The Superintendent's Cottage

The Superintendent's Cottage. . This small two-story cottage was designed in 1851 by Howard Daniels (1815-1863), architect of Dale Cemetery, as living quarters for Dale's first Superintendent, James McDuffie. It cost $1,250 to build. Daniels, a finalist in the Central Park design competition, featured it in his article in The Rural Annual and Horticultural Directory (1857). A year earlier this house was an example of a “Cheap Suburban Cottage” in Genesee Farmer (1856). The cemetery's founders had a different take. An advertisement for Dale stated that “a Gothic Lodge has been erected on the right of the entrance, which, in point of architectural beauty and propriety, is the theme of general admiration.” , The 7-room structure had an L-shaped plan with a diagonally set front entrance, covered with a hexagonal porch roof. The original exterior was millworked pine floorboards set horizontally, the roof was of standing-seam tin that extended out two feet. In the late 20th century the exterior was updated with stucco and modern windows. The interior was remodeled to accommodate the office on the basement floor and an apartment for custodial staff on the upper floors. , Throughout all the changes the cottage's footprint has remained the same. The foundation, like many structures and monuments at Dale, was built using Sing Sing marble, quarried at the prison of the same name. In 2017, efforts got underway to restore the Superintendent's Cottage to its former simple elegance.