the water toward Bayonne, New Jersey, recalls the neighborhood’s maritime past; to the south, its streets flow into the cultural campus of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, a defining landmark that anchors the community both geographically and historically. Randall Manor today remains one of Staten Island’s most architecturally distinguished and tranquil neighborhoods—a place where time, history, and design converge in enduring harmony.
Etymology
Randall Manor takes its name from Captain Robert Richard Randall (1740–1801), a Revolutionary War veteran and successful merchant who founded the Sailors’ Snug Harbor, one of America’s earliest charitable institutions for retired seamen. In his will, Randall left his Manhattan estate to create a home for “aged, decrepit, and worn-out sailors,” which opened in 1833 along Staten Island’s northern waterfront. The surrounding residential area that developed in the early 20th century adopted his name, honoring both the philanthropist and the maritime legacy of the institution he inspired.
The term Manor reflected the neighborhood’s early suburban planning—intended as a gracious enclave of tree-lined streets, large plots, and architecturally refined homes adjacent to Snug Harbor’s formal grounds. Thus, “Randall Manor” came to embody both social conscience and suburban elegance, rooted in the philanthropic vision of a man who sought dignity and refuge for those who spent their lives at sea.
The Neighborhood
Origins through the 19th Century
The origins of Randall Manor are inseparable from the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor. In the early 1800s, Staten Island’s North Shore was still a rural region of farms and estates, with Richmond Terrace serving as a rough coastal road connecting ferry landings and small hamlets. When Snug Harbor opened in 1833, its Greek Revival buildings and landscaped grounds transformed the area into one of the most distinguished institutional settings in the young United States. Designed by Minard Lafever, the complex stood as a testament to moral purpose and architectural ambition, housing hundreds of retired sailors in a self-sustaining community complete with gardens, workshops, and a chapel.
The presence of Snug Harbor spurred limited residential growth nearby. Ship captains, craftsmen, and merchants built homes along the surrounding roads, and small wharves extended into the Kill Van Kull. However, most of the land that would become Randall Manor remained open through the 19th century—wooded, hilly, and owned largely by Snug Harbor or by a handful of local families.
By the late 1800s, Staten Island’s integration into New York City and the advent of new transportation links—such as improved ferry service and later trolley lines—made the North Shore increasingly attractive to middle- and upper-middle-class residents. Developers saw potential in the high ground west of New Brighton, where the proximity to Snug Harbor’s landscaped campus and the harbor views promised a residential district of distinction.
Early 20th Century: A Planned Suburban Haven
Randall Manor emerged as a formal neighborhood in the early 1900s, during the great suburban expansion that accompanied Staten Island’s consolidation with New York City in 1898. Real estate developers, recognizing the allure of the site, laid out winding streets and large lots designed to attract professionals, merchants, and civic leaders seeking refuge from the congestion of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The area’s development was guided by early planning ideals emphasizing greenery, space, and architectural harmony. Tree-lined streets such as Henderson Avenue, Davis Avenue, and Fillmore Street became the setting for handsome single-family homes in styles ranging from Colonial Revival and Tudor to Craftsman and Victorian. Many of these houses, built between 1905 and 1930, still stand today, their broad porches, gabled roofs, and fine detailing reflecting the craftsmanship of a prewar era.
The neighborhood’s social and cultural life revolved around Snug Harbor, whose grand gates opened onto community events, concerts, and parades. Schools, churches, and small local businesses developed nearby, while ferry and rail connections ensured that residents could commute to the city with relative ease. Randall Manor quickly gained a reputation as one of Staten Island’s most desirable addresses—an enclave of refinement set amid the North Shore’s historic fabric.
Mid–Late 20th Century: Stability and Cultural Reawakening
Unlike many urban neighborhoods, Randall Manor weathered the mid-20th century with remarkable continuity. Its architectural integrity, strong civic associations, and proximity to Snug Harbor shielded it from the urban decline that affected parts of the nearby waterfront. Even as industry along the Kill Van Kull waned and Staten Island underwent massive suburban expansion after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (1964), Randall Manor retained its character as a mature residential district.
