Alice Austen House

The view is the thing. Where else can you be in a house with a lawn that goes to the bay and has a view of NYC? The house itself is still intact but little is possible to see if the past. The walls have photos on metal and glass which are impossible to make out against a floral wallpaper and in the hall with sunlight. The sunlight was great the metal printing ridiculous. The best pictures are in three ring binders in an awkward tight corner on a window sill - equally ridiculous.

From the outside, the Alice Austen House feels like a quiet postcard from another time.
Its white Dutch Colonial façade and wide porch sit gracefully by the Staten Island waterfront, framed by gardens and the open sky. Even without stepping inside, there’s a sense of history in its walls—once home to pioneering photographer Alice Austen, whose life and work left a lasting cultural imprint.

The view alone tells a story: a house that has stood for centuries, watching the harbor’s tides change, holding memories of art, love, and resilience. It’s the kind of place that makes you slow down, take in the setting, and imagine the life once lived within.

Alice Austin is someone I had no idea about before visiting this home. The farm house, cottage style home pays homage to its Victorian history. It's curated very well, including a thorough history of Alice's life and the photographs that she took throughout her life. The home isn't entirely dedicated to her memory as some spaces serve as a contemporary museum to exhibitions.

The staff was friendly, and I was able to adventure through the space at my own pace. I visited for free using the Queens Culture Pass and was let in without any issue. There is a lovely assortment of gifts that you can purchase; I went home with two postcards since I thought it was fitting of the theme of Alice's life as a photographer.

Overall, I think this historic home and site is a great place to go if you're interested in the early development of NYC and seeing photos of people who were a part of that legacy. Alice's photographs shorten the distance between the present and the past, showing the normal lives of individuals who may have been lost to time otherwise.

Beautiful grounds nice flowers and cobblestone fastway, plenty of sitting areas and spaces to sit and rest, and taking the beautiful views of Manhattan and breathing in the fresh sea air coming in from the Hudson.

My most recent trip was by kayak the day before Tropical Storm Henri arrived in New York. I was the guide for a group of five paddlers (who happen to be friends as well) and since we were ahead of schedule decided to stop. The grounds are gorgeous, green and lush at this time in late August and the views, of course, are amazing. Keep in mind that as of this time (late August 2021) the museum inside is open only to those that have booked online ahead of time. I did get to walk the grounds though. I had not realized previously, just how old the house itself is, dating to the 1690s, which makes it one of the oldest homes in NYC. Please visit the museum website for the history of Austen herself, an amazing woman and New York City character in addition to her photography.