The 1960s and 1970s brought both challenge and renewal. The closure of the original Sailors’ Snug Harbor Home for Retired Seamen (1976) marked the end of an era, but also opened the door to one of Staten Island’s great cultural transformations. The site was reborn as the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, preserving the historic architecture while repurposing it for museums, theaters, and botanical exhibits. This reinvention revitalized the entire surrounding area, making Randall Manor once again a hub of civic and cultural life.
Throughout the late 20th century, residents of Randall Manor maintained strong community organizations dedicated to preserving the neighborhood’s historic homes and landscape. Efforts by local advocates led to the designation of nearby historic districts and to long-term stewardship of the Snug Harbor grounds. In a city of constant flux, Randall Manor remained a bastion of stability—quiet, green, and enduringly elegant.
21st Century: Heritage, Community, and Continuity
In the 21st century, Randall Manor stands as one of Staten Island’s most sought-after neighborhoods, admired for its historic charm, architectural diversity, and proximity to culture and nature. Its tree-shaded streets, with early 20th-century homes lovingly maintained or restored, retain an atmosphere more akin to a garden suburb than an urban district.
Residents enjoy immediate access to Snug Harbor’s botanical gardens, art galleries, and performing arts spaces, as well as the Kill Van Kull waterfront, which continues to host working docks alongside plans for public greenway development. The area’s convenient location—close to the Staten Island Ferry, Forest Avenue, and major expressways—makes it both tranquil and connected.
Demographically, Randall Manor reflects the broader evolution of Staten Island’s North Shore: long-established families share the neighborhood with newcomers drawn by its heritage and sense of place. Civic associations remain active, advocating for preservation, traffic safety, and environmental protection. Local gardens, community events, and the annual Harvest Festival at Snug Harbor continue to knit the neighborhood’s fabric.
While Staten Island has grown more urbanized and diverse, Randall Manor endures as a model of continuity—its historical identity not frozen in time but gracefully adapted to modern life. The interplay between the historic Snug Harbor complex and the surrounding residential fabric continues to define its aesthetic and cultural legacy.
Spirit and Legacy
The spirit of Randall Manor lies in stewardship—in the careful tending of what was built, planted, and imagined generations ago. It is a neighborhood that honors its past not through nostalgia but through care: for its trees, its architecture, its gardens, and its sense of quiet dignity.
Its legacy is bound to that of Snug Harbor and Captain Randall’s vision of benevolence—a neighborhood that grew from philanthropy, shaped by the ideals of beauty, order, and purpose. The enduring presence of the harbor winds, the clapboard houses, and the classical columns of Snug Harbor all speak to the same truth: that compassion and craftsmanship can leave a landscape as enduring as stone.
New York City
Use this custom Google map to explore where every neighborhood in all five boroughs of New York City is located.
The Five Boroughs
One of New York City’s unique qualities is its organization in to 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. These boroughs are part pragmatic administrative districts, and part vestiges of the region’s past. Each borough is an entire county in New York State - in fact, Brooklyn is, officially, Kings County, while Staten Island is, officially Richmond County. But that’s not the whole story …
Initially, New York City was located on the southern tip of Manhattan (now the Financial District) that was once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Across the East River, another city was rising: Brooklyn. In time, the city planners realized that unification between the rapidly rising cities would create commercial and industrial opportunities - through streamlined administration of the region.
So powerful was the pull of unification between New York and Brooklyn that three more counties were pulled into the unification: The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. And on January 1, 1898, the City of New York unified two cities and three counties into one Greater City of New York - containing the five boroughs we know today.
But because each borough developed differently and distinctly until unification, their neighborhoods likewise uniquely developed. Today, there are nearly 390 neighborhoods, each with their own histories, cultures, cuisines, and personalities - and each with residents who are fiercely proud of their corner of The Big Apple.
